Free tool · federal data
What does this major pay at different colleges?
Pick a major, a degree level and a state. You get what graduates of each college's program earned four years after graduating and what they borrowed in federal loans, from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, with the national median for the same program as the yardstick.
Side by side
Is it worth it? The federal figures, side by side
Federal data cannot decide that for you, but it puts what graduates earned beside what they borrowed. Programs appear in the order you added them, with no ranking.
| Measure | Stanford UniversityCivil Engineering, master's · CARemove |
|---|---|
| Median earnings, 4 years after graduating | $112,118 (62 graduates) |
| Federal debt borrowed at this college (median) | $34,030 |
| Monthly payment, 10-year plan | $387 |
| Payment as a share of median monthly earningsbefore tax | roughly 4% |
| National median, same program and degree | $98,323 |
| Typical program nearbythe state, or its Census division when the state has fewer than 3 programs | $109,845 (California, 8 programs) |
| Total federal debt counting every college attendeda second federal measure; it includes loans from colleges attended before this one | — |
Earnings: College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, for graduates who received federal aid, worked and were not enrolled. Debt: graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20. The monthly payment is a standard 10-year plan on the median debt borrowed at that college. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education.College cost is not shown here; each college's profile has its net price.
Your results
Civil Engineering, master's programs nationwide
Nationally, master's graduates in Civil Engineering earn a median $98,323 four years after graduating. Among 30 programs with federal earnings data, University of Southern California (CA) graduates had the highest median, $130,675 (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).
- Programs with data
- 30
- Highest median
- $130,675
- National median
- $98,323
| College | State | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | vs national median | Debt borrowed at this college (median) | Add to the side-by-side comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Southern California | CA | $130,675 | +33% | — | Compare |
| Manhattan College | NY | $119,967 | +22% | — | |
| University of California-San Diego | CA | $112,223 | +14% | $20,500 | |
| Stanford University | CA | $112,118 | +14% | $34,030 | In comparison |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | NY | $111,924 | +14% | $32,685 | Compare |
| California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | CA | $110,863 | +13% | — | |
| California State University-Fullerton | CA | $108,826 | +11% | $12,168 | |
| Villanova University | PA | $108,449 | +10% | — | |
| University of Washington-Seattle CampusFigure covers 3 campuses | WA | $108,274 | +10% | $28,780 | Compare |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | NJ | $107,682 | +10% | $30,043 | |
| University of California-Davis | CA | $106,894 | +9% | $19,591 | |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | CA | $106,004 | +8% | $15,564 | |
| University of California, Los Angeles | CA | $103,685 | +5% | $20,500 | |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | IL | $103,656 | +5% | $26,500 | |
| George Mason University | VA | $103,586 | +5% | $20,500 | |
| Brigham Young University | UT | $103,440 | +5% | — | |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | VA | $99,698 | about the same | $19,050 | |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | GA | $99,226 | about the same | $21,044 | |
| The University of Texas at Austin | TX | $99,079 | about the same | $37,194 | |
| Oregon State UniversityFigure covers 2 campuses | OR | $98,705 | about the same | — | |
| Ohio University-Main CampusFigure covers 6 campuses | OH | $97,552 | about the same | — | |
| The University of Texas at Arlington | TX | $96,956 | about the same | $24,809 | Compare |
| Arizona State University Campus ImmersionFigure covers 2 campuses | AZ | $96,706 | about the same | — | |
| Texas A & M University-College Station | TX | $95,761 | −3% | $20,500 | |
| Stevens Institute of Technology | NJ | $95,706 | −3% | — |
The 25 highest of 30 programs. Ordered by median earnings four years after graduating: one federal measure, not a ranking of program quality.
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Same major, other degree levels: Bachelor's
What these numbers are
Earnings: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars. Only programs with at least 30 graduates in the earnings cohort are listed, and a multi-state system whose figure pools campuses in several states is left out of state lists. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education. Federal program group: Civil Engineering. Earnings reflect who enrolls and where graduates work as well as the program itself.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study data, 10 June 2026. Download every program (CSV).