OBSERVED EARNINGS · LIKE-FOR-LIKE CATEGORIESHighest-paying majors
National median earnings four years after completion, keeping field and credential level visible.
Law & Public Service11 ranked field-and-credential categories with at least 10 earnings observations
1Legal Research and Advanced Professional StudiesMaster's Degree · 43 programs$107,5402Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services, OtherMaster's Degree · 10 programs$97,3623Homeland SecurityMaster's Degree · 28 programs$93,6864Public Policy AnalysisMaster's Degree · 50 programs$89,1115Security Science and TechnologyMaster's Degree · 35 programs$86,3446Legal Professions and Studies, OtherMaster's Degree · 11 programs$81,7227Public AdministrationMaster's Degree · 244 programs$77,3298Criminal Justice and CorrectionsMaster's Degree · 119 programs$64,8609Community Organization and AdvocacyMaster's Degree · 10 programs$63,83910Social WorkMaster's Degree · 283 programs$62,61111Human Services, GeneralMaster's Degree · 23 programs$57,277Field families are reproducible groupings of federal two-digit CIP subject codes. Rankings require at least 10 programs with reported year-4 earnings; missing or suppressed values are not replaced with zero.