OBSERVED EARNINGS · LIKE-FOR-LIKE CATEGORIES

Highest-paying majors

National median earnings four years after completion, keeping field and credential level visible.

Field familyAll fields STEM & Computing Health & Clinical Business & Management Social & Behavioral Sciences Education Arts, Media & Humanities Law & Public Service Trades & Applied Fields

Degree levelAll credentials Associate Bachelor’s Master’s Doctorate

All fields18 ranked field-and-credential categories with at least 10 earnings observations

1Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and AdministrationDoctoral Degree · 45 programs$137,496 2Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingDoctoral Degree · 127 programs$135,560 3ChemistryDoctoral Degree · 38 programs$116,122 4MedicineDoctoral Degree · 28 programs$115,298 5Public HealthDoctoral Degree · 10 programs$111,411 6Business Administration, Management and OperationsDoctoral Degree · 18 programs$109,689 7Biology, GeneralDoctoral Degree · 14 programs$108,206 8Educational Administration and SupervisionDoctoral Degree · 151 programs$101,194 9LawDoctoral Degree · 26 programs$100,383 10Clinical, Counseling and Applied PsychologyDoctoral Degree · 97 programs$100,222 11Psychology, GeneralDoctoral Degree · 39 programs$96,534 12Education, GeneralDoctoral Degree · 36 programs$95,543 13Communication Disorders Sciences and ServicesDoctoral Degree · 25 programs$88,326 14Curriculum and InstructionDoctoral Degree · 24 programs$83,569 15Rehabilitation and Therapeutic ProfessionsDoctoral Degree · 178 programs$82,669 16Theological and Ministerial StudiesDoctoral Degree · 14 programs$73,457 17English Language and Literature, GeneralDoctoral Degree · 13 programs$66,586 18MusicDoctoral Degree · 30 programs$57,796

Field 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.