Top Majors Earn $200K+, Shaping Loan Eligibility
Students and families comparing majors should know that median graduate earnings now help determine eligibility for certain federal student loans.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Financial Aid
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A study by HEA Group, a higher education research firm, found that several college majors had graduate median salaries topping $200,000 four years after graduation. The analysis used federal data and is tied to a federal law passed last year requiring such income reporting for students receiving federal financial aid.
Why it matters
Median graduate income now shapes which programs keep federal loan eligibility, so the earnings outcomes of a major are becoming part of the cost-and-value calculation for families. The data were collected in part because federal law now requires this kind of reporting.
Median four-year post-graduation incomes for top majors ranged from $228,705 to $297,029 in the figures reported, and UCLA's in-state tuition and fees are listed at $16,430. The projection under federal law is that if a field's median graduate income does not exceed that of high school graduates for two out of three years, students in that major may lose eligibility for certain federal student loans.
The players
HEA Group
A higher education research firm that analyzed federal graduate-earnings data to produce the study.
Duke University
A private research university whose mathematics graduates posted the top median salary in the study, $297,029 four years after graduation.
Carnegie Mellon University
A private research university whose computer science and engineering graduates posted several of the highest median salaries in the study.
University of California, Los Angeles
A large public university whose computer engineering graduates earned $228,705 four years after graduation.
University of Alabama
A large public university used as the comparison point for Carnegie Mellon's graduate earnings in the study.
The details
The study pulled federal data on median graduate incomes four years after graduation, broken out by school and major. Under the federal law passed last year, that income information is required for programs whose students receive federal financial aid. If a major's graduates do not out-earn high school graduates in two of three measured years, students in that major may no longer qualify for certain federal student loans. Families comparing programs can therefore treat these earnings figures as a signal of how aid eligibility could change over time.
Timeline
Four years after graduation: median earnings are measured for each major in the study.
Last year: federal law passed requiring study of median graduate incomes for financial aid recipients.
November 1, 2026: the HEA Group study was published.
Education Landscape
Federal law passed last year now requires median graduate income reporting tied to aid eligibility, shifting the value debate from total college cost to field-level earnings. The HEA Group study is an early look at what that data reveals across elite and public institutions.
If you are comparing programs, ask each school's financial-aid office how the earnings data required under federal law applies to the majors you are considering. Review the earnings figures alongside tuition costs before deciding how much to borrow.
The takeaway
Major choice now carries measurable federal aid implications as well as career implications, so earnings data is worth checking early. Contact a school's financial-aid office to confirm how loan eligibility rules apply to a specific program.
Further reading
For background on how federal aid rules are set, explore Financial Aid guidance.
Source note: This article includes information reported by MyCentralJersey.
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