North Carolina Central University

Published cost of attendance is $26,556. After need-based aid, low-income families pay approximately $13,032, middle-income families pay around $17,527, higher-income families pay approximately $23,658.

Azimuth ranks North Carolina Central University #635 for post-graduation affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions, in the 55.5 percentile. Median federal student loan debt at graduation is $28,250; families using Parent PLUS borrow a median of $19,245.

For a graduate at the institution's median four-year earnings of $50,812, median federal debt projects to a monthly payment of about $319 under standard ten-year repayment. For personalized projections across earnings scenarios, use Azimuth's Financial GPS tool.

Graduates of North Carolina Central University earn median 4-year earnings of $50,812, placing North Carolina Central University in the 10.9 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $409 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing the institution in the 56.0 percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Azimuth ranks North Carolina Central University #1063 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Program outcomes vary by major.

Criminal Justice and Corrections reports 122 graduates and median 4-year earnings of $48,443, ranked #182 nationally in its major. Business Administration, Management and Operations reports 102 graduates and median 4-year earnings of $54,999, ranked #319 nationally in its major.

Social Sciences, General reports 100 graduates and median 4-year earnings of $43,859, ranked #34 nationally in its major. Psychology, General reports 84 graduates and median 4-year earnings of $44,053, ranked #310 nationally in its major.

North Carolina Central University's program mix is anchored in social sciences, criminal justice, and applied professional fields — a signature that reflects the university's identity as a historically Black university in Durham serving a broad range of students pursuing careers in public service, law, and community-oriented fields. Social Sciences accounts for 14% of graduates, followed by Business at 13% and Education at 3%, a distribution that shapes both the institution's earnings profile and the career pathways most graduates pursue.

Across 26 programs serving roughly 998 students annually, 18 meet Azimuth's ranking threshold. The program with the strongest combination of scale and earnings is Criminal Justice, which anchors the institution's return profile by pairing meaningful cohort size with competitive four-year earnings.

Among the most popular programs, Criminal Justice program graduates 122 students annually with median earnings of $48,443 four years after enrollment, and Azimuth ranks it #165 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Business Administration and Social Sciences follow as the next largest programs by cohort, with graduates earning $54,999 and $43,859 respectively four years after enrollment.

The highest-earning programs at North Carolina Central University are Nursing, where graduates earn median earnings of $90,760 four years after enrollment and Azimuth ranks the program #179 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, and Business Administration, with graduates earning $54,999 and Azimuth ranking it #262 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Several of North Carolina Central University's strongest programs feed directly into stable workforce pathways — particularly in criminal justice, nursing, and business, where graduates enter the labor market with defined credentials and consistent employer demand.

Fields like Biology, General and Social Work, with four-year median earnings of $54,192 and $49,856 respectively, reflect the university's applied-professional orientation. Social sciences and pre-law adjacent programs, by contrast, are more likely to be grad-school-dependent pathways where four-year earnings undercount the longer-term trajectory of graduates who continue to law school or graduate study.

The [supply and demand for college graduates](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) provides context for how these program families align with national labor-market trends.