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Career outcomes brief

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# American University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/american-university/)[Cost & aid](/school/american-university/cost/)Outcomes[Admissions](/school/american-university/admissions/)[Majors](/school/american-university/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/american-university/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much do American graduates earn?

The reported median is $79,081 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $10,831 per year.

American University combines earnings above comparable peers with a below-expected model result. Federally aided completers working and not enrolled earn a median of $79,081 four years after completion, in the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,678 less than the model expects for similar students. [Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between graduate earnings and the model for similar students, is in the 45th percentile.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,023.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,701. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; the university's median is $10,831 above it. Observed earnings and the model result point in different directions.

Earnings can differ widely across the university’s program mix. The downside earnings scenario is $60,501, and the upside scenario is $96,947; these are scenarios rather than observed groups of graduates.

Among higher-earning fields, Finance has median earnings of $134,332 four years after completion, Accounting has $119,020, and Computer Science has $117,293. Those field-level medians show why the modeled range is broad.

Further study is relevant when reading American University’s four-year earnings. An estimated 31.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

The earnings snapshot covers completers who are working and not enrolled, excluding those still in graduate study.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$79,081

**Rank for difference from expectations**
45th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**American reported median**
$79,081

**Peer schools comparable schools · $10,831 below American**
$68,250

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $2,678 above American**
$81,759

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. [How the model works](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

## How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $60,501 to $96,947, around the reported median of $79,081. Compare the lower scenario with [American borrowing and monthly payments](/school/american-university/cost/) to see how a smaller income could change your plan.

Modeled from the school’s program mix; not salary percentiles or a forecast for one graduate.

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

**Lower estimate**
$60,501

**Median · reported**
$79,081

**Higher estimate**
$96,947

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

[Why the downside matters](/analysis/median-roi-hides-a-harsh-reality/) explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. [Read about the move to four-year earnings](/analysis/college-scorecard-2026-4-year-vs-10-year-earnings-2-2/).

## Do American graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls [value added](/methodology/#value-added).

American graduates’ reported earnings are $2,678 below that expectation, the 45th percentile for this measure. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending American caused a student to earn. [Read how expected earnings are estimated](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

What explains value-added earnings?

**Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.**
+$4,023

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$6,701

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
\-$2,678

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

## Which fields at American report the highest earnings?

The program picture spans higher and more moderate earnings four years after completion across its named fields. Finance recorded median earnings of $134,332 with 75 degrees awarded, while Accounting recorded $119,020 across 18 degrees awarded.

Computer Science posted median earnings of $117,293 four years after completion and 24 degrees awarded. At a more moderate level, International Relations and National Security Studies recorded $73,865 with 382 degrees awarded.

The figures place the higher-earning fields alongside a large program with a lower median earnings figure.

American University has high-earning fields in finance, accounting, and computing, making the intended field central to the earnings picture. Finance awarded 75 degrees and had median earnings of $134,332 four years after completion.

Accounting awarded 18 degrees, with median earnings of $119,020 at the same point. Computer Science awarded 24 degrees and had median earnings of $117,293 four years after completion.

Business Administration and Management awarded 247 degrees and had median earnings of $88,359. Economics awarded 71 degrees, with median earnings of $85,016.

These figures show that field choice coincides with markedly different early-career earnings.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Finance and Financial Management Services**
$134,332

**Accounting and Related Services**
$119,020

**Computer Science**
$117,293

**Business Administration, Management and Operations**
$88,359

**Economics**
$85,016

**Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication**
$78,410

**Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other**
$76,552

**Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians**
$75,461

[Explore American program cohorts and field ranks](/school/american-university/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

The modeled range is broad across fields. Grounded in the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $60,501, the typical scenario is $79,081, and the upside scenario is $96,947.

Finance has median earnings of $134,332 four years after completion; among the largest programs, Political Science is lowest at $73,604. These are scenarios rather than observed groups, and the spread shows variation by field.

American University graduates have median earnings of $79,081 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled; that figure also anchors the typical modeled scenario. Azimuth places the earnings measure in the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings cohort includes 2,193 completers. Graduates earn about $2,678 less than the model expects for similar students.

The downside earnings scenario is $60,501, and the upside scenario is $96,947. An estimated 31.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The high earnings standing and lower-than-expected model result point in different directions.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. [About College Azimuth](/about/).