Top Ranked Programs
Appalachian State University's program mix is anchored in Business, with meaningful enrollment across education, health, and social-science fields — a portfolio that reflects the university's regional identity as a comprehensive public institution in western North Carolina. The three largest program families by graduate share are Business (20%), Education (9%), and Social Sciences (6%), a distribution that skews toward applied professional fields rather than pure STEM or liberal-arts concentrations. Across 59 programs serving roughly 4,331 graduates annually, 49 meet Azimuth's ranking threshold — a broad footprint that gives students a wide range of credentialed pathways. The highest aggregate-return program at Appalachian State University is Business Administration, which combines substantial cohort scale with competitive four-year earnings, making it the single largest contributor to the university's overall earnings profile. Among the most-enrolled programs, Psychology, General program graduates 309 students annually with median earnings of $47,720 four years after enrollment, and Azimuth ranks it #153 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Kinesiology and Business Administration are also among the largest programs by graduate count, with median four-year earnings of $55,594 and $64,932 respectively, reflecting the university's depth in applied and professional fields. The strongest early-career earnings at Appalachian State University are concentrated in a small cluster of technical and applied programs. Digital Marketing leads on earnings, with graduates earning median four-year earnings of $69,439, and Azimuth ranks it #61 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Business Administration and Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication follow, with median four-year earnings of $64,932 and $55,671 respectively — programs that feed directly into regional and national labor markets where demand remains steady. For context on how these fields align with broader workforce trends, the [supply and demand for college graduates](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) framework provides useful background.