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Career outcomes brief

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# Bethune-Cookman University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

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

**On this page**+

## How much do Bethune-Cookman University graduates earn?

The reported median is $46,007 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is \-$22,243 per year.

For Bethune-Cookman University, graduates earn about $2,099 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 63rd percentile for [earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $1,705.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $3,804. Azimuth puts the return pillar in the 12th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $46,007, placing earnings in the 11th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; the university's median is $22,243 below it.

Earnings beat the model, but the school-level median sits below comparable peers.

Program mix leaves room for markedly different earnings scenarios. The downside earnings scenario is $34,284, and the upside scenario is $63,744; these are scenarios rather than observed groups of graduates.

Among programs with published medians, Nursing reaches $76,641 four years after completion, compared with Gerontology at $51,623 and Business Administration and Management at $50,413. Those program figures give the modeled range a practical context.

Graduate study affects how to read the four-year earnings figure. An estimated 24.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

Because the earnings measure covers completers who are working and not enrolled, those continuing their education are outside that snapshot.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$46,007

**Rank for difference from expectations**
63rd percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Bethune-Cookman University reported median**
$46,007

**Peer schools comparable schools · $22,243 above Bethune-Cookman University**
$68,250

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $2,099 below Bethune-Cookman University**
$43,908

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 $34,284 to $63,744, around the reported median of $46,007. Compare the lower scenario with [Bethune-Cookman University borrowing and monthly payments](/school/bethune-cookman-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**
$34,284

**Median · reported**
$46,007

**Higher estimate**
$63,744

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 Bethune-Cookman University 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).

Bethune-Cookman University graduates’ reported earnings are $2,099 above that expectation, the 63rd 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 Bethune-Cookman University 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.**
\-$1,705

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
+$3,804

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
+$2,099

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

## Which fields at Bethune-Cookman University report the highest earnings?

Program choice matters here because four-year earnings differ sharply across the fields shown. Nursing had median earnings of $76,641 four years after completion and 10 degrees awarded.

Gerontology recorded $51,623 with 9 degrees awarded, placing it among the higher-earning fields in this group. At more moderate levels, Business Administration and Management posted median earnings of $50,413 four years after completion across 42 degrees awarded.

Criminal Justice recorded $46,540 and 57 degrees awarded. The contrast between these fields shows that the earnings picture depends substantially on the program selected.

Bethune-Cookman University’s degree output has its largest shares in Psychology at 15.5% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, Business at 15.3%, and Security & Protective Services at 14.8%. Within fields with published outcomes, earnings differ enough to make the individual field important to the return picture.

Nursing awarded 10 degrees and had median earnings of $76,641 four years after completion. Gerontology awarded 9 degrees, with median earnings of $51,623.

Business Administration and Management awarded 42 degrees and posted $50,413. Criminal Justice awarded 57 degrees, with median earnings of $46,540 four years after completion.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing**
$76,641

**Gerontology**
$51,623

**Business Administration, Management and Operations**
$50,413

**Criminal Justice and Corrections**
$46,540

**Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities**
$42,127

**Psychology, General**
$37,793

**Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas**
$33,933

**Communication and Media Studies**
$30,852

[Explore Bethune-Cookman University program cohorts and field ranks](/school/bethune-cookman-university/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Earnings scenarios tied to the program mix run from $34,284 to $63,744, with $46,007 as the typical outcome. Nursing reaches $76,641 four years after completion, while Communication and Media Studies, the lowest-earning among the largest programs with published earnings, is at $30,852, a spread that reveals wide variation by field.

The earnings picture at Bethune-Cookman University centers on median earnings of $46,007 four years after completion for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that measure in the 11th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 701 completers.

Earnings scenarios from the program mix put typical earnings at $46,007, with a downside scenario of $34,284 and an upside scenario of $63,744. An estimated 24.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

[Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offers a second lens. Graduates earn about $2,099 more than the model expects for similar students.

The above-expected result and the low earnings placement 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/).