College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

Boston College Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do BC graduates earn?

The reported median is $96,145 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $83,615 as its benchmark; the difference is $12,530 per year.

Boston College has a return result near the top of Azimuth’s coverage. Azimuth places its return in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $11,656 more than expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 86th 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 $10,860. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $796.

Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $96,145, in the 96th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), matches that median; the $12,530 gap leaves the university above it.

The model-beating result and peer-level median offer different reference points.

The range of earnings scenarios is wide, from $69,823 in the downside scenario to $139,092 in the upside scenario. These scenarios are modeled from the program mix, rather than observed groups of graduates.

At the higher end, median earnings four years after completion are $147,746 for Finance, $143,204 for Computer Science, and $132,903 for Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations. Those program results help explain the spread between the earnings scenarios.

The program mix suggests an estimated 34.4% of graduates continue to graduate study. That estimate is not drawn from observed enrollment.

Four-year earnings are measured among completers who are working and not enrolled, so those in graduate study fall outside that snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$96,145
Rank for difference from expectations
86th percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
BC reported median
$96,145
Peer schools comparable schools · $12,530 below BC
$83,615
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $11,656 below BC
$84,489

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.

How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $69,823 to $139,092, around the reported median of $96,145. Compare the lower scenario with BC borrowing and monthly payments 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
$69,823
Median · reported
$96,145
Higher estimate
$139,092

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 explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do BC 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.

BC graduates’ reported earnings are $11,656 above that expectation, the 86th 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 BC caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$10,860
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$796
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$11,656

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

Which fields at BC report the highest earnings?

At Boston College, Finance sets the high-earning end: median earnings of $147,746 four years after completion, 325 degrees awarded, and an Azimuth rank of #5 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology recorded $76,328 in median earnings and 138 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #1 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Philosophy posted $97,519 with 95 degrees awarded and ranks #2 nationally by Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations shows median earnings of $132,903 and 41 degrees awarded; Azimuth places it #2 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Business anchors the degree mix, accounting for 26.7% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, while Boston College has 24 bachelor’s fields with national Azimuth rankings. In Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology, Azimuth places the program #1 nationally in its field; 138 degrees were awarded, and median earnings four years after completion were $76,328.

International/Globalization Studies stands at #1 nationally in its field in Azimuth, with 83 degrees awarded and median earnings of $91,874 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks Philosophy #2 nationally in its field; 95 degrees were awarded, and median earnings were $97,519 four years after completion.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Finance and Financial Management Services
$147,746
Computer Science
$143,204
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
$132,903
Information Science/Studies
$131,090
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
$126,475
Accounting and Related Services
$126,461
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$123,144
Economics
$121,337

Explore BC program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix place the downside at $69,823, the typical outcome at $96,145, and the upside at $139,092. Finance has median earnings of $147,746 four years after completion, while Communication and Media Studies, the lowest-earning large program, has $83,586.

The scenarios are not observed groups, and the spread shows how earnings vary by field.

Boston College shows high graduate earnings: federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $96,145 four years after completion. Azimuth places that median in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 2,195 completers.

Graduates earn about $11,656 more than the model expects for similar students. Modeled from the program mix, scenarios put typical earnings at $96,145, with a downside scenario of $69,823 and an upside scenario of $139,092.

An estimated 34.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The high median and the modeled range show that program choice can matter within an already strong earnings picture.

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, 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.