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Career outcomes brief

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# Brown University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

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

**On this page**+

## How much do Brown University graduates earn?

The reported median is $94,678 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $26,428 per year.

Return is mixed. Brown University federally aided completers working and not enrolled earn a median of $94,678 four years after completion.

Azimuth puts it in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $68,250; its median sits $26,428 above it.

Graduates earn about $9,623 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 model expectations for similar students, is in the 20th 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 $9,246. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $18,869.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Peer earnings and model expectations point in different directions.

Within the program mix, lower- and higher-earning paths sit far apart at Brown University. The downside earnings scenario is $57,488, and the upside scenario is $186,240 four years after completion.

These are scenarios built from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates. Published program medians four years after completion are $214,479 in Computer Science, $157,822 in Applied Mathematics, and $125,955 in Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations.

The field medians place concrete examples at different points in that modeled span.

An estimated 37.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, so graduates continuing their education are outside that earnings measure.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$94,678

**Rank for difference from expectations**
20th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Brown University reported median**
$94,678

**Peer schools comparable schools · $26,428 below Brown University**
$68,250

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $9,623 above Brown University**
$104,301

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 $57,488 to $186,240, around the reported median of $94,678. Compare the lower scenario with [Brown University borrowing and monthly payments](/school/brown-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**
$57,488

**Median · reported**
$94,678

**Higher estimate**
$186,240

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 Brown 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).

Brown University graduates’ reported earnings are $9,623 below that expectation, the 20th 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 Brown 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.**
+$9,246

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$18,869

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
\-$9,623

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

## Which fields at Brown University report the highest earnings?

At Brown University, program-level earnings differ sharply four years after completion. Computer Science sits at the higher-earning end, with median earnings of $214,479 and 250 degrees awarded.

Applied Mathematics also reports $157,822 in median earnings across 178 degrees awarded. Economics falls between those fields, at $124,508 with 215 degrees awarded.

At a more moderate earnings level, Biology has median earnings of $60,508 four years after completion and 111 degrees awarded. [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) the field #116 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

The contrast between the higher-earning technical and quantitative fields and this moderate-earning field shows why the school-wide earnings figure can conceal substantial variation by program.

Computer Science is the largest listed program and has the highest cited earnings among these fields. It awarded 250 degrees, and its completers had median earnings of $214,479 four years after completion.

Brown University has 16 ranked program among nonprofit four-year institutions. [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations #1 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions; it awarded 51 degrees, and median earnings were $125,955 four years after completion.

Economics awarded 215 degrees and had median earnings of $124,508, while Applied Mathematics awarded 178 degrees and had median earnings of $157,822. The fields show a wide earnings range even among the larger programs.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Computer Science**
$214,479

**Applied Mathematics**
$157,822

**Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations**
$125,955

**Economics**
$124,508

**Engineering, General**
$108,550

**Public Policy Analysis**
$94,962

**Biomedical/Medical Engineering**
$91,674

**International Relations and National Security Studies**
$86,780

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

## Further analysis

Program-mix earnings scenarios range from a downside of $57,488 to a typical outcome of $94,678 and an upside of $186,240. Computer Science has median earnings of $214,479 four years after completion, while Biology, the lowest-earning among the largest programs, has $60,508. The modeled range shows substantial variation by field.

Brown University offers a schoolwide earnings reference for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled: median earnings are $94,678 four years after completion. That same amount is the typical scenario based on the program mix.

Azimuth places the earnings measure in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 1,086 completers. The downside earnings scenario is $57,488, and the upside scenario is $186,240.

These scenarios describe outcomes associated with the program mix, not observed groups of graduates or forecasts for an individual. Graduates earn about $9,623 less than the model expects for similar students.

An estimated 37.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. High observed earnings and below-expected earnings 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/).