College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

Bucknell University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do Bucknell University graduates earn?

The reported median is $96,035 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $27,785 per year.

Bucknell University graduates earn a median of $96,035 four years after completion. That is at the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and $27,785 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the return in the 97th percentile. Graduates earn about $9,208 more than expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 81st percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,524.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $316. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,387.

The earnings picture at Bucknell University varies widely across modeled program-mix scenarios, from $56,044 in the downside scenario to $127,222 in the upside scenario. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

At the higher end, median earnings four years after completion are $156,885 in Computer Engineering, $130,990 in Accounting, and $122,651 in Computer and Information Sciences. Those program figures help explain the breadth of the modeled range.

An estimated 39.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings cover federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, so those continuing their education fall outside that earnings snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$96,035
Rank for difference from expectations
81st percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
Bucknell University reported median
$96,035
Peer schools comparable schools · $27,785 below Bucknell University
$68,250
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $9,208 below Bucknell University
$86,827

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 many Bucknell University first-year students return?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2025-26
Returned the following fall
91.0%

Source: Bucknell University Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention.

How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $56,044 to $127,222, around the reported median of $96,035. Compare the lower scenario with Bucknell University 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
$56,044
Median · reported
$96,035
Higher estimate
$127,222

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 Bucknell 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.

Bucknell University graduates’ reported earnings are $9,208 above that expectation, the 81st 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 Bucknell University 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.
+$9,524
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$316
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$9,208

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

Which fields at Bucknell University report the highest earnings?

Computer Engineering sets the high end of the program picture at Bucknell University, with median earnings of $156,885 four years after completion across 32 degrees awarded. Accounting also sits at the higher end, at $130,990 across 74 degrees awarded.

Economics recorded $108,422 four years after completion and 133 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #41 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. At a more moderate earnings level, Psychology had median earnings of $66,206 across 93 degrees awarded.

The contrast between these fields shows that reported earnings vary substantially by program four years after completion.

Social Sciences accounts for 26.3% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and Bucknell University has 10 ranked bachelor’s field. Azimuth ranks Accounting #2 nationally in its field among nonprofit four-year institutions; it awarded 74 degrees, and its completers had median earnings of $130,990 four years after completion.

Computer Engineering awarded 32 degrees, with its completers earning a median $156,885 four years after completion. Accounting awarded 74 degrees and had median earnings of $130,990 at the same point. The figures show a program mix with markedly different earnings levels.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Computer Engineering
$156,885
Accounting and Related Services
$130,990
Computer and Information Sciences, General
$122,651
Economics
$108,422
Mechanical Engineering
$99,860
Chemical Engineering
$99,536
Civil Engineering
$95,693
Political Science and Government
$94,028

Explore Bucknell University program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

For earnings four years after completion, earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix put the downside at $56,044, the typical scenario at $96,035, and the upside at $127,222. Computer Engineering, the highest-earning field, has $156,885; Psychology, the lowest-earning among the largest programs, has $66,206. The spread shows how much earnings can vary by field.

Four years after completing a degree, Bucknell University graduates earn a median of $96,035. That figure sits in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, drawn from an earnings cohort of 557 completers.

Graduates earn about $9,208 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, show a downside of $56,044 and an upside of $127,222.

An estimated 39.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

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.