California State University-Channel Islands: Outcomes

How much do California State University-Channel Islands graduates earn?

The reported median is $59,304 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is $2,003 per year.

Graduates of California State University-Channel Islands earn about $8,518 more than expects for similar students. That places the university at the 80th percentile for earnings beyond expectations among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds $2,637. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $5,881.

Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $59,304, at the 48th percentile nationally. That is $2,003 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth places the university at the 54th percentile for return.

Earnings vary widely across the university’s earnings scenarios and across individual fields. The downside earnings scenario is $47,682, the typical scenario is $59,304, and the upside scenario is $85,139, all modeled four years after completion.

Across 19 fields with published earnings data, Nursing has median earnings of $112,691, Computer Science reaches $100,887, and Economics reaches $71,662 four years after completion. Those field results show why the modeled range is broad.

An estimated 34.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings figures capture only those working and not enrolled, this estimate suggests that a sizable portion of completers may be pursuing further education outside the earnings snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $59,304
Rank for difference from expectations: 80th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

California State University-Channel Islands reported median: $59,304
Peer schools comparable schools · $2,003 below California State University-Channel Islands: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $8,518 below California State University-Channel Islands: $50,786

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?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $47,682
Median · reported: $59,304
Higher estimate: $85,139

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 California State University-Channel Islands 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.

California State University-Channel Islands graduates’ reported earnings are $8,518 above that expectation, the 80th 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 California State University-Channel Islands caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at California State University-Channel Islands report the highest earnings?

Among the ranked fields, Business Administration and Management has median earnings four years after completion of $71,183, with 215 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks the field #115 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The moderate-earning fields show a different scale: Sociology records $56,855 four years after completion and 127 degrees awarded, with an Azimuth rank of #49 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. Nursing posts $112,691 on 100 degrees awarded and ranks #41 nationally by Azimuth among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Education has $49,106 and 78 degrees awarded, alongside Azimuth's #3 national field rank among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The nationally ranked fields span education, health sciences, nursing, sociology, and fine and studio arts, giving applicants several program-level results to weigh. Azimuth assigns 16 bachelor’s fields a national rank among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Among them, Azimuth ranks Education #3 nationally; it awarded 78 degrees and its completers earned a median of $49,106 four years after completion. Health Sciences ranks #27 nationally, with 236 degrees awarded and median earnings of $58,396 four years after completion.

Nursing holds rank #41, awarded 100 degrees, and shows $112,691 in median earnings four years after completion. Sociology is ranked #49, with 127 degrees awarded and $56,855 in median earnings four years after completion.

Further analysis

At California State University-Channel Islands, earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix place downside earnings at $47,682, the typical scenario at $59,304, and the upside scenario at $85,139. The range aligns with field variation: Nursing, the highest-earning program, has median earnings of $112,691 four years after completion, compared with $48,789 for Psychology, the lowest-earning among the largest programs.

California State University-Channel Islands offers earnings that sit below the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions but exceed the model’s expectation for similar students. The median for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled is $59,304 four years after completion, in the 48th percentile.

This measure covers 2,119 completers. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offers a separate view.

Graduates earn about $8,518 more than the model expects for similar students. An estimated 34.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

Earnings scenarios based on the program mix show a downside, typical, and upside outcome rather than observed groups of graduates. The median earnings figure and the higher-than-expected result point in different ways, so both are useful when judging the school’s return.

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.