College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

Chapman University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do Chapman University graduates earn?

The reported median is $73,336 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $5,086 per year.

Graduates earn a median of $73,336 four years after completion, putting the university above the peer median. Azimuth places its return in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings figure sits in the 81st percentile nationally. For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $68,250, a difference of $5,086.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what expects for similar students, is a separate modeled measure. Graduates earn about $1,922 less than the model expects for similar students.

That measure is in the 48th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,404.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,326. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $307.

Outcomes at the university span from a downside earnings scenario of $54,413 to an upside scenario of $91,096, with $73,336 in the typical scenario, all four years after completion. At the upper end, Computer Science completers earn median earnings of $112,780, Accounting completers earn $102,147, and Business/Managerial Economics completers earn $84,978.

These program medians show why a schoolwide scenario should be read as a range rather than one outcome.

An estimated 26.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, they describe the portion of graduates outside further study.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$73,336
Rank for difference from expectations
48th percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
Chapman University reported median
$73,336
Peer schools comparable schools · $5,086 below Chapman University
$68,250
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $1,922 above Chapman University
$75,258

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 $54,413 to $91,096, around the reported median of $73,336. Compare the lower scenario with Chapman 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
$54,413
Median · reported
$73,336
Higher estimate
$91,096

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 Chapman 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.

Chapman University graduates’ reported earnings are $1,922 below that expectation, the 48th 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 Chapman 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.
+$6,404
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$8,326
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$1,922

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

Which fields at Chapman University report the highest earnings?

Program-level earnings at Chapman University vary sharply between technical, business, and arts-oriented fields four years after completion. Computer Science has the highest listed median, $112,780, from 52 degrees awarded.

Accounting follows at $102,147 with 47 degrees awarded, while Business Administration and Management combines $84,378 median earnings with 481 degrees awarded. The contrast is clearest against Film/Video and Photographic Arts, which awarded 211 degrees and had median earnings of $66,494 four years after completion.

The higher-earning fields are smaller in award volume than the large business program, while the film field sits at a more moderate earnings level.

Business accounts for 32.9% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and published earnings cover 21 fields. That concentration makes the largest fields a useful starting point for understanding the university’s earnings picture.

Among the largest fields, reported median earnings four years after completion are Business Administration and Management with 481 degrees awarded and $84,378; Film/Video and Photographic Arts with 211 degrees awarded and $66,494; Psychology with 138 degrees awarded and $63,617; Public Health with 116 degrees awarded and $72,529; and Business/Corporate Communications with 113 degrees awarded and $76,412. The differences across these large fields make intended major central to the earnings picture.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Computer Science
$112,780
Accounting and Related Services
$102,147
Business/Managerial Economics
$84,978
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$84,378
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication
$80,139
Journalism
$79,135
Design and Applied Arts
$78,121
Business/Corporate Communications
$76,412

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

Further analysis

The program mix supports a broad set of earnings scenarios rather than a single outcome. The downside earnings scenario is $54,413, the typical scenario is $73,336, and the upside scenario is $91,096.

Computer Science anchors the higher end at $112,780 four years after completion; among the largest programs, Psychology is lowest at $63,617. The spread shows how much the earnings picture varies by field.

Chapman University graduates have median earnings of $73,336 four years after completion, among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that median in the 81st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings cohort covers 1,459 completers, so the figure describes a substantial reported group. The program-mix model’s typical earnings scenario aligns with the reported median, with a downside scenario of $54,413 and an upside scenario of $91,096.

An estimated 26.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. Graduates earn about $1,922 less than the model expects for similar students, which describes earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduate earnings and what the model expects for similar students.

The earnings picture is mixed: the median stands well nationally, while the model comparison is lower.

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.