Top Ranked Programs
Cleveland State University's program mix is anchored in Health, with meaningful enrollment across business, engineering, and social-science fields. Psychology, General is the largest program with 235 graduates, followed by Nursing (231 graduates), Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions (153 graduates), Biology, General (109 graduates), and Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (102 graduates). Business accounts for 18% of degree output, Engineering accounts for 9%, and Social Sciences accounts for 8% — a distribution that reflects the university's applied, workforce-oriented identity in Cleveland's regional economy. The strongest earnings come from engineering and technical fields. Mechanical Engineering leads with median earnings of $85,184 four years after enrollment, and Azimuth ranks the program #199 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The Nursing program graduates 231 students and earns $82,201, and Azimuth ranks it #165 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Accounting earns $73,476, with Azimuth ranking it #156 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. These programs combine strong early-career pay with direct entry into regional labor markets where engineering and health-sector employers recruit actively. Several of Cleveland State University's largest programs serve as pathways into stable, locally anchored careers. Psychology, General and Biology, General are health-sector pipelines where four-year earnings — $46,090 and $53,898 respectively — reflect credentialed roles with predictable demand. Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions, with median earnings of $55,038, feeds into Cleveland's business and financial-services sector. Programs like Nursing and Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication show more moderate early earnings, consistent with fields where graduate study or additional credentialing often follows the bachelor's degree. The [supply-demand map for college graduates](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) provides broader context for how these program families align with national hiring trends. For details on [how Azimuth evaluates programs](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/), see the methodology overview. ```