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Career outcomes brief

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# Duquesne University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated September 30, 2026

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

**On this page**+

## How much do Duquesne University graduates earn?

The reported median is $74,665 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $6,415 per year.

Duquesne University presents a favorable return picture for federally aided completers four years after completion. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,460 more than the model expects for similar students. That figure puts [earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) in the 60th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,231. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $6,771.

Median earnings are $74,665 four years after completion, in the 83rd percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, with the university's figure $6,415 above it. The peer comparison and model gap point the same way.

Duquesne University shows a broad spread across its earnings scenarios. Four years after completion, the downside earnings scenario is $50,800, the typical scenario is $74,665, and the upside scenario is $88,877.

At the upper end four years after completion, Allied Health Professions completers earn a median of $105,387, Health and Medical Administrative Services completers earn $95,128, and Computer and Information Sciences completers earn $92,789. These are among the university's highest-earning programs.

An estimated 30.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Since four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, the median describes the portion of graduates outside further study at that point.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$74,665

**Rank for difference from expectations**
60th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Duquesne University reported median**
$74,665

**Peer schools comparable schools · $6,415 below Duquesne University**
$68,250

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $1,460 below Duquesne University**
$73,205

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 many Duquesne University students return and finish their degrees?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2025-26

**Returned the following fall**
85.0%

**Completed within six years**
75.0%

**Pell recipients completed within six years**
62.0%

Source: Duquesne University Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention; B4–B11 six-year completion. Retention and completion follow different entering cohorts.

## How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $50,800 to $88,877, around the reported median of $74,665. Compare the lower scenario with [Duquesne University borrowing and monthly payments](/school/duquesne-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**
$50,800

**Median · reported**
$74,665

**Higher estimate**
$88,877

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 Duquesne 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).

Duquesne University graduates’ reported earnings are $1,460 above that expectation, the 60th 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 Duquesne 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.**
+$8,231

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$6,771

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
+$1,460

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

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

Allied Health Professions stands apart in the program earnings picture, with median earnings of $105,387 four years after completion and 41 degrees awarded. Health and Medical Administrative Services also sits in the higher-earning group at $95,128, though its 5 degrees awarded represent a much smaller annual program count.

Computer and Information Sciences combines median earnings of $92,789 with 44 degrees awarded, placing another technical field near the upper end of the selected programs. By contrast, Teacher Education reports $49,883 four years after completion across 81 degrees awarded.

The difference between these higher- and more moderate-earning fields shows why the schoolwide earnings figure can conceal substantial variation by field.

Health Professions accounts for 28.1% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, making it the largest program family at Duquesne University. The largest individual fields span health care, science, business, education, and finance, with different earnings levels four years after completion.

Nursing awarded 257 degrees and had median earnings of $84,802 four years after completion. Biology awarded 109 degrees and had median earnings of $70,958.

Marketing awarded 105 degrees and had median earnings of $66,542. Teacher Education awarded 81 degrees and had median earnings of $49,883. Finance awarded 68 degrees and had median earnings of $83,781.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions**
$105,387

**Health and Medical Administrative Services**
$95,128

**Computer and Information Sciences, General**
$92,789

**Computer Science**
$92,606

**Biomedical/Medical Engineering**
$88,272

**Accounting and Related Services**
$86,169

**Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing**
$84,802

**Finance and Financial Management Services**
$83,781

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

## Further analysis

Allied Health Professions anchors the upper end at median earnings of $105,387 four years after completion, whereas Teacher Education is lowest among the largest programs at $49,883. Program-mix scenarios place downside earnings at $50,800, typical earnings at $74,665, and upside earnings at $88,877; the range shows why field choice changes the return picture.

Duquesne University graduates post earnings above the peer middle four years after completion. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $74,665 four years after completion, placing the university in the 83rd percentile.

That median is above the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $68,250 by $6,415. The earnings cohort includes 2,018 completers.

Graduates earn about $1,460 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places [earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) in the 60th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios show $74,665 in the typical case, $50,800 in the downside case, and $88,877 in the upside case. An estimated 30.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The above-peer median and earnings beyond expectations point in the same direction.

## 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/).