Career outcomes brief

Eastern Michigan University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

How much do Eastern Michigan University graduates earn?

The reported median is $59,616 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is -$5,994 per year.

The return at Eastern Michigan University sits in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. This middle-of-the-pack result shows a mix of above-expected earnings and a median that trails comparable schools.

Four years after completion, completers earn a median of $59,616, which is below the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,994. Graduates earn about $1,682 more than expects for similar students, a result in the 61st percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,103. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,421.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,671. The return picture is mixed: graduates beat the model's expectation, but the median earnings figure sits below the peer median.

Earnings at Eastern Michigan University vary widely with the program a student chooses. The earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $46,334 on the downside to $83,466 on the upside, with a typical scenario of $59,616.

The highest-earning programs show what is possible at the upper end. Graduates from Air Transportation earn a median of $91,648 four years after completion, and Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn $90,620. The largest program, Nursing, also sits near the top at $85,611.

An estimated 28.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings figures capture only those working and not enrolled, the median earnings understate the eventual earnings of the sizable share of completers who pursue advanced degrees.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $59,616
Rank for difference from expectations: 61st percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Eastern Michigan University reported median: $59,616
Peer schools comparable schools · $5,994 above Eastern Michigan University: $65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $1,682 below Eastern Michigan University: $57,934

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: $46,334
Median · reported: $59,616
Higher estimate: $83,466

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 Eastern Michigan 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.

Eastern Michigan University graduates’ reported earnings are $1,682 above that expectation, the 61st 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 Eastern Michigan University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Eastern Michigan University report the highest earnings?

Eastern Michigan University awards bachelor's degrees across 52 fields with published four-year earnings, and Azimuth ranks 29 of them nationally. The highest-earning program, Air Transportation, shows a median of $91,648 four years after completion, though it awarded only 31 degrees.

Another high-earning program is Construction Management, with a median of $87,028 and 35 degrees awarded. Nursing is both the biggest program by degrees awarded, at 381, and one of the highest-earning, with a median of $85,611 and an Azimuth national rank of #139.

Business Administration and Management reports median earnings of $66,233 and ranks #198 nationally on 169 degrees awarded. In contrast, Psychology and Subject-Area Teacher Education sit in the high forty-thousands, at $48,346 and $48,994 respectively, reflecting the spread between higher- and moderate-earning fields at the university.

Eastern Michigan University fields 29 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, with earnings data published for 52 fields. The largest, Nursing, awarded 381 degrees and shows a median of $85,611 four years after completion, ranking #139 nationally and #1 in Michigan.

Among the university's best-ranked programs, Air Transportation holds a national rank of #11 with 31 degrees awarded and a median of $91,648. Engineering-Related Fields ranks #19 nationally and #4 in Michigan, awarding 37 degrees.

Its completers earn a median of $75,528. Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management rounds out the top-ranked group at #22 nationally, with 69 degrees awarded and a median of $82,886.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

Air Transportation: $91,648
Computer and Information Sciences, General: $90,620
Construction Management: $87,028
Economics: $86,909
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing: $85,611
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management: $82,886
Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians: $79,829
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions: $75,926

Explore Eastern Michigan University program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Earnings at Eastern Michigan University vary widely by field, a spread captured in earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix. The downside earnings scenario is $46,334, the typical scenario is $59,616, and the upside scenario reaches $83,466.

Anchoring the range in named programs, Air Transportation graduates earn a median of $91,648 four years after completion, while among the largest programs, Psychology sits at $48,346.

Four years after completion, the median earnings of Eastern Michigan University graduates stand at $59,616, measured among 3,960 completers in the four-year earnings cohort. That median runs below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $1,682 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome that places the university in the 61st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth's earnings scenarios, anchored on the university's program mix, range from a downside of $46,334 to an upside of $83,466.

An estimated 28.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The earnings picture is mixed: a median that runs below the peer benchmark coincides with outcomes that exceed the model's expectation.

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.