College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

George Mason University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do GMU graduates earn?

The reported median is $78,425 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $12,815 per year.

Median earnings for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled at George Mason University reach $78,425 four years after completion. That figure is in the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer median for comparable institutions same type and size is $65,610, and the university sits above that mark by $12,815. Completers earn about $13,320 more than expects for similar students, a performance in the 89th percentile nationally.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,114. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $3,206.

The return falls in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $57,368 on the downside to $108,251 on the upside. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

At the top end, Homeland Security graduates earn $143,972 four years after completion, from 122 degrees awarded a year. Computer Engineering follows at $117,942, and the largest program on campus, Computer and Information Sciences, reports $110,754 from 757 degrees a year. The range across programs is wide.

An estimated 28.0% 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, those continuing their education are outside that earnings snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$78,425
Rank for difference from expectations
89th percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
GMU reported median
$78,425
Peer schools comparable schools · $12,815 below GMU
$65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $13,320 below GMU
$65,105

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 many GMU students return and finish their degrees?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2024-25
Completed within six years
68.0%
Pell recipients completed within six years
64.0%

Source: George Mason University Common Data Set 2024-25, B4–B11 six-year completion.

How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $57,368 to $108,251, around the reported median of $78,425. Compare the lower scenario with GMU 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
$57,368
Median · reported
$78,425
Higher estimate
$108,251

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 GMU 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.

GMU graduates’ reported earnings are $13,320 above that expectation, the 89th 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 GMU 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.
+$10,114
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$3,206
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$13,320

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

Which fields at GMU report the highest earnings?

George Mason University fields 48 ranked bachelor's programs, and the highest-earning among them reach well into six figures four years after completion. Homeland Security tops the list at $143,972, though it awarded 122 degrees.

Computer Engineering follows at $117,942 with 32 degrees awarded, and Systems Engineering reaches $114,815 alongside 25 degrees awarded. The largest program, Computer and Information Sciences, awarded 757 degrees and shows median earnings of $110,754, ranking #22 nationally in its field.

Management Science earned $97,049 with 371 degrees awarded and an Azimuth field rank of #16. In more moderate-earning fields, Psychology awarded 405 degrees and reports median earnings of $62,563, while Criminal Justice reached $69,511 on 329 degrees awarded, ranking #4 in its field.

George Mason University offers 48 bachelor's programs with an Azimuth national rank, and earnings data are available for 50 fields. The largest program, Computer and Information Sciences, awarded 757 degrees and ranks #22 nationally, with a median of $110,754 four years after completion.

Psychology awarded 405 degrees and ranks #25 nationally, while Management Science awarded 371 degrees and ranks #16. The top-ranked program in the university's portfolio is Homeland Security, which holds the #1 spot in its field and shows median earnings of $143,972 on 122 degrees awarded.

Visual and Performing Arts ranks #2 nationally, and Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution ranks #3.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Homeland Security
$143,972
Computer Engineering
$117,942
Systems Engineering
$114,815
Computer and Information Sciences, General
$110,754
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
$103,074
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
$97,049
Mechanical Engineering
$96,467
Physics
$96,138

Explore GMU program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Earnings vary considerably by field, a pattern captured in earnings scenarios built from the university's program mix. The downside earnings scenario sits at $57,368, the typical scenario at $78,425, and the upside scenario at $108,251.

Anchoring the range in named programs, the highest-earning field, Homeland Security, reaches $143,972, while among the largest programs Liberal Arts and General Studies lands at $61,100.

Four years after completing a bachelor's degree, federally aided graduates of George Mason University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $78,425. That amount is $12,815 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size), which is $65,610.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that figure falls at the 87th percentile, based on a cohort of 7,152 completers. Graduates earn about $13,320 more than the model expects for similar students.

That outcome sits at the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $57,368 on the downside to $108,251 on the upside.

The typical earnings scenario lands at $78,425. An estimated 28.0% of graduates continue on to graduate study, based on the program mix.

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.