College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

George Washington University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do GWU graduates earn?

The reported median is $95,967 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $83,615 as its benchmark; the difference is $12,352 per year.

For federally aided completers working and not enrolled, $95,967 is the median earned four years after completion, placing the university's earnings in the 96th percentile. Azimuth places George Washington University's return in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Completers earn about $11,856 more than expects for similar students four years after completion. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,247. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $2,609.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $83,615; the university's earnings are $12,352 above it. The return picture mixes above-expected earnings with earnings below the peer median.

Earnings can differ widely by field at the university. Earnings scenarios run from $67,671 in the downside case to $111,369 in the upside case; these are scenarios based on the program mix, not observed graduate groups.

Among higher-earning fields, Computer Science has median earnings of $150,716, Finance has $126,638, and Systems Engineering has $120,976, all four years after completion. The field results help explain the breadth of the modeled range.

An estimated 32.7% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings cover federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, so the reported median does not include graduates who remain enrolled.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$95,967
Rank for difference from expectations
86th percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
GWU reported median
$95,967
Peer schools comparable schools · $12,352 below GWU
$83,615
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $11,856 below GWU
$84,111

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 GWU students return and finish their degrees?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2025-26
Returned the following fall
91.0%
Completed within six years
82.5%
Pell recipients completed within six years
82.1%

Source: George Washington 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 $67,671 to $111,369, around the reported median of $95,967. Compare the lower scenario with GWU 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
$67,671
Median · reported
$95,967
Higher estimate
$111,369

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 GWU 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.

GWU graduates’ reported earnings are $11,856 above that expectation, the 86th 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 GWU 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.
+$9,247
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$2,609
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$11,856

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

Which fields at GWU report the highest earnings?

George Washington University's top-ranked programs show a clear spread in four-year earnings, with Public Health at the higher end of this group. Its completers had median earnings of $87,217 four years after completion, and the program awarded 116 degrees.

Azimuth ranks it #3 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. At more moderate earnings levels, Criminal Justice recorded $80,070 and awarded 86 degrees; Azimuth ranks it #2 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences had $81,548 across 26 degrees awarded and ranks #1 nationally by Azimuth. Journalism posted $81,927 with 69 degrees awarded, ranking #1 nationally by Azimuth.

The program results span higher and more moderate earnings even among fields with strong national rankings.

Social Sciences accounts for 31.8% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and George Washington University has 28 nationally ranked fields. Earnings vary by field four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks Journalism #1 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions; it awarded 69 degrees and its completers had median earnings of $81,927 four years after completion. Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences is ranked #1, awarded 26 degrees, and had median earnings of $81,548.

Criminal Justice is ranked #2, awarded 86 degrees, and had median earnings of $80,070.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Computer Science
$150,716
Finance and Financial Management Services
$126,638
Systems Engineering
$120,976
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods
$120,730
Accounting and Related Services
$116,795
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management
$112,554
Business/Commerce, General
$107,023
Information Science/Studies
$105,145

Explore GWU program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix place the downside at $67,671, typical earnings at $95,967, and the upside at $111,369. Computer Science has median earnings of $150,716 four years after completion, while Research and Experimental Psychology is the lowest-earning among the largest programs at $72,325.

These scenarios are not observed groups, and their spread shows variation by field.

Four years after completing their degrees, federally aided graduates of George Washington University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $95,967. That median sits in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The result is drawn from a cohort of 4,296 completers. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix run from $67,671 on the downside to $111,369 on the upside.

The typical earnings scenario lands at $95,967. Based on the program mix, an estimated 32.7% of graduates continue on to graduate study. Graduates earn about $11,856 more than the model expects for similar students.

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.