Oakland University Outcomes: $69K Median Earnings (2026)

How much do Oakland University graduates earn?

The reported median is $68,708 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $3,098 per year.

Graduates of Oakland University earn about $9,659 more than expects for similar students, a result in the 82nd 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 $7,416.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $2,243. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,799.

Four years after completion, the median earnings for completers reach $68,708, which places the university in the 74th percentile nationally. That figure is above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $3,098.

Azimuth ranks the return at the 78th percentile. Earnings that beat both the model's expectation and the peer median point to a solid return for graduates of this public university.

Earnings at Oakland University vary widely with the program a student chooses. The downside earnings scenario, estimated from the program mix, is $47,954 four years after completion, while the upside scenario reaches $91,695.

The highest-earning programs are in engineering. Industrial Engineering graduates earn a median of $102,222, and Electrical Engineering graduates earn $99,967.

Mechanical Engineering, a larger program at 173 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $97,444.

An estimated 28.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. That share sits outside the four-year earnings snapshot, which counts only completers who are working and not enrolled.

A reader weighing the median should keep that in mind: a portion of the cohort is building additional credentials rather than earning a salary.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $68,708
Rank for difference from expectations: 82nd percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Oakland University reported median: $68,708
Peer schools comparable schools · $3,098 below Oakland University: $65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $9,659 below Oakland University: $59,049

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: $47,954
Median · reported: $68,708
Higher estimate: $91,695

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 Oakland 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.

Oakland University graduates’ reported earnings are $9,659 above that expectation, the 82nd 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 Oakland University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Oakland University report the highest earnings?

Oakland University's largest programs span fields with markedly different earnings four years after completion. Nursing, the most awarded field at 520 degrees, shows a median of $81,667 and an Azimuth national rank of #178.

Computer and Information Sciences reaches $90,737 with 176 degrees awarded and a national rank of #90. The highest-earning programs are concentrated in engineering.

Industrial Engineering tops the list at $102,222, though it awarded only 28 degrees. Mechanical Engineering, a larger program with 173 degrees awarded, earns a median of $97,444 and ranks #52 nationally.

By contrast, Psychology, with 198 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $45,141, illustrating the spread between higher- and moderate-earning fields at the university.

Oakland University publishes earnings data for 40 bachelor's programs, 32 of which hold an Azimuth national rank. The largest, Nursing, awarded 520 degrees and its completers earn a median of $81,667 four years after completion.

It ranks #178 nationally and #3 in Michigan. Among the best-ranked programs, Public Health sits at #8 nationally with 25 degrees awarded and median earnings of $85,266.

Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences ranks #17 nationally, awarding 246 degrees and showing a median of $54,767. Human Resources Management and Services follows at #21, with 183 degrees awarded and median earnings of $70,347.

The highest-earning programs are led by Industrial Engineering at $102,222 and Electrical Engineering at $99,967, which ranks #77 nationally.

Further analysis

Graduates in Industrial Engineering earn the highest median among programs, $102,222 four years after completion, while graduates in Psychology, the lowest-earning among the largest programs, earn $45,141. These figures illustrate earnings scenarios tied to the program mix that run from $47,954 to $91,695, with $68,708 as the typical outcome, revealing how much earnings vary by field.

Four years after completion, the median earnings for Oakland University's completers who are working and not enrolled stand at $68,708, measured among a four-year earnings cohort of 4,492 completers. That figure is above the median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size), placing the university in the 74th percentile nationally.

Completers earn about $9,659 more than the model expects for similar students. That difference ranks in the 82nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome that matches the observed median, with a downside scenario of $47,954 and an upside scenario reaching $91,695. An estimated 28.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from 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.