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Career outcomes brief

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# Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated September 30, 2026

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

**On this page**+

## How much do Penn State graduates earn?

The reported median is $76,659 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $11,049 per year.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $76,659, in the 85th percentile nationally. That is $11,049 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $432 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That places the gap at the 53rd percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $16,063. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $16,495.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 81st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The range from the downside to the upside earnings scenario spans $53,559 to $101,983, reflecting the spread of modeled outcomes across the university's program clusters. Individual program earnings illustrate the variation: Computer and Information Sciences completers earn a median of $120,729 four years after completion, while Psychology completers earn $49,543.

Finance graduates earn a median of $96,714 four years after finishing. The university's median earnings sit above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

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**
$76,659

**Rank for difference from expectations**
53rd percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Penn State reported median**
$76,659

**Peer schools comparable schools · $11,049 below Penn State**
$65,610

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $432 above Penn State**
$77,091

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 could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $53,559 to $101,983, around the reported median of $76,659. Compare the lower scenario with [Penn State borrowing and monthly payments](/school/pennsylvania-state-university-main-campus/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**
$53,559

**Median · reported**
$76,659

**Higher estimate**
$101,983

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 Penn State 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).

Penn State graduates’ reported earnings are $432 below that expectation, the 53rd 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 Penn State 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.**
+$16,063

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$16,495

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
\-$432

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

## Which fields at Penn State report the highest earnings?

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus fields 80 ranked bachelor's programs, and the earnings spread across its largest fields is wide. Computer and Information Sciences leads with a median of $120,729 four years after completion, ranking #24 nationally in the field on 395 degrees awarded.

Finance follows at $96,714 and an Azimuth national rank of #40, with 449 degrees awarded. Further down the earnings scale, Psychology reports a median of $49,543 and ranks #197 nationally, on 427 degrees awarded.

Information Science/Studies sits between the highest and moderate earners at $91,671, ranking #14 nationally with 448 degrees awarded. The contrast between the highest- and lowest-earning fields shows the range of earnings four years after completion at the university.

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus offers 80 ranked bachelor's programs, with 88 programs reporting earnings data. The largest programs by degrees awarded are Finance (449 degrees awarded, median earnings $96,714 four years after completion), Information Science/Studies (448 degrees awarded, $91,671), and Psychology (427 degrees awarded, $49,543).

Several programs hold top national ranks. Biological and Biomedical Sciences ranks #2 nationally with median earnings of $81,617 and 338 degrees awarded.

Architectural Engineering also ranks #2 nationally, earning $94,483 from 92 degrees awarded. Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services ranks #2 nationally, with median earnings of $104,205 and 80 degrees awarded.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Computer and Information Sciences, General**
$120,729

**Petroleum Engineering**
$113,669

**Computer Engineering**
$112,269

**Industrial Engineering**
$104,758

**Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other**
$104,205

**Chemical Engineering**
$103,728

**Engineering, Other**
$102,134

**Biomedical/Medical Engineering**
$100,416

[Explore Penn State program cohorts and field ranks](/school/pennsylvania-state-university-main-campus/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix show a downside of $53,559, a typical outcome of $76,659, and an upside of $101,983. Anchoring the range in named programs, Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn a median of $120,729 four years after completion, while Psychology, the lowest-earning among the largest programs, sits at $49,543.

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus records a median of $76,659 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That is $11,049 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size), which is $65,610.

The figure falls in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, measured from a cohort of 18,590 completers. Graduates earn about $432 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

That outcome sits at the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $53,559 on the downside to $101,983 on the upside, with $76,659 as the typical case.

An estimated 28.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix. The median is above the peer median, yet graduates earn effectively what the model expects.

## 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/).