Sam Houston State University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $57,044, in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That is $8,566 below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $4,840 more than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 71st percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,640. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $2,800. Azimuth places the university at the 50th percentile for return.

Earnings vary substantially by field at Sam Houston State University. The downside and upside earnings scenarios range from $46,564 to $74,481, rather than describing observed groups of graduates.

At the higher end, Computer and Information Sciences completers have median earnings of $96,727 four years after completion; Construction Engineering Technology/Technician completers earn $93,904, and Nursing completers earn $91,697. Those field outcomes help explain the breadth of the earnings scenarios.

Further study should be considered when reading the earnings figure. An estimated 24.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, so they describe graduates outside further study at that point.

Program choice matters here: Construction Engineering Technology/Technician and Nursing sit at the higher-earning end of the featured fields four years after completion. Construction Engineering Technology/Technician has median earnings of $93,904 and 69 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #15 nationally within its field among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Nursing reports $91,697 in median earnings with 154 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #140 nationally within its field among nonprofit four-year institutions. More moderate earnings appear in Music, at $58,743 with 48 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks it #10 nationally within its field among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Psychology records $47,659 and 243 degrees awarded, with an Azimuth national field rank of #225 among nonprofit four-year institutions. The contrast between these fields makes the earnings picture depend substantially on the program selected.

Dance gives the program roster its highest national placement, and Sam Houston State University has 36 ranked programs alongside earnings data for 46 programs. Azimuth ranks Dance #8 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field; it awarded 27 degrees and its completers earn $48,568 four years after completion.

Agriculture ranks #8 nationally in its field, awarded 22 degrees, and has median earnings of $60,598 four years after completion. Graphic Communications ranks #10 nationally, with 53 degrees awarded and $42,579 in median earnings at the same point.

These fields show that national program standing and earnings vary considerably across the university’s offerings.