Graduate earnings are in line with similar institutions.
What graduates earn 10 years after enrollment.
Annual salary at 10 years
Lower quartile earnings
Upper quartile earnings
How graduate earnings grow in the decade after enrollment.
Texas Tech graduates demonstrate steady earnings growth from early to mid-career, with median earnings increasing from $52,588 six years after enrollment to $57,570 at eight years and $62,454 at ten years. This represents 18.8% growth between the six-year and ten-year marks, indicating consistent career advancement.
How outcomes compare to similar institutions.
Graduate earnings align with peer institutions — outcomes are in line with similar schools.
Financial justification for the investment.
Healthy debt burden. Most graduates can manage $21,500 in debt with typical earnings.
Median student debt of $21,500 places Texas Tech slightly above the peer median of $20,000, resulting in $1,500 higher borrowing than similar institutions. Debt ranges from $7,000 at the 25th percentile to $26,000 at the 75th percentile, indicating significant variation in borrowing patterns among graduates.
Texas Tech's return index ranks at the 76.6th percentile nationally, reflecting well above average performance in translating educational investment into career outcomes. Graduates earn $198 beyond expectations compared to students with similar backgrounds at other institutions, placing Texas Tech in the 56.9th percentile for earnings uplift.
Approximately 25.3% of Texas Tech graduates continue to graduate or professional study, with high confidence in this estimate based on program mix ana...
Program mix explains much of the earnings story.
Artificial Intelligence leads earnings outcomes at $91,795, followed by Banking and Financial Support Services at $83,160 and Mechanical Engineering at $81,351. These high-earning programs contrast with liberal arts fields like Psychology ($42,334) and Biology ($43,555), reflecting typical labor market patterns across disciplines.
The program diversity supports different career paths, from immediate high-earning technical roles to preparation for graduate study. Family and Consumer Sciences demonstrates exceptional value performance despite moderate earnings, ranking #2 nationally with strong debt-to-earnings ratios.
See which programs drive the strongest earnings and career trajectories
Earnings outcomes show meaningful variation, with the gap between the 25th percentile ($41,009) and 75th percentile ($91,778) representing a 2.2:1 ratio that reflects differences in program choice and career paths. Low-income graduates earn $60,200, demonstrating strong mobility potential for students from lower-income backgrounds.
