College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

University at Buffalo Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do UB graduates earn?

The reported median is $71,430 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $5,820 per year.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $71,430. That is $5,820 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and sits at the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $3,496 more than expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 67th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,546. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,050.

Azimuth places the return at the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios range from $51,337 on the downside to $93,143 on the upside, with $71,430 as the typical scenario. These are estimates from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $109,221 four years after completion, from 33 degrees awarded a year. Computer Science follows at $105,160, with 269 degrees awarded.

The range shows that program choice matters considerably within the wider earnings picture.

An estimated 33.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because the four-year earnings figures count only those working and not enrolled, the median earnings snapshot leaves out a substantial share of completers who are still in school.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$71,430
Rank for difference from expectations
67th percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
UB reported median
$71,430
Peer schools comparable schools · $5,820 below UB
$65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $3,496 below UB
$67,934

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?

The planning scenarios range from $51,337 to $93,143, around the reported median of $71,430. Compare the lower scenario with UB 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
$51,337
Median · reported
$71,430
Higher estimate
$93,143

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 UB 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.

UB graduates’ reported earnings are $3,496 above that expectation, the 67th 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 UB 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.
+$7,546
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$4,050
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$3,496

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

Which fields at UB report the highest earnings?

The University at Buffalo awards bachelor's degrees across 40 fields with published four-year earnings, and Azimuth ranks 36 of them nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. The highest-earning program, Computer Engineering, shows a median of $109,221 four years after completion, though it awarded only 33 degrees.

Computer Science follows at $105,160 with 269 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #81. Business Administration and Management, the biggest by degrees awarded at 794, reports median earnings of $69,903 and an Azimuth national rank of #99.

Psychology reaches $52,303 with 632 degrees awarded and ranks #98 nationally. The spread between a technical field like Computer Science and a social science like Psychology shows the range of earnings outcomes across the university's largest programs.

University at Buffalo fields 36 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, with earnings data published for 40 fields. The largest, Business Administration and Management, awarded 794 degrees and ranks #99 nationally, with a median of $69,903 four years after completion.

Computer Science awarded 269 degrees and shows the highest earnings among the large programs at $105,160, ranking #81 nationally. The university's best-ranked program is Environmental Design, which holds a national rank of #7 with 76 degrees awarded and a median of $49,920.

Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences follows at #12 nationally, awarding 100 degrees and reporting a median of $66,880. Social Sciences rounds out the top three, ranked #14 with 182 degrees awarded and a median of $56,257.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Computer Engineering
$109,221
Computer Science
$105,160
Chemical Engineering
$95,424
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
$95,209
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$93,507
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering
$92,360
Accounting and Related Services
$92,314
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions
$89,223

Explore UB program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Earnings at University at Buffalo depend heavily on field, and earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix make the spread concrete. The downside earnings scenario is $51,337, the typical scenario is $71,430, and the upside scenario reaches $93,143.

At the high end, Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $109,221 four years after completion; at the low end among the largest programs, Psychology sits at $52,303.

University at Buffalo graduates earn a median of $71,430 four years after completing their degrees. That is $5,820 above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The earnings cohort includes 4,809 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That median sits at the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $3,496 more than the model expects for similar students. That result is at the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $51,337 on the downside to $93,143 on the upside, with the typical scenario at $71,430. An estimated 33.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on 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.