Career outcomes brief
University of Illinois Chicago Career Outcomes & Earnings
How many UIC students return and finish their degrees?
How much do UIC graduates earn?
University of Illinois Chicago reports median earnings of $72,839 four years after completion. Its lower and higher planning estimates are $51,262 and $96,560.
The lower and higher estimates reflect different mixes of program earnings. They are not observed salary percentiles, the pay of the lowest- and highest-paid quarters of graduates, or probabilities for an individual student.
- Lower estimate
- $51,262
- Median · reported
- $72,839
- Higher estimate
- $96,560
Earnings sources and definitions
The lower estimate lets you examine a plan with less income than the school-wide median. Compare it with costs and with the fields you are considering, while keeping the modeled estimates separate from reported earnings.
Completers at University of Illinois Chicago report a median of $72,839 four years after finishing, a level in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That median is above the peer median of $65,610 by $7,229 among comparable institutions (same type and size).
Graduates earn about $20,143 more than expects for similar students, a result in the 96th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,613.
The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $8,530. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,046.
According to Azimuth, the return falls in the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The earnings scenarios for University of Illinois Chicago span from a downside of $51,262 to an upside of $96,560, a range that reflects variation across the university's program clusters. The typical earnings scenario lands at $72,839.
These scenario figures are modeled from the institutional program mix. Program-level medians four years after completion include Computer Science at $120,470, Computer Engineering at $102,691, and Electrical Engineering at $92,002.
An estimated 31.4% 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.
Earnings by field
Among University of Illinois Chicago programs with a reported four-year earnings value, the highest medians are: Computer Science ($120,470); Computer Engineering ($102,691); Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering ($92,002); Chemical Engineering ($87,407); Biomedical/Medical Engineering ($87,393). These are earnings after completion for the covered cohort.
A program median describes the middle reported outcome in that group. It is not a starting-salary offer or a prediction for every graduate, and an earnings comparison does not by itself explain why fields differ.
Compare these results with the subjects you want to study and the program’s reported award count. Awards measure degree output, not the number of people in the earnings sample.
University of Illinois Chicago's largest programs span a wide earnings range. Computer Science leads with a median of $120,470 four years after completion, alongside 328 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #55 in its field.
Nursing follows at $87,037, with 296 degrees awarded and a state-leading rank of #1 in Illinois. Further down the earnings scale, Biology and Psychology — the university's two largest fields by degrees awarded — report medians of $59,119 and $52,736, respectively.
Biology awarded 426 degrees and ranks #104 nationally, while Psychology awarded 399 degrees and ranks #102. The contrast between these moderate-earning fields and the higher-earning technical programs reflects the breadth of UIC's undergraduate offerings.
Azimuth ranks 43 bachelor's programs at University of Illinois Chicago, and earnings data are published for 47 fields. The largest program, Biology, awarded 426 degrees and holds a national rank of #104, with graduates earning a median of $59,119 four years after completion.
Computer Science is the highest-earning large program: 328 degrees awarded and a median of $120,470, ranking #55 nationally. Nursing ranks #1 in Illinois and awarded 296 degrees, with median earnings of $87,037.
The best nationally ranked program is Mathematics and Computer Science, at #4 nationally and #2 in Illinois, with 62 degrees awarded and a median of $77,321.
Do UIC graduates earn more than expected?
University of Illinois Chicago reports median earnings of $72,839 four years after completion. The reported value is $20,143 above Azimuth’s statistical expectation for the institution.
The difference compares the reported outcome with a model estimate. It does not compare matched students who attended different colleges, and it does not establish how much the institution caused earnings to change.
Read this measure alongside completion and individual program outcomes. It describes an institution-level result; it does not predict what a particular student will earn.
Read the original article: A value-added approach to college outcomes
- Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
- +$11,613
- Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
- +$8,530
- Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
- +$20,143
These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
Data & methodology
This brief combines U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data with UIC’s 2025–26 Common Data Set, checked September 10, 2026. The CDS is an official, institution-reported source, but it can contain errors. We retain reported values and flag identified inconsistencies rather than silently correcting them. Explore the complete UIC CDS guide.
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.
Four-year earnings are measured after completion for the covered federally aided cohort of people working and not enrolled. Measures taken six, eight or ten years after entry use a different starting point and should not be treated as one graduating class followed over time.
Program award counts describe credentials awarded, not current enrollment, unique graduates or earnings-sample size. Reporting periods differ across measures; the shared field definitions do not establish the exact vintage of every school-level value.
College Scorecard data and documentation · UIC Common Data Set · Model methodology
[1] How many UIC students return and finish their degrees? Retention: Fall 2024–25 · Completion: Fall 2019 entrants through August 2025. First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts. Pell completion is a subgroup of the same Fall 2019 cohort used for overall CDS completion. The retention and graduation bars follow different entering years. CDS overall and Pell graduation share a cohort definition here; other sources on the site may use different populations and years. Transfer entrants are outside this first-time cohort.