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Programs & majors brief

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# University of Iowa Majors & Programs

Updated October 1, 2026

[Overview](/school/university-of-iowa/)[Cost & aid](/school/university-of-iowa/cost/)[Outcomes](/school/university-of-iowa/outcomes/)[Admissions](/school/university-of-iowa/admissions/)Majors[Similar schools](/school/university-of-iowa/similar/)

**On this page**+

## Which majors earn the most at University of Iowa?

The University of Iowa's largest programs span a wide earnings range, from higher-earning fields to those closer to the national median. Finance, with 379 degrees awarded, shows a median of $88,229 four years after completion and an Azimuth national rank of #53.

Marketing follows at $81,994 on 234 degrees, ranking #39 nationally. On the moderate-earning side, Kinesiology and Physical Education awards the most degrees at 511 and earns a median of $61,732, with an Azimuth national rank of #30.

Business Administration and Management reaches $67,605 on 245 degrees and ranks #169. The spread illustrates the earnings range across these fields.

### Major mix · each dot ≈ 1% of completions

Share of reported completions in the bachelor’s programs included here. Each dot represents approximately 1% of those completions. Counts are credentials, not unique students; excluded programs are not zero activity.

-   Business**1,304 · 23.6%**
-   Parks and recreation**566 · 10.3%**
-   Interdisciplinary studies**474 · 8.6%**
-   Health professions**449 · 8.1%**
-   Social sciences**417 · 7.6%**
-   Other**2,305 · 41.8%**

Find a field

Sort programsLargest programsHighest four-year earningsBest national field rankProgram name

65 of 65 programs shown

Four-year earnings · first six matching programs

**Statistics 29 degrees awarded**
$123,676

**Chemical Engineering 40 degrees awarded**
$97,329

**Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering 35 degrees awarded**
$97,208

**Industrial Engineering 29 degrees awarded**
$95,347

**Accounting and Related Services 103 degrees awarded**
$92,767

**Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods 201 degrees awarded**
$91,720

Each bar is a field’s median. Program size counts degrees awarded, not unique people or the earnings sample.

Compare all matching programs

Reported bachelor’s programs · earnings, program size and field ranks

| Program | Degrees awarded | 4-yr earnings | Field rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Statistics | 29 | $123,676 | #9 |
| Chemical Engineering | 40 | $97,329 | #86 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 35 | $97,208 | #154 |
| Industrial Engineering | 29 | $95,347 | #45 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 103 | $92,767 | #54 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | 201 | $91,720 | #29 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 89 | $89,078 | #171 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | 37 | $88,264 | #138 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 379 | $88,229 | #53 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | 92 | $86,894 | #80 |
| Civil Engineering | 41 | $83,350 | #138 |
| Mathematics | 65 | $82,411 | #59 |
| Marketing | 234 | $81,994 | #39 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 240 | $78,836 | #234 |
| Human Resources Management and Services | 142 | $77,659 | #14 |
| Economics | 109 | $76,746 | #117 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | 45 | $68,601 | #52 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | 109 | $67,760 | #15 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 245 | $67,605 | #169 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services | 75 | $66,377 | #29 |
| Political Science and Government | 117 | $65,923 | #99 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | 31 | $65,072 | #59 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 511 | $61,732 | #30 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | 183 | $61,200 | #32 |
| Criminology | 86 | $60,947 | #10 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 182 | $60,737 | #74 |
| Biology, General | 103 | $60,450 | #163 |
| Chemistry | 34 | $60,227 | #123 |
| Dance small degree count | 16 | $60,188 | — |
| Geography and Cartography small degree count | 10 | $59,578 | — |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 70 | $59,071 | #55 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies | 55 | $57,098 | #12 |
| Journalism | 98 | $56,933 | #40 |
| Philosophy | 25 | $56,786 | #39 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 51 | $54,530 | #66 |
| Sociology | 42 | $54,464 | #128 |
| Social Work | 51 | $52,451 | #112 |
| English Language and Literature, General | 44 | $51,679 | #129 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 113 | $51,338 | #96 |
| Music | 49 | $50,180 | #40 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | 52 | $47,892 | #32 |
| International/Globalization Studies | 23 | $47,421 | #43 |
| History | 65 | $46,819 | #189 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies small degree count | 11 | $46,063 | — |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 106 | $43,192 | #89 |
| Area Studies small degree count | 11 | $43,083 | — |
| Anthropology | 23 | $42,549 | #109 |
| English Language and Literature/Letters, Other | 134 | $40,434 | #3 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | 41 | $30,231 | #135 |
| Computer Science | 96 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 81 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Computer Engineering | 68 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services small degree count | 11 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics small degree count | 8 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences | 47 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology | 29 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Behavioral Sciences | 315 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General small degree count | 15 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Data Science small degree count | 7 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Classical and Ancient Studies small degree count | 5 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Religion/Religious Studies small degree count | 10 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences small degree count | 15 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Physics small degree count | 13 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| International Relations and National Security Studies | 30 | Too few graduates to report | — |
| Public Health | 89 | Too few graduates to report | — |

[Program data and definitions](#page-sources) · [How to evaluate program rankings](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/)

## What are the largest programs at University of Iowa?

Ten largest programs by degrees awarded

**Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness**
511

**Finance and Financial Management Services**
379

**Behavioral Sciences**
315

**Business Administration, Management and Operations**
245

**Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing**
240

**Marketing**
234

**Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods**
201

**Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities**
183

**Communication and Media Studies**
182

**Human Resources Management and Services**
142

Counts describe degrees awarded in the reporting period, not current enrollment. [Program data and definitions](#page-sources)

## How do University of Iowa majors rank nationally?

### National program rankings

1.  English Language and Literature/Letters, Other**#3**
2.  Statistics**#9**
3.  Criminology**#10**
4.  Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies**#12**
5.  Human Resources Management and Services**#14**
6.  Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other**#15**
7.  Communication Disorders Sciences and Services**#29**
8.  Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods**#29**
9.  Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness**#30**
10.  Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities**#32**
11.  Film/Video and Photographic Arts**#32**
12.  Philosophy**#39**
13.  Marketing**#39**
14.  Journalism**#40**
15.  Music**#40**
16.  International/Globalization Studies**#43**
17.  Industrial Engineering**#45**

Programs ranked in the national top 50, supplemented by the largest ranked programs when needed to show ten. Fewer appear when fewer ranks are reported. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

[How Azimuth compares programs across colleges](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/)

## Further analysis

Outcomes at University of Iowa depend heavily on the field a student chooses, and [Azimuth's program ranking](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/)s evaluate four-year earnings among completers, debt, and cohort size rather than reputation. The university has 45 ranked programs, with earnings data published for 49 fields.

The degree mix is led by Business, which accounts for 23.6% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Parks, Recreation & Fitness at 10.3% and Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies at 8.6%. The largest single program is Kinesiology and Physical Education, with 511 degrees awarded and a median of $61,732 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #30 nationally and #1 in Iowa. The best-paid program is a much smaller one: Statistics completers earn a median of $123,676 four years after completion, from 29 degrees a year.

English Language and Literature/Letters carries the strongest national rank at #3, though its median earnings sit at $40,434, a reminder that Azimuth's ranking weights debt and cohort size alongside pay.

## 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/).