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.
Nebraska-Lincoln graduates experience steady earnings growth throughout their early careers. Median earnings begin at $47,692 six years after enrollment, rise to $53,022 at eight years, and reach $56,887 at the ten-year mark, representing 19.3% growth from the six-year measurement.
How outcomes compare to similar institutions.
Graduate earnings fall below the peer average for similar institutions.
Financial justification for the investment.
Healthy debt burden. Most graduates can manage $21,000 in debt with typical earnings.
Nebraska-Lincoln graduates carry median debt levels of $21,000, slightly above the peer median of $20,000 but within reasonable ranges for a four-year degree. Student debt distribution ranges from $5,500 at the 25th percentile to $25,392 at the 75th percentile, indicating that one-quarter of graduates complete their degrees with minimal borrowing while another quarter carries debt loads approaching $25,400.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln achieves above average return on investment, ranking at the 65.70th percentile nationally. Graduates earn $56,887 ten years after enrollment, placing in the 62nd percentile nationally, while carrying manageable debt loads of $21,000.
Approximately 23.9% of Nebraska-Lincoln graduates continue to graduate or professional study, based on high-confidence program mix analysis. This con...
Program mix explains much of the earnings story.
Program-level earnings at Nebraska-Lincoln show substantial variation across academic disciplines, with engineering and specialized business programs leading outcomes. Artificial Intelligence graduates earn $86,925, while Mechanical Engineering produces $77,056 earnings, both substantially exceeding the institutional median.
Banking and Financial Support Services graduates earn $69,641, demonstrating strong performance in specialized business fields. Traditional programs like Business Administration ($55,234) and Psychology ($45,176) produce more modest outcomes closer to institutional averages.
See which programs drive the strongest earnings and career trajectories
Earnings outcomes at Nebraska-Lincoln span from $40,131 at the 25th percentile to $80,043 at the 75th percentile, creating a 2.0:1 ratio between top and bottom quartiles. Low-income graduates achieve particularly strong outcomes at $49,400, ranking in the top 25% nationally and indicating effective economic mobility support.
