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Career outcomes brief

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# University of Notre Dame Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated October 1, 2026

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

**On this page**+

## How much do Notre Dame graduates earn?

The reported median is $100,684 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is $32,434 per year.

Four years after completion, graduates of University of Notre Dame earn a median of $100,684, a figure in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That median runs above the peer median of $68,250 among comparable institutions (same type and size) by $32,434, placing the return pillar in the 97th percentile.

Graduates earn about $10,882 less than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 17th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $13,422.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $24,304. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,485.

The university's median earnings sit well above the peer benchmark while the model finds a shortfall against expectations, a split that reflects the institution's effect beyond its program mix.

The median earnings figure of $100,684 four years after completion masks considerable variation across fields, which the earnings scenarios make plain. The downside earnings scenario sits at $62,760 while the upside scenario reaches $141,263.

These scenarios are built from the program mix, not observed percentiles, and the spread reflects the distance between the university's lower-earning and higher-earning program clusters. The highest-earning programs show what sits at the upper end of that spread.

Finance completers earn a median of $160,313 four years after graduating, Computer and Information Sciences graduates reach $142,970, and Management Science completers earn $124,557.

An estimated 34.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, so those continuing their education are outside that snapshot.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$100,684

**Rank for difference from expectations**
17th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Notre Dame reported median**
$100,684

**Peer schools comparable schools · $32,434 below Notre Dame**
$68,250

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $10,882 above Notre Dame**
$111,566

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](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

## How many Notre Dame first-year students return?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2025-26

**Returned the following fall**
98.0%

Source: University of Notre Dame Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention.

## How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $62,760 to $141,263, around the reported median of $100,684. Compare the lower scenario with [Notre Dame borrowing and monthly payments](/school/university-of-notre-dame/cost/) 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**
$62,760

**Median · reported**
$100,684

**Higher estimate**
$141,263

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](/analysis/median-roi-hides-a-harsh-reality/) explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. [Read about the move to four-year earnings](/analysis/college-scorecard-2026-4-year-vs-10-year-earnings-2-2/).

## Do Notre Dame 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](/methodology/#value-added).

Notre Dame graduates’ reported earnings are $10,882 below that expectation, the 17th 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 Notre Dame caused a student to earn. [Read how expected earnings are estimated](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

What explains value-added earnings?

**Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.**
+$13,422

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$24,304

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
\-$10,882

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

## Which fields at Notre Dame report the highest earnings?

The five largest programs at University of Notre Dame span a wide earnings range four years after completion. Finance is the biggest, awarding 260 degrees a year, and [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) it #3 nationally within its field.

Its median earnings of $160,313 sit at the top of the range. Computer and Information Sciences awards 140 degrees a year and posts median earnings of $142,970.

Economics, at 245 degrees awarded, reports $122,637 and an Azimuth national rank of #26. At the lower end, Political Science is the lowest-earning of the five largest programs, with $94,297 across 177 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks it #10 nationally within its field. The contrast between the highest- and lowest-earning large programs here is sharp.

The university's strongest programs span business, sciences, and the arts, with 28 fields holding an Azimuth national rank. Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft leads the nation at #1, with 68 degrees awarded and a median of $64,880 four years after completion.

The largest program, Finance, awarded 260 degrees and ranks #3 nationally, with completers earning a median of $160,313. Economics ranks #26 nationally with 245 degrees awarded and a median of $122,637.

Biological and Physical Sciences holds a national rank of #2, awarded 57 degrees, and reports a median of $102,801.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Finance and Financial Management Services**
$160,313

**Computer and Information Sciences, General**
$142,970

**Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods**
$124,557

**Mathematics and Statistics, Other**
$123,663

**Management Information Systems and Services**
$122,821

**Economics**
$122,637

**Accounting and Related Services**
$115,909

**Chemical Engineering**
$113,614

[Explore Notre Dame program cohorts and field ranks](/school/university-of-notre-dame/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix show how earnings vary by field. The downside earnings scenario sits at $62,760, the typical scenario at $100,684, and the upside scenario reaches $141,263.

Anchoring the range in named programs, Finance graduates earn a median of $160,313 four years after completion, while Political Science, the lowest-earning among the largest programs, sits at $94,297. The spread between the downside and upside scenarios reflects the substantial variation across the university's fields, with the highest-earning programs pulling the typical outcome well above the lower end.

Among federally aided graduates of University of Notre Dame who are working and not enrolled, median earnings four years after completion are $100,684. That is $32,434 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The earnings cohort includes 1,877 completers, placing that median in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $10,882 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap in the 17th percentile. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $62,760 on the downside to $141,263 on the upside, with $100,684 as the typical outcome.

An estimated 34.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix. [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) the university #51 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

## 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/).