College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

University of South Florida Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do USF graduates earn?

The reported median is $62,079 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is -$3,531 per year.

Azimuth ranks University of South Florida #920 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,813 less than expects for similar students, a figure in the 37th percentile nationally.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,459. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $16,272.

The STEM component adds $2,750 of the measured factors. Four years after completion, completers who are working and not enrolled show median earnings of $62,079, in the 57th percentile.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) post a peer median of $65,610, so the university sits below by $3,531.

The earnings scenarios for University of South Florida span from a downside of $47,261 to an upside of $85,320, reflecting the range of outcomes associated with the university's program mix. The highest-earning programs shape the upside scenario.

Computer Engineering completers earn a median of $109,054 four years after completion, while Electrical Engineering alumni earn $102,275. The largest program, Biology, shows median earnings of $49,395.

An estimated 33.4% 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, this estimate indicates that a sizable portion of completers may be building additional human capital outside the earnings snapshot.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$62,079
Rank for difference from expectations
37th percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
USF reported median
$62,079
Peer schools comparable schools · $3,531 above USF
$65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $4,813 above USF
$66,892

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 many USF students return and finish their degrees?

First-time, full-time bachelor’s cohorts · CDS 2025-26
Returned the following fall
91.0%
Completed within six years
78.0%
Pell recipients completed within six years
77.0%

Source: University of South Florida Common Data Set 2025-26, B22 retention; B4–B11 six-year completion. Retention and completion follow different entering cohorts.

How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $47,261 to $85,320, around the reported median of $62,079. Compare the lower scenario with USF 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
$47,261
Median · reported
$62,079
Higher estimate
$85,320

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 USF 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.

USF graduates’ reported earnings are $4,813 below that expectation, the 37th 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 USF 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.
+$11,459
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$16,272
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$4,813

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

Which fields at USF report the highest earnings?

The University of South Florida's highest-earning bachelor's programs are concentrated in engineering and computing. Computer Engineering leads at $109,054 four years after completion, with 52 degrees awarded.

Electrical Engineering follows at $102,275 and 95 degrees awarded, and Chemical Engineering at $94,387 with 111 degrees awarded. Among the university's largest programs, Nursing reaches $84,694 and ranks #136 nationally in its field, on 497 degrees awarded.

By contrast, Biology, the largest program by degrees awarded at 1,249, shows median earnings of $49,395 and an Azimuth national rank of #222. Health Sciences, with 1,044 degrees awarded, earns $56,452 and ranks #28 nationally.

The university has 45 ranked bachelor's programs, with 53 reporting four-year earnings data. The five largest programs by degrees awarded are Biology (1,249 degrees awarded, ranked #222 nationally), Health Sciences (1,044 degrees awarded, ranked #28), Psychology (811 degrees awarded, ranked #185), Nursing (497 degrees awarded, ranked #136), and Criminology (427 degrees awarded, ranked #20).

The programs with the highest four-year median earnings are Computer Engineering at $109,054, Electrical Engineering at $102,275, and Chemical Engineering at $94,387. The best nationally ranked programs include Human Services at #15, Criminology at #20, and Health Sciences at #28.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Computer Engineering
$109,054
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
$102,275
Chemical Engineering
$94,387
Computer and Information Sciences, General
$90,953
Industrial Engineering
$90,040
Mechanical Engineering
$88,249
Civil Engineering
$84,789
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$84,694

Explore USF program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix show how earnings vary by field: a downside of $47,261, a typical outcome of $62,079, and an upside reaching $85,320. Among the largest programs, Nursing reaches $84,694 at the high end, while Psychology sits at $47,257 at the lower end.

Four years after graduating, University of South Florida completers earn a median of $62,079, a figure that places the university in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings cohort numbers 9,905 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

Graduates earn about $4,813 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios, which reflect the university's program mix, show a typical outcome of $62,079, a downside scenario of $47,261, and an upside scenario of $85,320.

An estimated 33.4% of the university's graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from 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.