Harvey Mudd No. 1 in PayScale Salary Report

Share story

Harvey Mudd College ranked No. 1 for the third year in a row for highest mid-career salaries among U.S. college and university graduates with a bachelor’s degree only, according to PayScale’s 2019-20 College Salary Report.

The ranking is based on salaries of alumni who pursued careers with a bachelor’s degree as their final degree. “Mid-career” is defined as 10 or more years of experience in a field.

Harvey Mudd topped the list with a median mid-career salary of $158,200. Coming in second was MIT, followed by Samuel Merritt University, the U.S. Naval Academy, and Caltech respectively. Harvey Mudd has held the No. 1 spot five times over the past seven years.

“Harvey Mudd’s curriculum was developed not to help graduates earn high salaries but to prepare them to become problem-solvers able to tackle the world’s challenges,” said Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid Thyra Briggs. “We provide a rigorous math and science education in a broader liberal arts context, which gives our students not only the skills and knowledge to solve demanding technical problems, but also the ability to communicate clearly, work in teams and think across disciplines. This combination of traits may distinguish our students from other high-level math and science graduates and make them attractive to employers and graduate schools.”

In PayScale’s most recent College ROI Report, a separate report published in the spring, Harvey Mudd ranked No. 6 for overall college return on investment. The College held the No. 1 spot in PayScale’s College ROI Report for four years straight, from 2012 to 2015.