Degrees of Deception: UW–Madison Leads Where Earnings Matter Most

Junjie Guo and Ananth Seshadri

Executive Summary:

  • A recent report shows that UW–Madison graduates have the fourth highest median earnings among all postsecondary institutions in Wisconsin, behind Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), Marquette University and Bellin College.
  • This masks the significant variation in earnings across fields of study and the significant variation in fields of study offered by different institutions.
  • Across all postsecondary institutions in Wisconsin, UW–Madison graduates have the highest earnings in 48 out of the 72 fields of study where earnings data for recent graduates are available from the U.S. Department of Education.
  • More importantly, UW–Madison graduates have the highest earnings in all 15 fields of study whose median earnings are above $96,000.
  • For most fields of study, median earnings are higher among UW–Madison graduates than both Marquette and MSOE.
  • Because UW–Madison’s tuition is much lower than both Marquette and MSOE, the higher earnings imply that the return to a bachelor’s degree at UW–Madison is much higher than those at both Marquette and MSOE.
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