Highest graduate earnings – doctoral research universities

These 50 doctoral research universities rank highest by median earnings 10 years after entry, drawn from 437 institutions with reported data in the U.S. Department of Education data for 2020-21 (Scorecard). Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) leads at $143,372.

Institutions ranked by Median earnings (10 yr).
#	Institution	Median earnings (10 yr)
1	Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMA · Private	$143,372
2	Stanford UniversityCA · Private	$124,080
3	Carnegie Mellon UniversityPA · Private	$114,862
4	University of PennsylvaniaPA · Private	$111,371
5	Princeton UniversityNJ · Private	$110,066
6	Santa Clara UniversityCA · Private	$109,183
7	Stevens Institute of TechnologyNJ · Private	$108,772
8	Lehigh UniversityPA · Private	$105,584
9	Cornell UniversityNY · Private	$104,043
10	Boston CollegeMA · Private	$103,937
11	Georgetown UniversityDC · Private	$103,494
12	Worcester Polytechnic InstituteMA · Private	$103,470
13	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main CampusGA · Public	$102,772
14	Columbia University in the City of New YorkNY · Private	$102,491
15	Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteNY · Private	$102,051
16	Harvard UniversityMA · Private	$101,817
17	Yale UniversityCT · Private	$100,533
18	Villanova UniversityPA · Private	$100,423
19	University of Notre DameIN · Private	$99,980
20	Duke UniversityNC · Private	$97,800
21	Dartmouth CollegeNH · Private	$97,434
22	Colorado School of MinesCO · Public	$97,335
23	Brown UniversityRI · Private	$93,487
24	Northeastern UniversityMA · Private	$92,538
25	Northeastern University Professional ProgramsMA · Private	$92,538
26	University of Southern CaliforniaCA · Private	$92,498
27	University of California-BerkeleyCA · Public	$92,446
28	University of ChicagoIL · Private	$91,885
29	Vanderbilt UniversityTN · Private	$91,565
30	George Washington UniversityDC · Private	$90,873
31	University of San FranciscoCA · Private	$89,812
32	Rice UniversityTX · Private	$89,718
33	Clarkson UniversityNY · Private	$89,696
34	Northwestern UniversityIL · Private	$89,363
35	Fairfield UniversityCT · Private	$88,794
36	Case Western Reserve UniversityOH · Private	$87,989
37	Johns Hopkins UniversityMD · Private	$87,555
38	University of Virginia-Main CampusVA · Public	$86,863
39	University of San DiegoCA · Private	$86,522
40	Washington University in St LouisMO · Private	$86,182
41	Fordham UniversityNY · Private	$85,569
42	University of California-San DiegoCA · Public	$84,943
43	Drexel UniversityPA · Private	$84,648
44	New Jersey Institute of TechnologyNJ · Public	$84,276
45	Quinnipiac UniversityCT · Private	$83,759
46	University of Michigan-Ann ArborMI · Public	$83,648
47	Boston UniversityMA · Private	$83,238
48	Tufts UniversityMA · Private	$83,214
49	Missouri University of Science and TechnologyMO · Public	$82,957
50	Pepperdine UniversityCA · Private	$82,939

A data ranking, not an Ibex endorsement or quality rating. Ranked solely on the metric named above using U.S. Department of Education data for 2020-21 (Scorecard); federal collections lag the current academic year, and some measures are no longer published at all, so the most recent figure is not always a recent one. Institutions that do not report this metric are excluded. Figures and peer context appear on each institution’s profile.

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Frequently asked

Which of these doctoral research universities ranks highest by median earnings 10 years after entry?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA), at $143,372. It leads 50 institutions shown here, drawn from 437 with reported data.

How is this ranking calculated?

On one disclosed metric only: by median earnings 10 years after entry, from College Scorecard & IPEDS, 2020-21 (Scorecard). Institutions that do not report the metric are excluded. It is a data ranking, not an Ibex endorsement, quality rating or reputation survey, and no part of it is estimated or AI-generated.

How current is the data?

This list is built from the College Scorecard release of June 10, 2026 and the newest IPEDS collection on disk, using the most recent figure each of them publishes for the metric it ranks: College Scorecard & IPEDS, 2020-21 (Scorecard). Federal collections lag the current academic year by two to three years, so the newest published figure is not always a recent one; the release the leaderboard is dated on is printed under it.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard & IPEDS (each measure carries its own collection year; see the methodology), with NSF NCSES (HERD), the Clery Act & EADA collections, Census ACS, BLS Employment Projections, WICHE & the FSA Direct Loan Dashboard. Compiled by Ibex Insights. For informational benchmarking only, not financial, investment, or accreditation advice. See the methodology.