The head of a UW-Madison think tank says the university “dominates” other top institutions in the state, based on a newly issued graduate earnings report.
The Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy’s recent report is titled: “Degrees of Deception: UW-Madison Leads Where Earnings Matter Most.”
It references data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard that places UW-Madison fourth in the state for graduate median incomes four years after graduation — with about $75,000 compared to $93,000 at the leading school for this measure, the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
But the CROWE report authors say these findings “mask the significant variation of earnings” across college majors, as well as differences in fields of study across institutions.
Ananth Seshadri, director of CROWE and a professor in the university’s Department of Economics, says recent headlines referencing these figures “have painted a misleading picture of college earnings in Wisconsin.” He notes the university leads earnings rankings for 48 out of 72 majors, and all 15 high-earning fields with median earnings above $96,000.
“When you look beyond aggregate medians and focus on fields of study, UW-Madison dominates,” Seshadri said in a statement on the report.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for MSOE pointed to other independent rankings showing the school’s strength in graduate earnings, while touting other measures such as admissions and post-graduation outcomes.
The CROWE report draws a comparison between UW-Madison, MSOE and Marquette University, which also ranks highly based on the aggregate median DOE figures.
“Aggregate rankings overlook major concentrations and offerings, with specialized schools like MSOE benefiting from a focus on high-paying engineering fields, while UW-Madison excels across a broader spectrum, including all top earners,” authors wrote.
They note UW-Madison graduates earn more than peers in most overlapping fields, exceeding MSOE for six of seven shared majors and beating Marquette in 17 of 28 majors. The report also points to lower tuition as evidence that UW-Madison offers “a superior return on investment” for most fields.
When asked for comment, the MSOE spokesperson noted the school “tops the charts” based on the U.S. Department of Education figures.
JoEllen Burdue, the school’s associate vice president of marketing communications, added MSOE has also been ranked No. 1 in the state by the Wall Street Journal for graduate salaries, along with being rated best in the state for return on investment by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce.
Burdue noted 96% of MSOE’s graduating class of 2024-25 were either employed in their area of study, enrolled in graduate studies or in the military. And she pointed to other considerations for prospective students, such as if there’s a waitlist for joining a given program of study.
“At MSOE, there are no wait lists, students are directly admitted to their major, and they start classes in their program their first semester,” she said in an email. “They graduate ready to hit the ground running.”
Marquette University did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
See the full report and the release.
