---
title: Massachusetts Institute of Technology — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Cambridge, MA
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $143,372 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $88,222 – $243,025 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,462 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $6,490 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 96% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $82,730 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 93% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.09× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $115,372 | derived |

**96% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $12,462 (≈ 9% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $43,562 to $170,089 across 24 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Master's Degree | $170,089 | $41,000 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Master's Degree | $144,716 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Doctoral Degree | $141,603 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $135,266 | $45,290 |
| Systems Engineering. | Master's Degree | $133,685 | $44,052 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $118,191 | $11,077 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Master's Degree | $109,955 | not reported |
| Mathematics and Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $109,338 | not reported |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Doctoral Degree | $106,710 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $104,229 | $10,967 |
| Biology, General. | Doctoral Degree | $97,595 | not reported |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $85,273 | $11,935 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $82,796 | $9,751 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $81,524 | $17,000 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $80,396 | $11,507 |
| Materials Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $80,203 | not reported |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $80,199 | not reported |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $72,563 | $17,724 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning. | Master's Degree | $69,345 | $40,833 |
| Architectural Sciences and Technology. | Master's Degree | $62,524 | $56,056 |
| Architecture. | Master's Degree | $59,989 | not reported |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,651 | $13,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,373 | not reported |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,562 | not reported |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Massachusetts Institute of Technology by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?166683

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/massachusetts-institute-of-technology-ma.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`