Top 50 Best Doctoral Degree Programs in the US by ROI

The 50 highest return-on-investment Doctoral Degree programs in America — ranked by estimated 20-year net ROI across all majors and states. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

#	College	Major	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost
1	The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	TX	+$4,134,520	$248,726	N/A	Full ROI →
2	University of Maryland Baltimore	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	MD	+$3,845,780	$234,289	N/A	Full ROI →
3	Augusta University Grad rate: 49.4%	Dental Residency Programs.	GA	+$3,604,936	$226,676	$22,146	Full ROI →
4	University of Southern California Grad rate: 92.2%	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	CA	+$3,249,648	$221,418	$84,678	Full ROI →
5	Loma Linda University	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	CA	+$3,054,440	$194,722	N/A	Full ROI →
6	Oregon Health & Science University	Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other.	OR	+$3,010,400	$192,520	N/A	Full ROI →
7	Cornell University Grad rate: 95.2%	Law.	NY	+$2,972,656	$207,272	$83,196	Full ROI →
8	Marshall University Grad rate: 49.2%	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	WV	+$2,967,324	$194,626	$21,299	Full ROI →
9	Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	LA	+$2,873,320	$185,666	N/A	Full ROI →
10	Nova Southeastern University Grad rate: 63.4%	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	FL	+$2,838,932	$195,076	$55,647	Full ROI →
11	Duke University Grad rate: 96.2%	Law.	NC	+$2,835,004	$200,300	$82,749	Full ROI →
12	Rutgers University-New Brunswick Grad rate: 84.7%	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	NJ	+$2,829,892	$190,541	$35,232	Full ROI →
13	University of Illinois Chicago Grad rate: 60.9%	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	IL	+$2,788,788	$186,839	$26,998	Full ROI →
14	University of California-San Diego Grad rate: 87.7%	Economics.	CA	+$2,760,480	$187,289	$36,325	Full ROI →
15	Virginia Commonwealth University Grad rate: 64.9%	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	VA	+$2,660,916	$181,915	$34,346	Full ROI →
16	William Carey University Grad rate: 41.3%	Medicine.	MS	+$2,612,276	$178,783	$30,846	Full ROI →
17	University of Southern California Grad rate: 92.2%	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration.	CA	+$2,567,548	$187,313	$84,678	Full ROI →
18	University of Alabama at Birmingham Grad rate: 63.4%	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	AL	+$2,560,156	$175,573	$27,826	Full ROI →
19	Midwestern University-Downers Grove	Medicine.	IL	+$2,441,840	$164,092	N/A	Full ROI →
20	California State University-Fullerton Grad rate: 69.3%	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	CA	+$2,411,252	$165,916	$16,767	Full ROI →
21	University of Missouri-Kansas City Grad rate: 56.0%	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	MO	+$2,396,580	$166,758	$24,645	Full ROI →
22	Howard University Grad rate: 69.2%	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	DC	+$2,352,980	$169,939	$51,450	Full ROI →
23	University of Southern Mississippi Grad rate: 51.1%	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	MS	+$2,338,112	$164,002	$25,482	Full ROI →
24	University of California-San Francisco	Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration.	CA	+$2,308,440	$157,422	N/A	Full ROI →
25	Stanford University Grad rate: 94.0%	Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering.	CA	+$2,302,312	$173,548	$82,162	Full ROI →
26	Kansas City University	Medicine.	MO	+$2,286,600	$156,330	N/A	Full ROI →
27	Case Western Reserve University Grad rate: 86.4%	Dental Residency Programs.	OH	+$2,266,668	$171,640	$81,533	Full ROI →
28	Oregon Health & Science University	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	OR	+$2,241,640	$154,082	N/A	Full ROI →
29	Tufts University Grad rate: 93.5%	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	MA	+$2,169,460	$167,393	$84,600	Full ROI →
30	Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	TX	+$2,167,720	$150,386	N/A	Full ROI →
31	Yale University Grad rate: 97.0%	Law.	CT	+$2,119,760	$165,012	$85,120	Full ROI →
32	Claremont Graduate University	Business Administration, Management and Operations.	CA	+$2,106,520	$147,326	N/A	Full ROI →
33	Harvard University Grad rate: 97.5%	Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.	MA	+$2,098,872	$163,512	$82,842	Full ROI →
34	University of San Francisco Grad rate: 72.8%	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	CA	+$2,082,236	$161,396	$76,421	Full ROI →
35	St. John's University-New York Grad rate: 68.9%	Educational Administration and Supervision.	NY	+$2,036,076	$156,190	$61,931	Full ROI →
36	Duke University Grad rate: 96.2%	Health and Medical Administrative Services.	NC	+$2,020,964	$159,598	$82,749	Full ROI →
37	University at Buffalo Grad rate: 73.5%	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	NY	+$1,964,668	$146,042	$29,043	Full ROI →
38	Meharry Medical College	Dentistry.	TN	+$1,938,720	$138,936	N/A	Full ROI →
39	Pace University Grad rate: 61.4%	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	NY	+$1,931,652	$152,201	$68,092	Full ROI →
40	Washington State University Grad rate: 62.0%	Educational Administration and Supervision.	WA	+$1,929,056	$143,888	$27,176	Full ROI →
41	George Washington University Grad rate: 85.0%	Systems Engineering.	DC	+$1,909,232	$153,607	$80,727	Full ROI →
42	California State University-Fresno Grad rate: 55.5%	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	CA	+$1,862,600	$138,860	$18,650	Full ROI →
43	University of California-Irvine Grad rate: 86.3%	Physics.	CA	+$1,840,036	$141,226	$36,121	Full ROI →
44	Case Western Reserve University Grad rate: 86.4%	Business Administration, Management and Operations.	OH	+$1,829,728	$149,793	$81,533	Full ROI →
45	The University of Tennessee Health Science Center	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	TN	+$1,814,880	$132,744	N/A	Full ROI →
46	University of California-San Francisco	Dentistry.	CA	+$1,808,920	$132,446	N/A	Full ROI →
47	Nova Southeastern University Grad rate: 63.4%	Medicine.	FL	+$1,804,492	$143,354	$55,647	Full ROI →
48	Russell Sage College Grad rate: 67.2%	Educational Administration and Supervision.	NY	+$1,802,496	$142,322	$50,986	Full ROI →
49	Fairfield University Grad rate: 84.0%	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	CT	+$1,776,636	$145,506	$73,371	Full ROI →
50	University of Southern California Grad rate: 92.2%	Marketing.	CA	+$1,768,908	$147,381	$84,678	Full ROI →

How ROI is calculated

20-Year Net ROI = Gross Earnings (salary × 20) − Total Degree Cost − Debt Payoff (×1.35) − Baseline Opportunity Cost ($42,000 × 20). Data from the U.S. College Scorecard.

Find the Best Doctoral Degree by State

Browse the highest ROI Doctoral Degree programs ranked in every US state.