Best Architecture Degrees in the US by ROI

Top colleges ranked by estimated 20-year net return on investment across all active states. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Programs Analyzed

Colleges with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

+$273,809

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$42,112

Cost of attendance

#	College	State	20-Yr Net ROI	Median Salary	Annual Cost	Avg Debt
1	Boston Architectural College Grad rate: 31.2%	MA	+$511,756	$72,303	$47,152	N/A	Full ROI →
2	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Grad rate: 66.5%	CA	+$503,916	$69,463	$22,672	N/A	Full ROI →
3	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Grad rate: 86.3%	VA	+$483,960	$69,402	$32,040	N/A	Full ROI →
4	University of California-Berkeley Grad rate: 93.5%	CA	+$483,144	$70,428	$42,708	N/A	Full ROI →
5	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Grad rate: 71.8%	OH	+$447,014	$67,229	$28,783	N/A	Full ROI →
6	CUNY City College Grad rate: 56.6%	NY	+$424,932	$64,598	$13,514	N/A	Full ROI →
7	University of Maryland-College Park Grad rate: 88.9%	MD	+$401,834	$64,899	$28,073	N/A	Full ROI →
8	Columbia University in the City of New York Grad rate: 95.1%	NY	+$399,336	$70,571	$86,042	N/A	Full ROI →
9	Washington State University Grad rate: 62.0%	WA	+$395,668	$64,501	$27,176	N/A	Full ROI →
10	University of California-Los Angeles Grad rate: 92.6%	CA	+$374,714	$64,400	$36,643	N/A	Full ROI →
11	Yale University Grad rate: 97.0%	CT	+$373,800	$69,202	$85,120	N/A	Full ROI →
12	University of Virginia-Main Campus Grad rate: 95.3%	VA	+$373,676	$64,497	$38,132	N/A	Full ROI →
13	The University of Texas at Arlington Grad rate: 55.1%	TX	+$368,030	$62,928	$25,265	N/A	Full ROI →
14	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Grad rate: 84.0%	WA	+$367,536	$63,405	$30,282	N/A	Full ROI →
15	New Jersey Institute of Technology Grad rate: 73.4%	NJ	+$362,324	$63,339	$32,228	N/A	Full ROI →
16	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Grad rate: 92.4%	GA	+$360,666	$62,813	$27,797	N/A	Full ROI →
17	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Grad rate: 95.5%	MA	+$360,080	$67,989	$79,850	N/A	Full ROI →
18	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Grad rate: 52.5%	IL	+$353,624	$62,608	$29,268	N/A	Full ROI →
19	University of Kansas Grad rate: 68.0%	KS	+$345,770	$61,810	$25,215	N/A	Full ROI →
20	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Grad rate: 67.4%	AZ	+$341,306	$61,870	$28,047	N/A	Full ROI →
21	Harvard University Grad rate: 97.5%	MA	+$333,976	$66,983	$82,842	N/A	Full ROI →
22	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Grad rate: 45.6%	CO	+$330,302	$60,852	$23,369	N/A	Full ROI →
23	University of Illinois Chicago Grad rate: 60.9%	IL	+$326,104	$61,005	$26,998	N/A	Full ROI →
24	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Grad rate: 68.8%	NC	+$318,472	$60,127	$22,034	N/A	Full ROI →
25	Texas Tech University Grad rate: 67.1%	TX	+$316,756	$60,585	$27,472	N/A	Full ROI →
26	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Grad rate: 84.8%	IL	+$316,352	$61,031	$32,134	N/A	Full ROI →
27	University of Utah Grad rate: 64.2%	UT	+$314,222	$59,891	$21,799	N/A	Full ROI →
28	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Grad rate: 93.2%	MI	+$312,590	$60,964	$33,345	N/A	Full ROI →
29	Ohio State University-Main Campus Grad rate: 87.9%	OH	+$306,160	$60,240	$29,320	N/A	Full ROI →
30	University of Oregon Grad rate: 72.5%	OR	+$305,868	$60,557	$32,636	N/A	Full ROI →
31	Academy of Art University Grad rate: 42.4%	CA	+$299,230	$61,681	$47,195	N/A	Full ROI →
32	Portland State University Grad rate: 52.9%	OR	+$299,062	$59,198	$22,449	N/A	Full ROI →
33	Texas A&M University-College Station Grad rate: 83.7%	TX	+$296,690	$60,043	$32,085	N/A	Full ROI →
34	The University of Texas at Austin Grad rate: 87.7%	TX	+$293,396	$59,654	$29,842	N/A	Full ROI →
35	Clemson University Grad rate: 86.6%	SC	+$289,952	$59,947	$34,494	N/A	Full ROI →
36	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Grad rate: 65.4%	NE	+$289,938	$59,031	$25,341	N/A	Full ROI →
37	Newschool of Architecture and Design Grad rate: 47.2%	CA	+$283,556	$61,942	$57,642	N/A	Full ROI →
38	Roger Williams University Grad rate: 67.0%	RI	+$282,600	$62,148	$60,180	N/A	Full ROI →
39	Wentworth Institute of Technology Grad rate: 68.7%	MA	+$276,320	$61,319	$55,030	N/A	Full ROI →
40	University of Florida Grad rate: 90.7%	FL	+$274,522	$57,898	$21,719	N/A	Full ROI →
41	Lawrence Technological University Grad rate: 64.2%	MI	+$268,448	$60,849	$54,266	N/A	Full ROI →
42	Southern California Institute of Architecture Grad rate: 76.5%	CA	+$265,932	$61,998	$67,014	N/A	Full ROI →
43	Judson University Grad rate: 53.2%	IL	+$262,978	$59,544	$43,951	N/A	Full ROI →
44	University of Louisiana at Lafayette Grad rate: 51.6%	LA	+$262,218	$57,574	$24,631	N/A	Full ROI →
45	The New School Grad rate: 70.2%	NY	+$259,706	$63,261	$82,757	N/A	Full ROI →
46	University of Pennsylvania Grad rate: 96.5%	PA	+$259,504	$63,549	$85,738	N/A	Full ROI →
47	University of Houston Grad rate: 64.0%	TX	+$257,668	$57,389	$25,056	N/A	Full ROI →
48	University of Southern California Grad rate: 92.2%	CA	+$256,784	$63,307	$84,678	N/A	Full ROI →
49	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Grad rate: 55.7%	FL	+$256,506	$57,230	$24,047	N/A	Full ROI →
50	Pratt Institute-Main Grad rate: 74.4%	NY	+$255,214	$62,414	$76,533	N/A	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 Best Architecture Degrees by State

Browse Architecture programs ranked by 20-year ROI in every state that offers this degree.