Best Master's Degree Programs at Columbia University in the City of New York by ROI

Every Master's Degree major at Columbia University in the City of New York ranked by estimated 20-year net return on investment. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Bachelor's Degree Post-baccalaureate Certificate Master's Degree Doctoral Degree

Programs Analyzed

41

Majors with salary data

Average 20-Yr Net ROI

+$877,527

Across all programs

Average Annual Cost

$86,042

Cost of attendance

# Major 20-Yr Net ROI Median Salary Annual Cost Avg Debt
1 Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$3,910,136 $246,111 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
2 Law.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$3,588,316 $230,020 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
3 Business Administration, Management and Operations.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$2,574,016 $179,305 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
4 Management Information Systems and Services.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$2,332,236 $167,216 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
5 Computer Science.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$2,321,816 $166,695 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
6 Operations Research.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$1,948,716 $148,040 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
7 Construction Management.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$1,506,436 $125,926 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
8 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$1,385,896 $119,899 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
9 Computer and Information Sciences, General.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$1,354,556 $118,332 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
10 Statistics.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$1,349,616 $118,085 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
11 Real Estate Development.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$1,211,236 $111,166 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
12 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$1,153,596 $108,284 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
13 Health and Medical Administrative Services.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$1,077,416 $104,475 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
14 Dentistry.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$999,396 $100,574 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
15 Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$954,016 $98,305 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
16 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$933,956 $97,302 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
17 Communication and Media Studies.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$929,456 $97,077 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
18 Civil Engineering.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$748,236 $88,016 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
19 Mechanical Engineering.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$666,116 $83,910 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
20 Sustainability Studies.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$645,756 $82,892 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
21 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$589,976 $80,103 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
22 International Relations and National Security Studies.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$567,456 $78,977 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
23 Public Administration.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$555,516 $78,380 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
24 Medicine.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$544,236 $77,816 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
25 Public Health.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$468,256 $74,017 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
26 Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$467,356 $73,972 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
27 Architecture.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$399,336 $70,571 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
28 Nutrition Sciences.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$396,276 $70,418 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
29 Social Sciences, Other.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$388,776 $70,043 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
30 History.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$345,936 $67,901 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
31 Health and Physical Education/Fitness.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$290,536 $65,131 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
32 City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$265,836 $63,896 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
33 Natural Resources Conservation and Research.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$237,256 $62,467 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
34 Dispute Resolution.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$223,376 $61,773 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
35 Social Work.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$162,576 $58,733 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
36 Journalism.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$107,076 $55,958 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
37 Area Studies.

Grad rate: 95.1%

+$78,156 $54,512 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
38 Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies.

Grad rate: 95.1%

-$229,644 $39,122 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
39 Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft.

Grad rate: 95.1%

-$272,564 $36,976 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
40 Film/Video and Photographic Arts.

Grad rate: 95.1%

-$505,144 $25,347 $86,042 $0 Full ROI →
41 Visual and Performing Arts, Other.

Grad rate: 95.1%

-$692,864 $15,961 $86,042 $0 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.