Master's · Stanford, California

Is Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering at Stanford University worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 0.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating
$183,238
Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating
$195,173
Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation
$41,000
NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published)
$43k (likely $43k – $43k)
AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4
$127k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA
2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback
0.6 years (likely 0.5–0.8)
Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return
$1.05M (likely $789k – $1.36M)
Today's dollars
20-year net return
$2.43M (likely $1.87M – $3.08M)
Today's dollars

Change income, residency or loans Compare Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering at other schools

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.