Bachelor's · Boston, Massachusetts

Is Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering at University of Massachusetts-Boston 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 2.6 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $89,886; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $108,381; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $23,525; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $96k (likely $96k – $131k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $65k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.6 years (likely 1.9–3.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $326k (likely $131k – $562k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $1.10M (likely $681k – $1.60M); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 51%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26