Master's · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Is Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University worth it?
Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 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 1.1 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $169,246
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $225,401
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $57,062
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published)
- $60k (likely $60k – $60k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $153k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in PA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 1.1 years (likely 0.9–1.3)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $1.22M (likely $1.02M – $1.49M)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $3.02M (likely $2.53M – $3.66M)
- 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.
Other majors at Carnegie Mellon University
- Computer Science (Bachelor's)$268,121
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's)$250,168
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- Cognitive Science (Bachelor's)$162,106
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's)$160,783
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