Master's · Madison, Wisconsin

Is Biomedical/Medical Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison 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 1.1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $97,076; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $117,500; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $20,500; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $22k (likely $22k – $22k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $52k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in WI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.1 years (likely 0.7–2.0); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $334k (likely $142k – $563k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $967k (likely $541k – $1.48M); Today's dollars

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