Chemical Engineering at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus

University Park, PA · Bachelor's Degree · about 139 graduates a year

$82,218
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$103,728
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$98,158
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#33 of 158
Rank by pay
#44 of 158
Rank, wage-adjusted
$26,706
Median federal debt

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus graduates in chemical engineering earn 6% more than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 26% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus Compares for Chemical Engineering

All 158 colleges reporting chemical engineering earnings at this degree level, ranked by median pay four years after graduation. “Wage-adjusted” divides pay by the square root of the state’s wage index so colleges in low-wage states aren’t penalized for local pay.

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjustedAdj. rank1 yr after
1Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA$122,093$107,516#38$80,139
2Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN$121,641$132,880#1$75,639
3University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA$121,027$110,127#32$81,553
4Cornell University Ithaca, NY$116,165$110,565#30$85,578
5Lafayette College Easton, PA$115,726$117,694#7$79,602
6The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX$115,423$117,351#9$87,365
7Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA$114,226$132,225#2$74,786
8University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN$113,614$121,887#4$83,377
9Rice University Houston, TX$113,605$115,503#13$87,830
10University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA$113,317$103,111#54$79,737
…
30Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA$104,104$107,769#37$85,847
31University of Delaware Newark, DE$103,910$103,287#53$80,564
32Kettering University Flint, MI$103,868$109,517#33$71,411
33Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA$103,728$105,492#44$82,218
34Villanova University Villanova, PA$103,601$105,363#46$72,379
35University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI$103,525$101,962#63$75,406
36California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA$102,849$93,586#100$69,009

Other Majors at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer and Information Sciences$120,729$84,050#43 of 459
Petroleum Engineering$113,669$85,795#7 of 19
Computer Engineering$112,269$85,446#69 of 189
Industrial Engineering$104,758$78,975#21 of 94
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services$104,205$67,306#2 of 37
Engineering$102,134$73,153#6 of 19
Computer Science$101,854$72,884#157 of 349
Biomedical/Medical Engineering$100,416$76,531#28 of 118
Engineering Science$100,176$79,909#3 of 9
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering$99,159$73,100#22 of 59
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management$98,637$73,941#20 of 99
Finance and Financial Management Services$96,714$68,552#75 of 452
Management Information Systems and Services$95,935$66,169#29 of 166
Architectural Engineering$94,483$80,070#2 of 16
Nuclear Engineering$94,365$78,218#7 of 12
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$93,277$74,958#215 of 258
Materials Sciences$92,864$72,216—
Information Science/Studies$91,671$66,209#35 of 148
Mining and Mineral Engineering$91,411—#6 of 7
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$91,032$77,955#329 of 966
Accounting and Related Services$88,192$63,425#137 of 796
Engineering$88,063$68,331#30 of 57
Mechanical Engineering$87,997$69,772#241 of 318
Polymer/Plastics Engineering$87,636$68,438#6 of 6
Agricultural Engineering$87,564$62,382#9 of 26
Statistics$86,636$68,254#26 of 50
Food Science and Technology$83,112$59,722#3 of 29
Electromechanical Technologies/Technicians$81,835$65,043#19 of 23
Physics$81,763$43,461#45 of 107
Human Resources Management and Services$81,755$58,884#26 of 187

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus chemical engineering graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $82,218 one year after graduating and $103,728 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus rank for chemical engineering?

Among 158 colleges reporting earnings for chemical engineering graduates, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus ranks #33 by median pay four years after graduation, and #44 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is chemical engineering at Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus worth it?

Its graduates earn 6% more than the national median for chemical engineering ($98,158), and the median federal debt at graduation is $26,706.

← All data for Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus · Methodology

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study data. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled; programs with few graduates are not reported. Wage adjustment uses Census ACS state median household income.