Students preparing for life at sea are projected to make the highest ROI on their bachelor’s degrees from a public college or university over the span of their career, according to an updated database from the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University.
Six of the 10 public institutions with the highest average ROI 40 years following a student’s enrollment predominantly focused on maritime-related fields, such as port and shipping administration, ocean engineering, the naval armed forces and the like.
Take the UB survey: What kind of event are you excited about?
Georgia Institute of Technology, University of California-Berkeley, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo and New Jersey Institute of Technology were the only public institutions to break the top 10 in fields unrelated to maritime education.
Here is the list, adjusted by the Center on Education and the Workforce’s database accounting for the 2021-22 academic year:
- Massachusetts Maritime Academy: $3,458,000
- Georgia Institute of Technology: $3,437,000
- Colorado School of Mines: $3,328,000
- California State University Maritime Academy: $3,262,000
- University of California-Berkeley: $3,099,000
- SUNY Maritime College: $3,092,000
- United States Merchant Marine Academy: $3,078,000
- Maine Maritime Academy: $3,033,000
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo: $3,016,000
- New Jersey Institute of Technology: $2,954,000
Click here to navigate beyond the top 10.
The database tracks the median net returns from colleges and universities up to 40 years after a student’s initial full-time enrollment. This comprehensive list ranks approximately 4,600 schools across private, public and for-profit sectors, categorized by the primary credential they offer.
Sourced from the Department of Education’s College Scorecard, the ROI of each institution was determined by calculating students’ median earnings six to 10 years after their initial enrollment, after subtracting the average net price paid. The study did not account for variables such as the average out-of-pocket costs for out-of-state students, their accumulated college debt and the outcomes for students who do not receive federal financial aid.
It is important to note that the public college ROI estimates beyond the 10-year mark are conservative. While most people experience salary increases after a decade of employment, researchers assumed no growth took place, according to this FAQ.
