As the cost of higher education continues to rise, many students are looking for ways to maximize their return on investment. The Houston Chronicle analyzed College Scorecard data from the U.S. Department of Education to find which bachelor's degrees you can earn in the Houston area offer the greatest earning potential.
The 10 highest-paying bachelor's degrees in Houston
According to the College Scorecard, students who graduate from Rice University with a bachelor's degree in computer and information sciences have the greatest earning potential of any graduate from a Houston college or university. Three years after receiving their diploma, these students earn $145,256 on average. Engineering degrees account for the majority of the remaining top spots in the list of top-10 highest earning degrees in the Houston area, with chemical and electrical engineering earning the most in the engineering field.
Rice University
Rice University offers four of the top-10 highest-paying bachelor's degrees in the Houston area, but those degrees will come at an increased cost as the university plans to raise tuition rates in 2023. Students who graduate from Rice University with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering typically earn $92,763 three years after graduation, which is the second highest-paying degree overall in the city.
University of Houston
University of Houston offers six of the top-10 highest-paying bachelor's degrees in the Houston area. Though the majority of high-paying degrees at the school are in the university's popular engineering program , the highest paying degree at the school is information science and studies — students who graduate with a bachelor's degree in this field typically make $90,735 three years after graduation.
University of Houston-Downtown
The highest-paying degree at University of Houston-Downtown is computer engineering technologies and technicians. The university currently has a six-year graduation rate of 30 percent, which it hopes to nearly double in three years with help from a partnership with the National Institute for Student Success.
Texas Southern University
The highest paying degree at Texas Southern University is allied health diagnostic, intervention, and treatment professions, and students who graduate with a diploma in this field typically make $57,454 three years after graduation. The historically-Black university recently asked legislators for nearly $1 billion to fund new programs — including a legal studies institute and a biomedical, pharmaceutical, and health studies consortium — in a bid to receive part of the state’s $33 billion budget surplus.
Houston Christian University
Undergraduate diplomas from the nursing program at Houston Christian University — formerly Houston Baptist University — typically earn students $73,176 within three years of graduation. The university changed its name in 2022 amid efforts to double its student enrollment by appealing to a more inclusive student population.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
The highest paying degree at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is nursing. Graduates from the nursing program typically earn $72,084 three years after graduation.
University of Houston-Clear Lake
Computer engineering is the highest-paying degree at University of University of Houston-Clear Lake.
American InterContinental University-Houston
The highest paying degree at American InterContinental University-Houston is computer and information sciences. However, students who graduate from the school with a bachelor's degree in this field typically make less than those who graduate from other Houston-area schools. For example, graduates with a degree in computer and information sciences from American InterContinental University-Houston typically make a salary of only $47,516 three years after graduation, compared to $76,427 earned by University of Houston graduates with a similar degree.
The Art Institute of Houston
Culinary arts is the highest paying degree program at The Art Institute of Houston.
Chamberlain University
Graduates who receive a bachelor's degree from Chamberlain University typically make $74,013 three years after graduation — the highest earning potential for any nursing program in the Houston-area.
