Inside the college majors at elite universities where graduates earn more than $250,000—over 4 times their peers

With a challenging job market, mounting student loan debt, and warnings of further disruption from AI, more Gen Z college graduates are questioning whether the time and money spent earning a degree will pay off. But new data points to some major exceptions, where graduates of certain degrees are earning median incomes well above $200,000.

Mathematics graduates from Duke University are bringing home median annual earnings of $297,029 four years post-grad, according to data analyzed by higher education research firm HEA Group, cited by The New York Times. 

That’s nearly five times the $64,500 median earnings of graduates across all institutions—and a striking figure for a field that can lead to careers in finance, technology, and other lucrative industries.

Carnegie Mellon University also had two programs among the highest earners. Computer science graduates reported median earnings of $268,121, while those who studied electrical, electronics, and communications engineering earned $250,168. 

The results reflect strong employer demand for graduates with technical expertise, said Burcu Akinci, dean of Carnegie Mellon’s college of engineering.

“The salaries of our graduates reflect the rapid........

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