Chemistry at Carthage College

Carthage's chemistry program graduates earn $45,188 in their first year—better than the national median but trailing most Wisconsin chemistry programs by a meaningful margin. While that 70th percentile national ranking sounds impressive, the 40th percentile state ranking tells the more relevant story: graduates here earn about $3,700 less than Wisconsin's median chemistry graduate, and lag behind every UW system school except Milwaukee. For families paying in-state tuition rates at UW institutions, that gap matters.

The debt picture offers some consolation. At $27,000, graduates carry slightly more debt than both state and national medians, but the 0.60 debt-to-earnings ratio remains manageable—substantially better than most bachelor's programs. Chemistry's strong earning potential relative to the borrowing required makes this fundamentally workable debt, even if earnings don't match what other Wisconsin programs deliver.

The catch: these numbers come from fewer than 30 graduates, making them statistically unstable. A few high or low earners can swing the average significantly. For families considering Carthage specifically for chemistry, the real question is whether the smaller liberal arts environment justifies earning 7-8% less than you'd make graduating from a UW campus. If your student needs that setting to thrive academically, the earnings gap is narrow enough to justify. But purely as a financial investment in chemistry education, Wisconsin's public universities deliver stronger returns.