Mathematics at East Carolina University

East Carolina's math program warrants serious hesitation—not because it's necessarily bad, but because the small sample size (under 30 graduates) makes it nearly impossible to draw reliable conclusions. The reported $40,888 starting salary sits at the state median but lands in just the 21st percentile nationally, suggesting ECU grads earn less than roughly 80% of math graduates across the country. However, with so few data points, a handful of graduates choosing teaching or grad school could dramatically skew these figures downward.

The debt level of $21,500 is manageable and typical for the field, creating a 0.53 debt-to-earnings ratio that shouldn't be crushing for most graduates. The 25% earnings growth to $50,943 by year four shows positive momentum. What's concerning is the gulf between ECU and NC State ($43,585) or UNC-Charlotte ($42,740)—schools with similar accessibility but better outcomes—and the massive gap to UNC-Chapel Hill ($53,402) for families whose students could gain admission there.

For an anxious parent, here's the bottom line: if your child is set on ECU for other reasons (location, fit, financial aid package), this program probably won't derail their career. But the data is too thin and the outcomes too middling to choose ECU specifically for mathematics. If they're considering multiple NC public universities, push them toward NC State or UNC-Charlotte, where math graduates demonstrably earn more with similar debt loads.