Chemistry at George Mason University

George Mason's chemistry program launches graduates into unusually strong starting salaries—$50,304 places it in the 95th percentile nationally and 80th percentile among Virginia programs. That first-year figure tops every other Virginia chemistry program, including Virginia Tech and JMU. With debt at $24,250, the financial picture looks manageable at first glance.

The concerning wrinkle: earnings actually drop to $46,864 by year four, a 7% decline that's unusual for STEM fields. This could reflect graduates pursuing further education (common in chemistry), moving into lower-paying lab roles, or simply the noise that comes with small data samples—fewer than 30 graduates were tracked here, so a handful of career paths can skew the numbers significantly. Still, even at the four-year mark, earnings remain competitive with other Virginia programs.

For a student committed to chemistry, this program delivers strong market positioning out of the gate with reasonable debt. The earnings dip warrants a conversation about career plans—if graduate school is likely, factor in those additional costs and timeline. If the goal is moving straight into industry, understand that the trajectory here doesn't show the typical upward climb. The strong freshman-year placement suggests employers value George Mason chemistry grads, but verify how this plays out beyond the limited sample we're seeing.