Architectural Engineering at North Carolina A & T State University

North Carolina A&T's architectural engineering program sits in an unusual position: it's the only program of its kind in the state, making direct comparisons challenging. With starting salaries around $67,000, graduates earn roughly $6,000 less than the national median for architectural engineering—placing this program in just the 12th percentile nationally. The debt load of $29,000 is slightly higher than the national benchmark, though the 0.43 debt-to-earnings ratio remains manageable and well below concerning thresholds.

The real question mark here is the flat earnings trajectory. Most engineering graduates see healthy salary growth in their first years out, but this program's graduates actually see a slight decline from year one to year four. That's unusual for technical fields and worth understanding better. Given that 51% of students receive Pell grants, the program clearly serves students who might not otherwise access engineering education—a meaningful social return even if the financial returns lag peer institutions.

The critical caveat: this data comes from fewer than 30 graduates, so any one year's cohort could skew these numbers significantly. For families, the program offers a viable entry point into a specialized engineering field with reasonable debt, but the earnings lag and stagnant growth pattern suggest graduates may face a steeper climb to reach typical architectural engineering salaries. If your child is passionate about this niche field and values staying in-state, it works—just with realistic expectations about starting pay.