Civil Engineering at North Carolina A & T State University

North Carolina A&T's civil engineering program launches graduates into solid starting salaries—$70,474 puts them above both the national median and right at the state average. Among North Carolina's four civil engineering programs, this ranks in the 60th percentile, essentially tied with NC State's outcomes. The debt picture looks particularly favorable: at $31,000, graduates carry just 44 cents of debt for every dollar of first-year earnings, well below the typical burden for engineering programs.

The flat earnings trajectory between years one and four deserves attention, though the small sample size (under 30 graduates) makes it hard to draw firm conclusions about whether this represents a real pattern or statistical noise. What's clear is the strong entry point: graduates immediately command engineering-level salaries that support their debt load. The school serves a predominantly middle- and lower-income student population (51% receive Pell grants), and these outcomes suggest it's delivering on the engineering degree's promise of economic mobility.

For families weighing options, this program offers competitive starting earnings with manageable debt—a combination that matters more than uncertain year-four figures based on limited data. The real risk here isn't the program quality but rather the inherent volatility in projecting outcomes from such a small graduate pool.