Civil Engineering at Texas Southern University

Texas Southern's civil engineering program serves a predominantly low-income student population—71% receive Pell grants—and appears positioned to deliver solid middle-class outcomes, though we're working with estimates here since the graduate cohort is too small for the DOE to report. Based on comparable civil engineering programs across Texas, graduates likely earn around $67,833 in their first year with roughly $20,542 in debt, putting them right at the state median for this field.

That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.30 is manageable by engineering standards, meaning students could reasonably expect to pay off loans within a few years of graduation. However, the estimated earnings trail programs like UT Austin and Texas A&M by about $7,000-$8,000 annually—a gap that compounds significantly over a career. For context, the national median for civil engineering bachelor's degrees sits at $69,574, suggesting Texas Southern's outcomes may run slightly below the national norm.

The real question is whether this pathway works for your family's specific situation. For a first-generation college student from a lower-income background who might struggle to gain admission to UT or A&M (with their more selective standards), this program could represent genuine upward mobility with reasonable debt. But if your student has competitive options at higher-earning programs, those differences in starting salary deserve serious weight in your decision.