Civil Engineering at University of Connecticut

UConn's civil engineering program produces results that land squarely in the middle of the pack—but that's actually fine for an in-state student. Your child would start at $70,388, nearly identical to the state median and slightly above the national benchmark, while taking on below-average debt at $23,825. The 16% earnings bump to $81,556 by year four suggests steady career progression, typical for this field where experience and licensure drive salary growth.

Within Connecticut, this program sits at the 60th percentile, meaning it outperforms most in-state alternatives while costing less than private options like Quinnipiac ($73,064 starting salary, likely with substantially higher debt). The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.34 is manageable—graduates should be able to handle loan payments while building their careers. What you're getting here is reliability: engineering grads find work quickly, the sample size of 100+ graduates confirms these numbers are stable, and the outcomes justify the investment.

For a Connecticut resident paying in-state tuition, this represents solid value. Your child won't be at the top of the earnings distribution, but they'll exit with a legitimate engineering degree, reasonable debt, and income that grows predictably. That's often worth more than chasing marginally higher starting salaries at programs with steeper price tags.