Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods at University of Delaware

University of Delaware's Management Sciences program reports strong early earnings of $73,420—nearly $11,000 above the national median for this field and landing in the 79th percentile nationally. The debt load of $25,572 translates to a healthy 0.35 ratio to first-year earnings, meaning graduates could theoretically pay off their loans with about four months of income. That's a better debt position than roughly 80% of similar programs nationwide. However, with fewer than 30 graduates in the dataset, these numbers might not be representative of what most students actually experience.

The Delaware comparison is less helpful here since only two schools in the state offer this program, making the 60th percentile ranking essentially meaningless. What matters more is that this program opens doors to quantitative business roles—operations research, analytics, supply chain optimization—where demand continues growing. The relatively accessible admission standards (65% acceptance rate) suggest this isn't just selecting for top students who would succeed anywhere.

The value equation looks solid if these earnings hold up: you're paying mid-range debt for above-average starting salaries in a field with legitimate career paths. But given the small sample size, dig into employment outcomes directly with the department. Ask where recent graduates actually landed jobs and whether the $73,000 figure reflects typical placements or a few outliers skewing the data upward.