Biomedical/Medical Engineering at University of Houston

The small sample size here demands caution, but the numbers paint a troubling picture: University of Houston's biomedical engineering graduates earn nearly $16,000 less than the Texas median and $20,000 below the national average in their first year. Even accounting for the uncertainty in small samples, this program ranks in just the 25th percentile among Texas biomedical engineering programs—meaning three-quarters of comparable programs in the state deliver better initial outcomes. Rice and Texas A&M graduates earn nearly double what UH graduates make right out of school, and even UT San Antonio outperforms UH by over $12,000.

The one bright spot is manageable debt at $13,502, roughly half the state and national medians. With a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.28, graduates can feasibly pay this off within a few years. However, low debt doesn't offset significantly reduced earning potential, particularly in an engineering field where starting salaries typically drive lifetime earnings trajectories.

The real question is whether this data reflects program quality or just statistical noise from a handful of graduates who may have pursued less typical paths. Given UH's 70% acceptance rate and strong access mission (41% Pell recipients), it's possible some graduates are taking lower-paying positions initially. But without more data, parents face genuine uncertainty about whether their child would land closer to the struggling $48,000 graduate or fare better than this small cohort suggests.