Engineering Physics at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

UIUC's Engineering Physics program delivers the kind of trajectory that justifies moderate student debt—graduates start at $64,304 and reach nearly $93,000 by year four, representing a 44% earnings boost. That four-year mark significantly outpaces both the national median ($57,457) and Illinois state median ($59,234), though the program's 60th percentile ranking within Illinois suggests it's competitive but not dominant among the state's five engineering physics offerings.

The debt picture here is actually quite favorable: at roughly $20,000, it's well below both national and state medians for this field, giving graduates a debt-to-earnings ratio of just 0.31. This means recent grads could theoretically pay off their loans in under four months of gross earnings—an enviable position for any STEM field. The 89th percentile debt ranking (remember, lower debt is better) indicates this program costs less than most comparable options nationally.

For parents weighing this investment, the fundamentals are solid. Your child would graduate from a selective program (44% admission rate, 1418 average SAT) with manageable debt and strong earning potential. The rapid salary growth from year one to year four suggests employers increasingly value the specialized physics-engineering skillset these graduates develop. While not the absolute highest earner in Illinois, the combination of low debt and strong income growth makes this a financially sound choice for students genuinely interested in this challenging interdisciplinary field.