Whether you're pursuing a master's or doctoral degree (or anything more than a bachelor's) because you want to or because you have to, it doesn't hurt to know which programs can offer the biggest return on your investment.
To find the the schools where grad students go on to earn the most money in their careers, we looked at PayScale's recent College Salary Report.
PayScale, the creator of the world's largest compensation database, looked at the starting (5 years of experience or less) and mid-career (10-plus years of job experience) pay for over a million college grads — including professionals who graduated with an advanced degree from 393 universities.
Its College Salary Report, which was compiled using data from employees who successfully completed PayScale's employee survey, sorts the results by school, major, and degree.
Alumni of these graduate programs go on to earn the most money 10-plus years into their career, according to PayScale:
20. MBA from Duke University
Early career median pay: $110,000
Mid-career median pay: $160,000
Graduate enrollment: 9,230
19. JD from University of California Hastings College of The Law
Early career median pay: $84,100
Mid-career median pay: $162,000
Graduate enrollment: 1,003
18. JD from University of California — Berkeley
Early career median pay: $69,900
Mid-career median pay: $163,000
Graduate enrollment: 10,439
17. MBA from Santa Clara University
Early career median pay: $83,400
Mid-career median pay: $164,000
Graduate enrollment: 3,529
16. MBA from Northwestern University
Early career median pay: $122,000
Mid-career median pay: $167,000
Graduate enrollment: 12,506
14. (tie) JD from Fordham University
Early career median pay: $81,300
Mid-career median pay: $171,000
Graduate enrollment: 6,598
14. (tie) JD from Tulane University
Early career median pay: $66,500
Mid-career median pay: $171,000
Graduate enrollment: 4,711
13. MBA from University of Chicago
Early career median pay: $112,000
Mid-career median pay: $172,000
Graduate enrollment: 9,359
12. MBA from University of California - Berkeley
Early career median pay: $130,000
Mid-career median pay: $174,000
Graduate enrollment: 10,439
10. (tie) JD from Brooklyn Law School
Early career median pay: $83,600
Mid-career median pay: $176,000
Graduate enrollment: 1,141
10. (tie) MBA from Stanford University
Early career median pay: $121,000
Mid-career median pay: $176,000
Graduate enrollment: 9,944
9. JD from George Washington University
Early career median pay: $83,900
Mid-career median pay: $178,000
Graduate enrollment: 14,873
7. (tie) MBA from University of Pennsylvania
Early career median pay: $125,000
Mid-career median pay: $181,000
Graduate enrollment: 13,258
7. (tie) JD from Georgetown University
Early career median pay: $86,500
Mid-career median pay: $181,000
Graduate enrollment: 10,263
6. MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Early career median pay: $128,000
Mid-career median pay: $183,000
Graduate enrollment: 6,807
5. MBA from Columbia University
Early career median pay: $112,000
Mid-career median pay: $184,000
Graduate enrollment: 19,489
4. JD from University of California — Los Angeles
Early career median pay: $80,200
Mid-career median pay: $193,000
Graduate enrollment: 12,212
3. JD from Emory University
Early career median pay: $65,900
Mid-career median pay: $195,900
Graduate enrollment: 6,940
2. JD from Harvard University
Early career median pay: $118,000
Mid-career median pay: $197,000
Graduate enrollment: 18,453
1. MBA from Harvard University
Early career median pay: $122,000
Mid-career median pay: $201,000
Graduate enrollment: 18,453
