Master's · Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Is Medical Illustration and Informatics at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $113,769; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: Not enough graduates to report; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $44,994; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $48k (likely $48k – $48k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $58k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in NC; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.5 years (likely 1.0–2.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $371k (likely $136k – $649k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $981k (likely $513k – $1.59M); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.