Master's · Arlington, Texas

Is Civil Engineering at The University of Texas at Arlington worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 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 2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $89,269; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $104,142; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $30,750; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $33k (likely $33k – $33k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $41k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in TX; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2 years (likely 1.4–2.7); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $219k (likely $93k – $340k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $722k (likely $452k – $1.02M); Today's dollars

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