What this does
The Compare Up to 5 Degrees page lets you choose up to five fields of study and see them side by side on one results page: typical starting and mid-career pay across the careers each degree leads to, the typical yearly cost, a pay-to-cost ratio, how many universities in your state offer each degree, the share of its careers you can enter without a further degree, and the top three universities for each.
The page itself is a picker. You search or browse, tick the degrees you want, and press Compare Selected. You can compare undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, or a mix of both, such as a bachelor's field against a master's field.
It helps a student choosing a major, a graduate weighing a master's against staying with a bachelor's, a parent checking what a field typically pays against what it costs each year, and a counselor laying out several majors at once.
Before you start
- Pick a state in Showing data for. Without one, the page shows Pick a state to see degree comparisons. The degrees, costs and university counts are that state's. Choose where you plan to study.
- Know the level you mean. Many fields are offered at both levels and appear once as Undergraduate and once as Graduate. Decide which one you want before you tick.
- Expect broader fields outside Texas. In Texas the list shows detailed programs. In other states it groups programs into broader fields of study, so one entry can cover several related specialties.
Step by step
- Open Compare and click the Compare Degrees card. The page shows Loading — this may take a moment on first load…, then a count line ("N degrees found.") and the list under Select Degrees to Compare, A to Z. If 300 or more match, the line reads Showing first 300 degrees — search to narrow the list.
- Choose a Degree level: All (the default) lists both levels; Undergraduate or Graduate lists one. The list reloads.
- Type in Search degree (the box says Type a degree title), for example "nursing" or "accounting". The list narrows as you type. If nothing matches, it says No degrees found matching your search.
- Tick the box on the right of a degree. Its grey line tells you its level and how many universities offer it ("Undergraduate · N universities offering this degree"). The name appears under Selected Degrees and a bar appears at the bottom: 1 degree selected. Compare from here when you're ready.
- Add more degrees, up to five, by searching and ticking. You can change Degree level between ticks: each tick keeps the level it had when you ticked it. A sixth tick is refused with You can compare at most 5 degrees. Uncheck one before selecting another.
- To drop a degree, untick it in the list. If it is not on screen, search for it (and set the level it was ticked at) to find its box.
- Press Compare Selected beside the list heading or in the bottom bar. With nothing ticked, you see Please select at least one degree from the list above. Otherwise the results page opens.
- Read the title on the results page. All undergraduate picks give Undergraduate Degree Comparison, all graduate picks give Graduate Degree Comparison, and a mix gives Degree Comparison. In the table, each degree's level is printed under its name.
Arriving with a degree already ticked
On a degree's detail page, Stack against another degree → opens this picker with that degree chosen. When the list loads, the page ticks that exact program, and it appears under Selected Degrees and in the bottom bar. It never ticks a different program from the same field. If the link names a level, only the entry at that level is ticked. If it does not, and the program is listed at both levels (Degree level on All), nothing is ticked: tick the level you want yourself. Nothing is ticked either when the exact program is not in the list, for example when you came through the Compare page with a broad field carried along and your state lists the specific programs in it; search for the one you want.
Comparing undergraduate and graduate degrees together
Since version 1.9.3, a mixed comparison works. Leave Degree level on All, or switch levels between ticks, and tick both kinds. Each degree is looked up at its own level: its pay, cost, university count and university list are those of that level. The results page is titled Degree Comparison and the line under At a Glance reads Leaders across key dimensions for the selected programs. You can even tick the same field at both levels to see what the graduate degree adds.
Every control explained
| Control | Where | What it changes | Default | Tips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Showing data for | Above the page heading | The state whose degrees, costs and universities are listed and compared. Reloads the page. | Your last chosen state | Reloading clears ticks you have not compared yet. |
| Search degree | Filter card, left | Narrows the list to degree titles that match what you type. The list stays A to Z. | Empty | Use the field's name ("computer science", "nursing"), not a job title. |
| Degree level | Filter card, right | Which levels are listed: All, Undergraduate or Graduate. It does not change ticks you already made: each tick keeps its own level. | All | Leave it on All to mix levels, or use it to find the exact level you want for a field listed twice. |
| Degree list with check boxes | Under Select Degrees to Compare | Each card shows the degree name in bold and a grey line with its level and "N universities offering this degree". Ticking adds it; unticking removes it. | Nothing ticked (unless you arrived from a degree) | A field offered at both levels appears twice. Ticking both compares the two levels. |
| Count line | Top of the list | "N degrees found matching "…"" or Showing first 300 degrees — search to narrow the list. | — | Search to reach fields beyond the first 300. |
| Compare Selected (beside the heading) | Right of Select Degrees to Compare | Opens the results page for your ticked degrees, each at its own level. | — | Needs at least one tick. |
| Selected Degrees | Card below the list | Names of your ticked degrees. Read-only. | No degrees selected yet. Check items above, then click Compare Selected. | The names do not show the level; check the grey line in the list if you ticked a field twice. |
| How This Works | Card below Selected Degrees | Text only: a one-paragraph summary of the steps. | — | Nothing to click. |
| Bottom bar and its Compare Selected | Fixed to the bottom of the screen after your first tick | Shows "N degree(s) selected. Compare from here when you're ready." The button works like the top one. | Hidden until the first tick | Saves scrolling back up. |
| Save as PDF | Bottom-right corner | Opens your browser's print dialog so you can print the page or save it as a PDF. A light "samantar.us / FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY" watermark is added to the printout. | — | On this page it prints your list and ticks; the button is more useful on the results page. |
Reading the results
On the picker, each degree card shows three things:
| Item | Meaning | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Degree name | The field of study, named as in the federal program classification. | NCES IPEDS |
| Undergraduate / Graduate | The level. Undergraduate covers undergraduate certificates, associate's and bachelor's programs; graduate covers master's, doctoral, professional and graduate certificate programs. | College Scorecard and NCES IPEDS credential levels |
| "N universities offering this degree" | How many universities in your state offer the degree at that level and have published tuition. A count, not a rank. | NCES IPEDS programs, College Scorecard tuition |
After Compare Selected, the results page shows:
- At a Glance: which degree leads on Highest Median Salary, Highest Entry Salary, Best ROI Efficiency and Most Universities Offer.
- Charts: Salary Comparison (median entry pay against median career pay across the careers the degree leads to), 20-Year Salary Trajectory, Path Efficiency (share of those careers you can enter without another degree) and University Availability.
- Full Comparison table: Degree (with Undergraduate or Graduate underneath), Median Salary, Entry Salary, Median Annual Cost, Universities, ROI Efficiency and Direct Paths.
- Top ROI Universities: for each degree, the top three universities listed by outcome measures: earnings, completion and cost, next to the top three by Institution Rank, each with Open in ROI calculator. Graduate degrees' links open the calculator at the graduate level.
Pay comes from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024) for the careers each degree leads to; yearly cost is in-state tuition plus books from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Reading comparison results explains each number and both error messages. See also how the figures are produced.
Worked example
A college junior in Texas is weighing three options after an accounting bachelor's: stop there, add a master's in accounting, or switch to a master's in business administration.
- The student picks Texas in Showing data for, opens Compare and clicks Compare Degrees. Degree level is on All.
- The student types "accounting" in Search degree. The list shows accounting entries at both levels, each with its grey line, for example "Undergraduate · N universities offering this degree" and "Graduate · N universities offering this degree". The student ticks both.
- The student types "business administration", finds the graduate entry and ticks it. Selected Degrees lists three names, and the bottom bar says three degrees are selected.
- The student presses Compare Selected. The results page is titled Degree Comparison, because the picks mix undergraduate and graduate. The table shows each degree with its level underneath, its median and entry salary in dollars per year, its median yearly cost in dollars, the number of Texas universities that offer it at that level, its pay-to-cost ratio (for example "N.NN×") and its share of direct career paths.
- Under Top ROI Universities, each degree has its own top three. The student clicks Open in ROI calculator beside a school in the graduate accounting list. The calculator opens with that school, the graduate accounting program and the graduate level already filled in, ready for the student to choose a career and run the projection.
Common questions
- Why is the same degree listed twice?
- It is offered at both levels in your state. The grey line under each name says Undergraduate or Graduate. Tick the one you mean, or both to compare the levels.
- Can I compare a bachelor's field with a master's field?
- Yes. Since version 1.9.3 each pick keeps its own level, so a mixed comparison works and is titled Degree Comparison. Before that release, graduate picks made with the level set to All returned an error.
- The results say "No degree data found for the selected options". What does that mean?
- None of your degrees had data at the level you picked them in the state now selected. It usually happens when you open a saved or shared comparison after switching to another state, since degree lists differ between states. Go back, pick the degrees again in this state, and compare.
- And "No data returned for the selected degrees. They may not be available for the chosen level."?
- The same problem in a mixed comparison: neither the undergraduate nor the graduate picks had data. If only some of your picks have data, the page shows those and leaves the others out.
- Why does a degree show "—" for a number?
- The data behind that number is missing for this degree in your state, for example no published cost for the schools that offer it. If a whole column is empty for every degree, the table hides that column.
- Is the yearly cost in-state or out-of-state?
- In-state. The comparison uses in-state tuition plus books. For out-of-state costs at a given school, open it in the ROI calculator.
What this does NOT do
- It is not an admissions tool and not advice on what to study.
- Pay and cost are typical values from historical data, not a promise of what you will earn or pay.
- It stores nothing about you. Ticks stay in the page; the results page keeps them in its address. Sign-in is only for saving reports.
- It compares fields of study, not one degree at several universities. For one degree's universities, open the degree's page from Degrees.
- It does not use out-of-state tuition or living costs; costs are in-state tuition and books.
- The Selected Degrees names cannot be clicked to remove them; untick them in the list.
Related
- Compare: picking a mode
- Reading comparison results
- Compare careers
- Compare non-degree pathways
- Degrees and A degree's detail page, where Stack against another degree → starts.
- ROI Calculator
- Live pages: Compare Degrees, Compare, Degrees.