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Management information systems majors are expected to be the top-paid Class of 2016 business graduates at the bachelor’s degree level, according to results of NACE’s Winter 2016 Salary Survey.
Management information systems majors are projected to earn an average starting salary of $56,846. (See Figure 1.) This is up from last year, when projected salaries for management information systems majors reported in NACE’s Winter 2015 Salary Survey averaged $55,843.
Also expected to surpass the $50,000 mark among this year’s graduates are logistics/supply chain ($55,246), actuarial science ($54,833), economics ($53,673), finance ($53,499), accounting ($52,405), business administration/management ($51,831), and sales ($50,122) majors. In all cases, except for sales, those projected salaries are up from those reported in the Winter 2015 Salary Survey.
Data contained in NACE's Winter 2016 Salary Survey were obtained from August 5, 2015, through November 6, 2015. The Winter 2016 Salary Survey is available to members in MyNACE. An executive summary report is available at www.naceweb.org/salary-resources/salary-survey.aspx.
Final starting salary data for the Class of 2015 will be available in the Spring 2016 Salary Survey.
Figure 1: Projected salaries for Class of 2016 business majors, bachelor's degrees
| Academic Major |
Mean |
25th Percentile |
Median |
75th Percentile |
| Management information systems |
$56,846 |
$52,000 |
$60,000 |
$62,000 |
| Logistics/supply chain |
$55,246 |
$50,000 |
$55,000 |
$61,000 |
| Actuarial science |
$54,833 |
$48,000 |
$55,000 |
$65,000 |
| Economics |
$53,673 |
$46,000 |
$54,000 |
$60,000 |
| Finance |
$53,499 |
$48,000 |
$54,040 |
$60,000 |
| Accounting |
$52,405 |
$47,000 |
$54,000 |
$57,000 |
| Business administration/management |
$51,831 |
$45,000 |
$50,250 |
$55,500 |
| Sales |
$50,122 |
$43,500 |
$50,000 |
$57,000 |
| Marketing |
$49,527 |
$43,000 |
$50,000 |
$55,000 |
| Human resources |
$49,075 |
$44,000 |
$50,000 |
$54,040 |
| International business |
$47,714 |
$40,250 |
$47,500 |
$55,000 |
| Hospitality management |
$46,469 |
$40,000 |
$45,500 |
$50,000 |
Source: Winter 2016 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers