Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, formed from the 1967 merger of the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Mellon Institute. It is a global leader in computer science, robotics, and the arts.
7,187 undergraduate students. 230 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
UNITID 211440 · OPEID 003242 · IPEDS HDVINTAGE · COLLEGE SCORECARD · 2025-05 · HISTORY 1996–2024
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at Carnegie Mellon
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+18%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Carnegie Mellon University rose 18% between 2006 and 2009 ($34.6k → $40.9k).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Carnegie Mellon University fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.1% → 0.0%).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+12%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Carnegie Mellon University rose 12% between 2021 and 2024 ($58.9k → $66.2k).
PEER OUTLIER · TRENDING BETTER+95%
Private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at Carnegie Mellon University are 95% above the private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer median ($114.9k vs $59.0k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
Carnegie Mellon earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Pennsylvania median
Each tile compares this institution to the Pennsylvania median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$114,862+9% · 6→10y
Pennsylvania median $49,859
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$105,360
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
92.5%+18% · '97→'09
Pennsylvania median 66.1%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$20,250+40% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
7,187+52% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
97.0%+7% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
11.4%-63% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$63,829+167% · '00→'24
out-of-state $63,829
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How Carnegie Mellon earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at Carnegie Mellon
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.3%
0%8% · GE20%+
Median federal debt $20,250 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $114,862 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Carnegie Mellon enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
UNDERGRAD · 1996–20247,304
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997–200984.5%
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997–2020$21,750
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 100% · 1997→2024+45%
Carnegie Mellon · completion · 100% rose
56.1% → 81.4%
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT · 1996→2024+52%
Carnegie Mellon · undergrad enrollment rose
4,814 → 7,304
IN-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+167%
Carnegie Mellon · in-state tuition rose
$24,792 → $66,246
OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 2000→2009+65%
Carnegie Mellon · out-of-state tuition rose
$24,792 → $40,920
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997→2020+40%
Carnegie Mellon · median debt rose
$15,505 → $21,750
COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 2011→2024-60%
Carnegie Mellon · cohort default rate fell
1.2% → 0.0%
PELL SHARE · 2008→2024+40%
Carnegie Mellon · pell share rose
11.4% → 16.0%
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_10YR · 2007→2020+52%
Carnegie Mellon · earnings_median_10yr rose
$75,800 → $114,862
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 2005→2020+63%
Carnegie Mellon · earnings_median_8yr rose
$64,900 → $105,524
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 2003→2020+94%
Carnegie Mellon · earnings_median_6yr rose
$54,400 → $105,360
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Carnegie Mellon programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$2,277,650
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 7
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
Cost per year
$17,534
HS-only baseline · PA
$38,100
Years to complete
6
CIP family
11
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to Carnegie Mellon in Pennsylvania
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
“Carnegie Mellon graduates earn $X” — not “Carnegie Mellon makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Carnegie Mellon caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.