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2026 Highest Paid Engineering Physics Grads in the Great Lakes Region

[Engineering Physics](/majors/engineering/engineering-physics/) is a field where your choice of school can shape what you earn after graduation. A top-earning program sends graduates into careers with strong starting pay.

For its 2026 highest-paid-graduates ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools to find where engineering physics graduates earn the most.

What’s on this page:

• Highest Paid Engineering Physics Grads in the Great Lakes Region

2026 Highest Paid Engineering Physics Grads in the Great Lakes Region

Below are the schools whose engineering physics graduates go on to earn the most.

Highest Paid Engineering Physics Graduates

1

University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign
Champaign, IL

$109,155 Average Early-Career Salary

For graduate earnings in engineering physics, no school beat University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign this year. Set in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a public institution. After graduating, engineering physics degree recipients from University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign typically earn about $109,155 annually.

2

University Of Wisconsin Platteville
Platteville, WI

$85,157 Average Early-Career Salary

Students chasing top earnings in engineering physics will find them at University Of Wisconsin Platteville, which ranked #2. Located in the town of Platteville, University Of Wisconsin Platteville is a public institution. Early-career engineering physics graduates from University Of Wisconsin Platteville make a median of around $85,157 per year.

3

Augustana College Illinois
Rock Island, IL

$54,165 Average Early-Career Salary

Strong graduate earnings at Augustana College Illinois earned it the #3 place for engineering physics. Set in the city of Rock Island, Augustana College Illinois is a private not-for-profit institution. Engineering Physics graduates of Augustana College Illinois earn a median of about $54,165 a year early in their careers.

View All Engineering Physics Rankings >

Notes and References

This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. Schools are ranked on the median early-career earnings of their engineering physics graduates, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).

Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 3 schools evaluated.

*Salary figures reflect median early-career earnings (about 5 years after graduation) and may vary by how long a person takes to complete their degree.

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Graduate earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard) field-of-study earnings.

More about our data sources and methodologies.