With all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take when you want to pursue a grad degree. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Master's Degree Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking is part of that endeavor.
After analyzing 207 grad schools in the Middle Atlantic Region , we came up with our list of those that offered the best master's degree programs. Our ranking methodology focuses on different objective factors to make this determination of the best grad schools. In the next few paragraphs, we'll talk a little about what we use in our analysis and why.
Early-Career Salaries Are Higher
One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. A master's degree holder from a school in the Middle Atlantic Region makes an average starting salary of $62,572, but the students who attended schools in the top 25 of our list make an average of $67,907.
Starting Salary ( 53238 to 77255 )
Average Student Debt
Graduate students may also take on a lot of debt while working on their master's so we factor that into our rankings as well.
The average debt load at a particular school may not be bad, but it's an important thing to consider in conjunction with post-graduation earnings.
Other Ranking Factors in Our Methodology
In addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt loads, we also look at a host of other factors to determining our Best Master's Degree Schools ranking.
Several other factors - such as how much the school spends on educational resources, the demand of the school, the availability of online learning options, and the student body caliber - go into our rankings.
If you'd rather work on your master's degree in a specific area of the country, you might be interested in our rankings by place. Also, you may want to check out our other college rankings.
Our 2024 rankings named University of Pennsylvania the best grad school in the Middle Atlantic Region in terms of overall quality for students working on their master’s degree. University of Pennsylvania is a large private not-for-profit school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 4,816 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $90,142 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Teachers College at Columbia University. It ranked #2 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 1,727 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $59,304 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Carnegie Mellon University. The school came in at #3 in the Middle Atlantic Region on this year’s best master’s degree schools ranking. Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3,045 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon is $79,946 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia University in the City of New York. It ranked #4 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 8,527 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from Columbia make an average of $75,670 a year.
A rank of #5 on our Best Master’s Degree in the Middle Atlantic Region list means Georgetown University is a great place for students working on their degree. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 3,975 students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Georgetown make an average of $73,859 per year during the early years of their career.
Princeton University landed the #6 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Princeton is a private not-for-profit institution located in Princeton, New Jersey. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 605 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $75,130 during the early years of their career.
Johns Hopkins University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 6,960 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins go into careers with an average salary of $77,574 during the early years of their career.
Cornell University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Cornell is a private not-for-profit institution located in Ithaca, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2,888 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $91,796 during the early years of their career.
New York University landed the #9 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Located in New York, New York, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 9,064 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from NYU make an average of $66,757 a year.
George Washington University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking, coming in at #10. George Washington University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Washington, District of Columbia that handed out 4,602 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from GWU make an average of $68,845 a year.
Gallaudet University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 128 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Gallaudet is $46,672 during the early years of their career.
University of Maryland - College Park did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking, coming in at #12. College Park, Maryland is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 2,662 students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $65,247 during the early years of their career.
Villanova University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Located in Villanova, Pennsylvania, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,363 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from Villanova make an average of $74,591 a year.
Thomas Jefferson University landed the #14 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Thomas Jefferson University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 954 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $64,610 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #15, Stevens Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Stevens is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Hoboken, New Jersey. It awarded 1,611 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Stevens go into careers with an average salary of $86,039 during the early years of their career.
Yeshiva University landed the #16 spot on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Yeshiva is located in New York, New York and has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 548 master’s degrees to qualified graduate students.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Yeshiva is $49,324 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #17, Rutgers University - New Brunswick did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. New Brunswick, New Jersey is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 3,092 students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Rutgers New Brunswick make an average of $58,278 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #18, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. This large public school is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 1,869 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $75,980 during the early years of their career.
Fordham University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Located in Bronx, New York, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 2,617 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from Fordham U make an average of $64,593 per year during the early years of their career.
The College of New Jersey did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking, coming in at #20. Located in Ewing, New Jersey, the medium-sized public school awarded 377 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from TCNJ is $54,876 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #21, Syracuse University did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Syracuse is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Syracuse, New York. It awarded 2,698 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Syracuse is $55,004 during the early years of their career.
American University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 1,829 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from The American University make an average of $56,358 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #23, Hunter College did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Hunter is a public institution located in New York, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2,089 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Hunter go into careers with an average salary of $62,583 during the early years of their career.
The Graduate Center, CUNY did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking, coming in at #24. New York, New York is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out master’s degrees to 1,480 students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from The Graduate Center go into careers with an average salary of $59,533 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #25, University of Scranton did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. University of Scranton is a private not-for-profit institution located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 538 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from University of Scranton make an average of $64,952 a year.
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.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
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