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. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Top New Hampshire Colleges for a Master's ranking - to help you make that decision.
After analyzing 10 grad schools in New Hampshire, 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.
Higher Than Average Earnings
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving a master's degree from the school. Recent students who earned a master's degree in New Hampshire entered the job market making an average of $57,663 while those in the top 10 schools on our list made an average of $64,549.
Starting Salary ( 43128 to 77679 )
Taking Out Student Loans
In addition to average starting salaries, we also consider the average amount of student loans that graduate students take on while pursuing their master's degree.
We consider this number in conjunction with average post-graduation earnings to gauge the difficulty master's recipients will have paying back their loans.
More Ranking Factors That Are Important
We also analyze a number of other factors in addition to average post-graduation earnings and average student debt when coming up with our yearly Best Master's Degree Schools ranking.
On a broad level, other factors that go into our rankings include such things as the demand of the school, the student body caliber, if the school has online options, and the educational resources provided by the school.
Our 2024 rankings named Dartmouth College the best grad school in New Hampshire in terms of overall quality for students working on their master’s degree. Dartmouth is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Hanover, New Hampshire. It awarded 662 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $103,420 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern New Hampshire University. The school came in at #2 in New Hampshire on this year’s best master’s degree schools ranking. SNHU is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Manchester, New Hampshire. It awarded 7,381 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from SNHU make an average of $53,165 a year.
The excellent master’s degree programs at University of New Hampshire - Main Campus helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in New Hampshire. This fairly large public school is located in Durham, New Hampshire, and it awarded 766 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
During the early years of their career, master’s degree graduates from UNH make an average of $59,816 a year.
A rank of #4 on our Best Master’s Degree in New Hampshire list means Antioch University - New England is a great place for students working on their degree. Antioch University - New England is a small private not-for-profit school located in Keene, New Hampshire that handed out 196 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The average salary of a graduate with a master’s degree from Antioch University - New England is $44,779 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend New England College. It ranked #5 on our 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in New Hampshire list. NEC is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Henniker, New Hampshire. It awarded 691 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Graduates with a master’s degree from NEC make an average of $72,577 per year during the early years of their career.
Keene State College did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in New Hampshire ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Keene, New Hampshire, the small public school awarded 32 diplomas to qualifed master’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $60,714 during the early years of their career.
Plymouth State University did quite well in the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in New Hampshire ranking, coming in at #7. Plymouth State is located in Plymouth, New Hampshire and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 227 master’s degrees to qualified graduate students.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $45,839 during the early years of their career.
Rivier University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in New Hampshire ranking. Rivier University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Nashua, New Hampshire that handed out 206 master’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Upon graduation, master’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $60,094 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #9, Granite State College did quite well on the 2024 Best Master’s Degree Schools in New Hampshire list. GSC is located in Concord, New Hampshire and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 53 master’s degrees to qualified graduate students.
Those who receive a master’s degree from GSC go into careers with an average salary of $67,286 during the early years of their career.
Franklin Pierce University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Master’s Degree Schools in New Hampshire ranking. Rindge, New Hampshire is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out master’s degrees to 100 students in 2020-2021.
Those who receive a master’s degree from Franklin Pierce go into careers with an average salary of $77,804 during the early years of their career.
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%.