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Median Salaries of Deans, by Discipline, 2016-17

Almanac 2017 August 13, 2017

Deans of medicine, dentistry, and law earned the highest median pay over all in 2016-17, while deans of instruction; of occupational studies, vocational education, or technology; and of students earned the lowest median pay.

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Deans of medicine, dentistry, and law earned the highest median pay over all in 2016-17, while deans of instruction; of occupational studies, vocational education, or technology; and of students earned the lowest median pay.


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DisciplineAllDoctoralMaster’sBaccalaureateAssociate
Agriculture $247,854 $260,126 $144,942 $116,380 $100,205
Architecture/design $216,587 $223,348 $159,335 $104,000 $101,880
Arts and letters $149,904 $205,000 $142,290 $102,000 $106,790
Arts and sciences $160,000 $239,292 $145,007 $138,607 $100,000
Biological and life sciences $146,733 $268,102 $146,733 $106,047 $97,500
Business $190,647 $288,071 $175,000 $123,489 $97,177
Communication/journalism/media $200,971 $235,245 $165,015 $92,757 $112,006
Computer and information sciences $180,620 $232,329 $178,240 $132,700 $102,806
Continuing education $120,480 $195,037 $124,226 $99,019 $98,791
Cooperative extension $189,414 $199,474 $126,000 -- $96,061
Dentistry $340,731 $350,000 $273,636 -- --
Divinity/religion $106,424 $148,967 $96,135 $102,500 --
Education $153,120 $206,281 $136,686 $99,266 $97,386
Engineering $262,500 $294,200 $196,740 $107,922 $106,469
External degree programs $120,720 $138,924 $84,000 $111,780 $100,663
Family and consumer sciences $220,494 $220,494 --
--
--
Fine arts $151,026 $209,996 $132,600 $107,775 $103,999
Forestry and environmental studies $213,282 $222,584 $157,984 --
--
Government/public affairs/public policy $255,700 $271,575 $178,692 --
--
Graduate school $157,177 $190,082 $130,790 $112,500 --
Health-related professions $138,014 $210,570 $143,521 $99,891 $102,382
Honors program $144,622 $158,516 $113,659 $104,102 $130,328
Humanities $131,000 $225,789 $135,411 $97,353 $101,341
Instruction $98,837 $97,500 $105,000 $109,951 $97,177
Law $326,260 $340,000 $285,592 $367,251 --
Library science $147,000 $188,540 $128,716 $95,193 $96,278
Mathematics $110,000 $206,831 $164,703 $108,486 $103,111
Medicine $534,920 $537,138 $468,067 $362,230 --
Music $166,464 $213,150 $140,066 $90,398 $90,915
Nursing $146,375 $226,985 $130,000 $104,040 $97,961
Occupational studies/vocational ed/technology $101,794 $154,300 $120,644 $92,119 $98,314
Performing arts $162,050 $187,000 $166,068 $64,487 $99,695
Pharmacy $261,500 $287,363 $225,000 $230,010 --
Public health $308,403 $310,008 --
$74,450 $64,896
Sciences $152,105 $240,536 $145,632 $103,936 $100,663
Social sciences $123,000 $215,000 $142,371 $96,473 $95,105
Social work $212,763 $218,503 $133,094 $230,006 --
Special programs $104,936 $144,238 $123,600 $104,192 $96,035
Students (with or without faculty status) $102,030 $125,200 $100,646 $92,960 $97,000
Undergraduate programs $146,456 $191,198 $112,746 $103,000 $163,000
Veterinary medicine $284,843 $284,843 --
--
--

Note: Data were drawn from survey responses by 1,125 colleges and universities on 191 administrative positions. Because seven systems reported data in aggregate for all their campuses, salaries were reported from a total of 1,191 institutions, with public and private institutions nearly equally represented. Data were collected in late 2016 and early 2017. A hyphen indicates insufficient or no data.

Source: Bichsel, Jacqueline; McChesney, Jasper; and Calcagno, Maria. “Administrators in Higher Education Salary Report: Key Findings, Trends, and Comprehensive Tables for the 2016-17 Academic Year.” College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR), March 2017. Research report. Available from www.cupahr.org/surveys/ahe.aspx.

A version of this article appeared in the August 18, 2017, issue.
Read other items in The Profession.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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