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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| 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 | --
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| --
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| Fine arts | $151,026 | $209,996 | $132,600 | $107,775 | $103,999 |
| Forestry and environmental studies | $213,282 | $222,584 | $157,984 | --
| --
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| 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 | --
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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.