Pittsburgh, US · 21 months · class of 144
CMU Tepper MBA: cost, salary and payback
First in our ranking for operations roles, and a class split between consulting and technology.
Paid back after graduation in
4.9 years
Total cost $370,964 · 10-year NPV $150,025
| Tuition and fees, whole program | $177,156 |
| Living budget | $61,440 |
| Salary given up, 21 months | $157,500 |
| Summer internship earned | −$25,133 |
| Total cost | $370,964 |
| Salary after: median base salary | $160,000 |
| 10-year net present value | $150,025 |
| Return on the cost (present values) | 41% |
US dollars at the ECB rate of the last update. Raises of 5% a year with the MBA and 3% without, discounted at 5%, before tax. How this is calculated.
Fees and budget read on October 13, 2026 · employment: Class of 2025 (MBA CSEA standard) · Built by Radif Partners · Method
- Tuition and fees
- $177,156
- Total cost, salary given up included
- $370,964
- median base salary
- $160,000
- Payback, reference person
- 4.9 years
Two years at Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School cost $238,596 in tuition, fees and the school's single-student budget, both counted at the AY 2026-27 rate because the second-year rate is not yet published. The fees include the university health plan. For a person earning $90,000 today, the 21 months away add $157,500, the summer internship at a median $10,053 a month gives part of it back, and the total reaches $370,964. The class of 2025 reported a median base salary of $160,000, which repays that total 4.9 years after graduation, with a ten-year net present value of $150,025. What sets Tepper apart is the job mix: after consulting, the class spreads across operations, product and corporate finance roles in technology and manufacturing companies, rather than across banks.
Jobs inside companies, not only at advisers
Consulting still leads, with 35.7% of the class and a median of $188,000 in management and strategy consulting roles, and technology follows at 25.1%, enough for number 4 of 40 in our tech ranking. The rest of the report is where Tepper differs. Operations management roles paid a median of $142,800, and Tepper ranks number 1 of 18 in our ranking for operations jobs. Product and industrial marketing, the label the report uses for product roles, paid $170,050, number 4 of 13 for product management. Corporate finance, treasury and analysis jobs paid $135,000, well below banking.
Healthcare, which here means medical devices, services and pharmaceuticals, took 6.3%, number 3 of 22 in our healthcare list, and manufacturing 5.4%. Investment banking is a small group, 4.5%.
CMU Tepper: where the class went
Share of the class
35.7%
| Salary reported | $160,000 (school-wide) |
| Graduates, about | 51 |
| Payback with that salary | 4.9 years |
Reference person earning $90,000 before the MBA.
A summary report with gaps
We found only the summary of Tepper's employment report; it points to a full report that we could not locate. It leaves 5 of its 8 industry rows without a salary, which means our sector rankings fall back on the school-wide median for consulting, technology and finance. The salary by function fills part of that gap, and the function figures above are the ones to read. The signing bonus is given as a mean, $38,610, with no share of graduates who received one, so the calculator leaves it out. 83% of the class had an offer within three months.
What Pittsburgh does to the bill
The school's living budget of $61,440 for two years is number 13 from the lowest of the 29 American budgets in our data. 93.7% of graduates took jobs in the United States, and the summary does not split the country by region, so it cannot say how many stayed in Pennsylvania. With a class of 144 entering each year, a few hires move any of the shares on this page noticeably. For a product goal, compare with IMD, also near the top of that list; for operations, the next school in our ranking is Vanderbilt Owen.
CMU Tepper: when the MBA pays back, for your salary
Payback after graduation
4.9 years
| Total cost with the salary given up | $370,964 |
| Salary after (median base salary) | $160,000 |
| 10-year NPV | $150,025 |
Same assumptions as the main calculator; US dollars.
Where CMU Tepper stands in our rankings
- #17 of 40 · Any industry (whole class)
- #20 of 38 · Consulting
- #30 of 39 · Finance, all segments
- #9 of 12 · Investment banking
- #4 of 40 · Technology
- #22 of 39 · Working in the United States
Our fit score, reference person earning $90,000 before the MBA (method). Third-party rankings play no part in it. For reference, CMU Tepper was ranked 41 in the FT Global MBA 2026.
What the CMU Tepper MBA costs
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition, whole program | $168,372 |
| Mandatory fees | $8,784 |
| Living budget, whole program | $61,440 |
| Salary given up: $90,000 a year for 21 months | $157,500 |
| Summer internship earned | −$25,133 |
| Total cost, reference person | $370,964 |
CMU Tepper employment report: Class of 2025
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median base salary | $160,000 |
| Signing bonus (mean) | $38,610 |
| Summer internship, per month (median) | $10,053 |
| Graduates who employed within three months | 83% |
CMU Tepper graduates by industry
| Industry, as the school names it | Share | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting | 35.7% | not published |
| Technology | 25.1% | not published |
| Financial Services | 9.9% | not published |
| Other | 8% | $136,500 |
| Medical Product/Devices + Medical Services + Pharmaceuticals | 6.3% | not published |
| Manufacturing | 5.4% | not published |
| Energy/Petroleum/Utilities | 3.6% | $145,000 |
| Consumer Products | 2.7% | $120,000 |
| of which investment banking (investment banking) | 4.5% | $175,000 |
| of which private equity (private equity/venture capital) | 0.9% | not published |
| of which asset management (asset management) | 0.9% | not published |
Where CMU Tepper graduates went to work
| Region | Share | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| US (US Mid-Atlantic + US Midwest + US Northeast + US South + US Southwest + US West) | 93.7% | not published |
CMU Tepper graduates by job function
| Function | Share | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting | 35.1% | not published |
| Consulting - Management/Strategy | 34.2% | $188,000 |
| Finance | 19.8% | not published |
| Finance - Corporate (Analysis/Treasury) | 11.7% | $135,000 |
| Finance - Investment Banking | 3.6% | $175,000 |
| General Management | 12.6% | not published |
| General Management - General/LDPs | 6.3% | $135,000 |
| General Management - Strategic Planning/Business Development | 4.5% | $112,700 |
| Marketing | 12.6% | not published |
| Marketing - Product/Industrial (B2B) | 9% | $170,050 |
| Marketing - Brand (B2C) | 2.7% | $120,000 |
| Production and Operations Management | 11.7% | not published |
| Operations Management | 9.9% | $142,800 |
| Information Systems/Technology | 3.6% | not published |
| IS/Technology - Management | 2.7% | $160,000 |
| Other | 4.5% | $120,000 |
Employers named by CMU Tepper
Amazon · PwC · McKinsey & Company · Deloitte · Boston Consulting Group · Republic Services · Google · Jefferies · Ford Motor Co. · Kearney
Names only: the school gives no hire counts.
The CMU Tepper class
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| International students | 38% |
| Average age | 29 |
| GMAT median | 710 |
| Class size | 144 |