Chapel Hill, US · 21 months · class of 206
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA: cost, salary and payback
A Chapel Hill program where 40% of graduates hold a finance job, and whose salary headline is an average rather than a median.
Paid back after graduation in
6.4 years
Total cost $364,724 · 10-year NPV $9,920
| Tuition and fees, whole program | $148,384 |
| Living budget | $58,840 |
| Salary given up, 21 months | $157,500 |
| Total cost | $364,724 |
| Salary after: average base salary | $139,637 |
| 10-year net present value | $9,920 |
| Return on the cost (present values) | 3% |
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
- $148,384
- Total cost, salary given up included
- $364,724
- average base salary
- $139,637
- Payback, reference person
- 6.4 years
The UNC Kenan-Flagler full-time MBA costs $148,384 in tuition and mandatory fees at the rate for students from outside North Carolina, and the school budgets $58,840 for living costs, for $207,224 over two years. The school publishes one year only, and expects tuition to rise, so the two-year figure is a floor. For a person earning $90,000 today, the 21 months away add $157,500; the school publishes no internship pay to subtract, so the total is $364,724. The class of 2025 reported an average base salary of $139,637, which repays that total 6.4 years after graduation and leaves a ten-year net present value of $9,920. What sets the school apart is finance: 40% of graduates took a finance job by function, and it ranks number 9 of 39 in our finance ranking.
Finance by function, not only by industry
Financial services was the largest industry for the class of 2025, 25% at a median of $175,000. The function table shows a wider reach: 40% of graduates hold a finance job, because corporate finance and real estate roles sit in companies outside the banks. Investment banking accounts for 15% by function and real estate for 7%. On share, salary and ten-year value, Kenan-Flagler comes number 9 of 39 in our finance ranking. Consulting is second at 18%, at the same median of $175,000.
UNC Kenan-Flagler: where the class went
Share of the class
18%
| Salary reported | $175,000 |
| Graduates, about | 37 |
| Payback with that salary | 4.1 years |
Reference person earning $90,000 before the MBA.
An average salary, and why the payback looks long
The headline $139,637 is a mean of base salaries, while the figures by industry are medians, and the two do not line up: both finance and consulting report medians above the school-wide average. On the finance median, the payback for the reference person is 4.1 years, against 6.4 years on the school-wide figure. The gap comes from the mix of the class, with lower-paid groups pulling the average down, and from comparing a mean with medians. The ten-year value of $9,920 is small next to a total cost of $364,724: for someone with no clear goal, the degree only just pays for itself over a decade on this model.
One line works against the school on this page. It publishes no summer internship pay, so the calculator subtracts nothing for those months; 17 of the 32 American schools on this site publish that figure and get a credit for it. A paid internship would shorten the payback shown.
UNC Kenan-Flagler: when the MBA pays back, for your salary
Payback after graduation
6.4 years
| Total cost with the salary given up | $364,724 |
| Salary after (average base salary) | $139,637 |
| 10-year NPV | $9,920 |
Same assumptions as the main calculator; US dollars.
Healthcare and energy, larger than at most schools
14% of the class went into healthcare at $132,000; only 6 schools on this site report a larger share, and Kenan-Flagler ranks number 8 of 22 for healthcare careers. Energy took 8% at $128,000, number 4 of 8 in our energy ranking, with Duke Energy and ExxonMobil among the employers the school names. Both medians are below the school average, so these careers repay more slowly: 7.2 years on the healthcare median. Across the whole class, counting the 88% employed within three months, the school ranks number 16 of 40 in our whole-class ranking.
Where UNC Kenan-Flagler stands in our rankings
- #16 of 40 · Any industry (whole class)
- #30 of 38 · Consulting
- #9 of 39 · Finance, all segments
- #26 of 40 · Technology
- #15 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, UNC Kenan-Flagler was ranked 40 in the FT Global MBA 2026.
What the UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA costs
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition, whole program | $148,384 |
| Living budget, whole program | $58,840 |
| Salary given up: $90,000 a year for 21 months | $157,500 |
| Total cost, reference person | $364,724 |
UNC Kenan-Flagler employment report: Class of 2025
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Average base salary | $139,637 |
| Signing bonus (mean) | $32,558 |
| Graduates who employed within three months | 88% |
UNC Kenan-Flagler graduates by industry
| Industry, as the school names it | Share | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Services | 25% | $175,000 |
| Consulting | 18% | $175,000 |
| Real Estate + Other (hospitality, manufacturing, media/entertainment, non-profit/public sector, transportation & logistics) | 15% | not published |
| Healthcare (including products & services) | 14% | $132,000 |
| Technology | 13% | $142,000 |
| Energy | 8% | $128,000 |
| Consumer Packaged Goods + Retail | 8% | not published |
Where UNC Kenan-Flagler graduates went to work
| Region | Share | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| US (US Mid-Atlantic + US Midwest + US Northeast + US South + US Southwest + US West) | 96% | not published |
UNC Kenan-Flagler graduates by job function
| Function | Share | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Finance (all) | 40% | $140,000 |
| Finance - Investment Banking | 15% | $175,000 |
| Finance - Real Estate | 7% | $130,000 |
| Finance - Industry Finance | 6% | $122,500 |
| Finance - Capital Markets & Investment Management | 3% | $150,000 |
| Finance - Private Wealth Management | 2% | $125,000 |
| Finance - Banking (non-Investment Banking) | 1% | $130,000 |
| Finance - Private Equity | 1% | $125,000 |
| Consulting | 17% | $175,000 |
| General Management | 15% | $130,000 |
| Marketing/Sales | 13% | $125,000 |
| Operations/Logistics | 11% | $137,500 |
| Information Technology | 3% | $146,000 |
| Other | 4% | $162,500 |
Employers named by UNC Kenan-Flagler
Amazon · Bain & Company · Deloitte Consulting · EY-Parthenon · McKinsey & Company · Bank of America · Duke Energy · ExxonMobil · Kenvue · PepsiCo · JPMorgan Chase · Harris Williams
Names only: the school gives no hire counts.
The UNC Kenan-Flagler class
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| International students | 35% |
| Women | 32% |
| Average age | 28 |
| Average years of work experience | 5 |
| Class size | 206 |