Los Angeles, US · 21 months · class of 176
USC Marshall MBA: cost, salary and payback
A Los Angeles MBA that publishes salaries by industry but not how many graduates went into each, and no budget for living costs.
Paid back after graduation in
5.8 years
Total cost $341,036 · 10-year NPV $51,499
| Tuition and fees, whole program | $183,536 |
| Living budget | $0 |
| Salary given up, 21 months | $157,500 |
| Total cost | $341,036 |
| Salary after: average base salary | $142,184 |
| 10-year net present value | $51,499 |
| Return on the cost (present values) | 15% |
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. The school publishes no living budget: the figure above is yours. How this is calculated.
Fees and budget read on October 13, 2026 · employment: Class of 2025 (school standard) · Built by Radif Partners · Method
- Tuition and fees
- $183,536
- Total cost, salary given up included
- n/a
- average base salary
- $142,184
- Payback, reference person
- not computable
The full-time MBA at USC Marshall costs $164,745 in tuition at 2026-27 rates, and the school adds $18,791 of university, program and health fees, for $183,536 over two years. The school warns that rates rise each year. It publishes no living budget on its own pages; the university's cost of attendance sits in an interactive tool, so the total for a person earning $90,000 today cannot be completed. That person would also give up $157,500 of salary over the 21 months. The class of 2025 reported an average base salary of $142,184 and a mean signing bonus of $35,896, but without a living budget there is no payback or ten-year value on this page. What sets Marshall apart is how little it publishes on placement: salaries by industry, with no share of the class beside them.
Salaries by industry, without the shares
Marshall's public outcomes page gives an average starting salary for four groups, consulting at $167,211, financial services at $148,744, technology at $136,056 and entertainment at $117,667, and stops there. It does not say how many graduates went into each, and no detailed employment report is posted. That leaves a candidate unable to tell whether consulting is a quarter of the class or a handful of hires, and it is why Marshall has no place in our industry rankings, which need a share. The school-wide average of $142,184 falls between them, above technology and entertainment; without shares, that is as far as the figures can be read. The employers named run from the large consulting firms to technology companies and an asset manager, listed alphabetically and without hire counts.
Fees that run high, and a budget left out
Mandatory fees of $18,791 are higher than at all but 3 schools on this site. They combine university services and health fees, program fees, a one-time first-year program fee and student health insurance, which can be waived with equivalent cover. Tuition and fees together reach $183,536 before rent. The living budget is the missing line: Marshall's tuition page excludes housing and living costs, and the university shows its graduate cost of attendance only through an interactive tool. Price rent and food for Los Angeles yourself, type the sum in the Living budget field of the calculator at the top, and the total and payback appear for your case.
The salary you stop earning weighs more than the fees. For the reference person it is $157,500; a candidate earning more today gives up more, while the average after the MBA stays where it is.
The salary you give up while you study
Salary given up, net of the internship
$157,500
| Gross salary not earned | $157,500 |
| Per month away | $7,500 |
Pension contributions and raises you would have had are not counted here.
A slower hiring pace than most
71% of the class of 2025 was employed within three months of graduation, and only 1 school on this site reports a lower rate. The school does not say what share of the class answered its survey or how many were seeking a job, so the rate cannot be read against a defined group. The entering class has an average GMAT of 742, as high as any school on this site reports. The mean signing bonus, $35,896, is published without the share who received one; the calculator below shows what a bonus is worth on average when only part of the class gets it.
A signing bonus, on average
Expected value
$15,000
| Chance of getting one | 50% |
The model counts the bonus once, in the first year, times the share receiving it.
Where USC Marshall stands in our rankings
Not ranked: USC Marshall does not publish a living budget for students or where graduates went to work, which our ranking needs. Its cost is complete above.
Our fit score, reference person earning $90,000 before the MBA (method). Third-party rankings play no part in it.
What the USC Marshall MBA costs
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tuition, whole program | $164,745 |
| Mandatory fees | $18,791 |
| Living budget | not published |
USC Marshall employment report: Class of 2025
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Average base salary | $142,184 |
| Signing bonus (mean) | $35,896 |
| Graduates who employed within three months | 71% |
USC Marshall graduates by industry
| Industry, as the school names it | Share | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Consulting | n/a | $167,211 (average) |
| Financial Services | n/a | $148,744 (average) |
| Technology | n/a | $136,056 (average) |
| Entertainment | n/a | $117,667 (average) |
Employers named by USC Marshall
Adobe · Amazon · Bain & Co. · BlackRock · Deloitte · EY-Parthenon · JPMorgan Chase · Kearney · McKinsey & Company · Microsoft · Morgan Stanley · The Walt Disney Company
Names only: the school gives no hire counts.
The USC Marshall class
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| International students | 43% |
| Women | 31% |
| Average age | 28 |
| Average years of work experience | 6 |
| GMAT average | 742 |
| Class size | 176 |
Not published by USC Marshall in the documents we read: a living budget for students; where graduates went to work; the split by job function. We leave these blank rather than fill them with an estimate.