Median earnings of area studies graduates (bachelor's degree) one year after graduation, at 54 colleges. National median: $42,259, rising to $57,407 after four years.
| # | College | State | Earnings after 1 yr | After 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|
| 1 | Yale University | CT | $67,764 | $67,230 | — |
| 2 | Dartmouth College | NH | $65,279 | $65,226 | — |
| 3 | Barnard College | NY | $63,702 | $66,117 | $16,500 |
| 4 | Columbia University in the City of New York | NY | $56,970 | $96,884 | $18,000 |
| 5 | University of California-Berkeley | CA | $56,036 | $70,366 | $15,643 |
| 6 | Wellesley College | MA | $54,577 | $76,800 | — |
| 7 | University of Missouri-Columbia | MO | $54,399 | $75,230 | $19,500 |
| 8 | Bowdoin College | ME | $52,347 | $75,966 | $15,500 |
| 9 | Vassar College | NY | $51,187 | — | — |
| 10 | Fordham University | NY | $50,891 | $75,563 | $23,000 |
| 11 | University of Notre Dame | IN | $48,594 | $75,832 | — |
| 12 | Tufts University | MA | $48,583 | $69,037 | — |
| 13 | Brown University | RI | $47,927 | $59,808 | $12,375 |
| 14 | Middlebury College | VT | $46,666 | $56,508 | — |
| 15 | William & Mary | VA | $46,605 | $68,909 | $15,625 |
| 16 | George Washington University | DC | $46,273 | $77,310 | $24,125 |
| 17 | Brandeis University | MA | $46,124 | $54,306 | $17,000 |
| 18 | Cornell University | NY | $45,914 | $96,976 | — |
| 19 | Duke University | NC | $45,694 | — | — |
| 20 | Amherst College | MA | $44,715 | $68,618 | — |
| 21 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | WA | $43,984 | $56,926 | $11,125 |
| 22 | University of Washington-Bothell Campus | WA | $43,984 | $56,926 | $11,125 |
| 23 | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus | WA | $43,984 | $56,926 | $11,125 |
| 24 | Franklin and Marshall College | PA | $43,399 | — | $20,750 |
| 25 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | VA | $43,277 | $65,970 | $14,248 |
| 26 | Miami University-Oxford | OH | $42,873 | $79,449 | $19,642 |
| 27 | University of California-Los Angeles | CA | $42,259 | $51,755 | $11,000 |
| 28 | University of Utah | UT | $41,818 | $68,181 | — |
| 29 | Dickinson College | PA | $41,604 | $63,874 | $23,250 |
| 30 | Virginia Commonwealth University | VA | $40,946 | $45,852 | $19,375 |
| 31 | Brigham Young University | UT | $40,724 | $67,310 | — |
| 32 | The University of Texas at Austin | TX | $39,942 | $57,009 | $16,500 |
| 33 | University of California-Irvine | CA | $39,731 | — | — |
| 34 | University of Massachusetts-Boston | MA | $39,571 | $45,128 | — |
| 35 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | WI | $39,304 | $55,733 | $17,200 |
| 36 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC | $38,868 | $65,933 | $13,230 |
| 37 | Gustavus Adolphus College | MN | $38,334 | — | — |
| 38 | Emory University | GA | $38,202 | $75,205 | $12,000 |
| 39 | Smith College | MA | $37,005 | $51,131 | $10,000 |
| 40 | DePaul University | IL | $36,804 | $49,872 | — |
| 41 | New York University | NY | $36,735 | $62,651 | — |
| 42 | University of California-Santa Barbara | CA | $35,749 | $59,042 | — |
| 43 | Connecticut College | CT | $34,723 | $60,749 | $20,500 |
| 44 | California State University-Long Beach | CA | $33,986 | $50,071 | $16,706 |
| 45 | Temple University | PA | $33,277 | $56,516 | $21,875 |
| 46 | California State University-Fullerton | CA | $32,943 | $50,739 | — |
| 47 | American University | DC | $31,796 | $63,030 | — |
| 48 | University of California-Davis | CA | $31,701 | — | — |
| 49 | Iowa State University | IA | $31,298 | $61,860 | — |
| 50 | University of Puget Sound | WA | $31,005 | $57,407 | — |
| 51 | Florida International University | FL | $30,134 | $23,742 | $18,190 |
| 52 | University of Arizona | AZ | $27,841 | $48,162 | $14,307 |
| 53 | Furman University | SC | $25,975 | — | $27,000 |
| 54 | University of California-San Diego | CA | $22,043 | — | — |
Earnings are median annual earnings of graduates who received federal financial aid, measured by the U.S. Department of Education. Colleges with too few graduates are not shown.
Frequently asked questions
How much do area studies graduates earn?
The median college reports $42,259 in earnings one year after a bachelor's degree in area studies and $57,407 four years after. The highest is $67,764 at Yale University.
How much student debt do area studies graduates have?
The median federal loan debt for this degree is about $18,000 at the typical college.