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Ethnic & Cultural Studies Degree

92 schools compared · Average earnings $32,229/yr

Students study the history, social experiences, cultural contributions, and systemic challenges faced by specific racial, ethnic, gender, and social groups. Graduates typically pursue careers in diversity and inclusion consulting, social advocacy, community organizing, public policy, and education. This major develops strong analytical and communication skills applicable across many professions.

What Ethnic & Cultural Studies Graduates Do

Your deep understanding of culture and society opens doors to two primary career paths. You might become an interpreter or translator, where you’ll do more than just swap words; you’ll convey critical nuance in settings from hospitals to international business meetings. Be prepared: this field is being fundamentally reshaped by AI. Entry-level work is shrinking as technology handles basic translation, so fewer people will be hired overall. Your career will hinge not on simple conversion, but on your ability to edit AI output, navigate complex cultural contexts, and provide the final human judgment that machines can’t.

Alternatively, you could shape future thinkers as a postsecondary teacher. After earning a PhD, your work will involve lecturing, mentoring students, and conducting original research in your specialized field. While AI may act as a research assistant, the core responsibilities of generating new knowledge and guiding classroom discussions remain deeply human-centric. Both paths are specialized, with success depending on your ability to adapt to new technologies and carve out an expert niche.

Schools Offering

Avg Grad Earnings

$32,229/yr

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

29/100

AI Automation Risk

Very High

67% task exposure

Common Career Paths

Where Ethnic & Cultural Studies graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 8,000 combined openings per year.

Career Path	Salary Range	Openings/yr	Growth	AI Risk
Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary	$84,290 $64K$108K	1,100	+2.4%	50%
Interpreters and translators	$59,440 $45K$80K	6,900	+1.7%	88%

Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary

$84,290

$64K $108K

1,100 openings/yr +2.4% growth 50% AI risk

Interpreters and translators

$59,440

$45K $80K

6,900 openings/yr +1.7% growth 88% AI risk

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Which school is best for Ethnic & Cultural Studies? See our complete ranking of 92 programs →

Best Schools for Ethnic & Cultural Studies

Top 20 of 92 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA	45 35–47	$47,511/yr	15.8x
2	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA	45 35–46	$40,253/yr	17.1x
3	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA	43 34–43	$35,263/yr	17.0x
4	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	42 33–42	$34,007/yr	18.2x
5	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM	39 29–40	$38,260/yr	13.8x
6	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	39 30–40	$34,777/yr	12.0x
7	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	38 28–39	$40,719/yr	9.7x
8	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO	38 27–38	$37,621/yr	11.6x
9	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	38 28–39	$37,046/yr	10.8x
10	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	38 31–38	$31,001/yr	17.6x
11	Towson University Towson, MD	37 29–37	$32,740/yr	12.1x
12	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH	36 26–37	$40,720/yr	6.4x
13	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC	36 27–37	$37,411/yr	13.9x
14	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	36 27–36	$34,559/yr	9.2x
15	CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY	36 28–37	$32,083/yr	15.9x
16	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	36 29–36	$30,628/yr	16.2x
17	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN	35 24–36	$41,926/yr	6.3x
18	CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY	35 25–35	$36,292/yr	11.2x
19	Portland State University Portland, OR	35 27–35	$32,441/yr	11.4x
20	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	34 25–36	$55,206/yr	1.0x
21	University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA	34 23–35	$41,872/yr	6.7x
22	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	34 26–34	$31,459/yr	10.4x
23	University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA	34 26–34	$31,459/yr	10.5x
24	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA	34 26–34	$31,459/yr	10.3x
25	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	34 29–34	$26,198/yr	19.4x
26	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	34 29–34	$25,305/yr	18.1x
27	Georgetown University Washington, DC	33 23–35	$51,388/yr	1.0x
28	American University Washington, DC	33 22–34	$46,206/yr	2.0x
29	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ	33 22–34	$40,719/yr	—
30	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	33 24–34	$33,991/yr	7.6x
31	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	33 25–33	$32,341/yr	8.7x
32	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	33 26–33	$29,914/yr	10.1x
33	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	33 28–33	$27,726/yr	17.0x
34	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	32 22–33	$39,343/yr	4.6x
35	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	32 22–33	$39,343/yr	4.6x
36	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	32 22–33	$39,343/yr	4.6x
37	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	32 22–33	$39,343/yr	4.6x
38	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	32 24–32	$32,563/yr	8.3x
39	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	32 25–32	$30,984/yr	8.8x
40	Haskell Indian Nations University Lawrence, KS	32 28–32	$23,887/yr	98.5x
41	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	31 21–32	$39,343/yr	3.8x
42	University of Delaware Newark, DE	31 21–32	$38,124/yr	4.9x
43	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	31 22–32	$34,197/yr	5.9x
44	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	31 24–31	$31,140/yr	8.7x
45	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	31 26–31	$26,767/yr	16.0x
46	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO	30 21–30	$34,906/yr	7.1x
47	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	30 22–30	$31,443/yr	8.4x
48	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	30 22–30	$31,179/yr	9.0x
49	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI	30 24–30	$29,270/yr	11.6x
50	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	30 23–30	$28,841/yr	10.6x
51	State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY	30 26–30	$23,751/yr	14.5x
52	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	29 22–29	$29,267/yr	12.4x
53	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	29 24–29	$26,342/yr	12.6x
54	Stanford University Stanford, CA	28 18–29	$41,156/yr	0.6x
55	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA	28 20–28	$30,844/yr	8.7x
56	CUNY City College New York, NY	28 23–28	$26,973/yr	13.9x
57	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	27 17–29	$43,926/yr	1.4x
58	Amherst College Amherst, MA	27 17–28	$40,120/yr	0.5x
59	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	27 16–27	$39,012/yr	0.5x
60	University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL	27 18–27	$33,366/yr	6.9x
61	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	27 18–27	$33,000/yr	6.3x
62	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	26 18–26	$32,856/yr	4.1x
63	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC	26 20–26	$29,723/yr	11.7x
64	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA	26 19–26	$29,607/yr	6.8x
65	Gallaudet University Washington, DC	25 17–25	$31,541/yr	5.6x
66	University at Albany Albany, NY	25 18–25	$29,823/yr	6.2x
67	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	25 19–25	$27,058/yr	8.9x
68	University of Louisville Louisville, KY	24 17–24	$29,990/yr	4.8x
69	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA	24 18–24	$27,932/yr	7.2x
70	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	24 19–24	$26,712/yr	7.9x
71	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	23 14–24	$35,057/yr	0.3x
72	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	22 17–22	$26,875/yr	7.4x
73	Yale University New Haven, CT	21 13–21	$32,624/yr	0.3x
74	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	21 13–21	$31,967/yr	0.2x
75	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	21 15–21	$28,181/yr	3.3x
76	SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY	21 17–21	$25,126/yr	6.1x
77	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX	20 16–20	$23,604/yr	5.0x
78	Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ	19 12–19	$30,296/yr	4.1x
79	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	19 12–19	$30,296/yr	4.0x
80	Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ	19 12–20	$30,296/yr	4.2x
81	Temple University Philadelphia, PA	19 15–19	$26,260/yr	4.5x
82	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	19 15–19	$21,836/yr	4.4x
83	Spelman College Atlanta, GA	18 12–18	$28,080/yr	3.0x
84	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	18 15–19	$18,854/yr	-0.3x
85	Brown University Providence, RI	18 15–19	$17,527/yr	-0.4x
86	Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO	18 15–19	$16,635/yr	-0.3x
87	St Olaf College Northfield, MN	17 11–17	$28,288/yr	0.2x
88	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	17 14–17	$20,109/yr	7.1x
89	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	16 11–16	$26,868/yr	0.1x
90	University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA	15 11–15	$25,623/yr	0.1x
91	DePaul University Chicago, IL	13 10–13	$18,029/yr	0.0x
92	Smith College Northampton, MA	9 6–9	$19,105/yr	1.0x

Highest Earning Ethnic & Cultural Studies Programs

Schools where Ethnic & Cultural Studies graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score
Columbia University in the City of New York	$55,206/yr	34
Georgetown University	$51,388/yr	33
California State University-East Bay	$47,511/yr	45
American University	$46,206/yr	33
Wellesley College	$43,926/yr	27
University of Minnesota-Duluth	$41,926/yr	35
University of Massachusetts-Boston	$41,872/yr	34
Stanford University	$41,156/yr	28
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	$40,720/yr	36
Arizona State University Campus Immersion	$40,719/yr	38

Best ROI for Ethnic & Cultural Studies

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Ethnic & Cultural Studies.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
Haskell Indian Nations University	98.5x	$23,887/yr	32
University of Florida	19.4x	$26,198/yr	34
CUNY Hunter College	18.2x	$34,007/yr	42
California State University-Fullerton	18.1x	$25,305/yr	34
San Francisco State University	17.6x	$31,001/yr	38
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	17.1x	$40,253/yr	45
California State University-Long Beach	17.0x	$27,726/yr	33
Sonoma State University	17.0x	$35,263/yr	43
California State University-Sacramento	16.2x	$30,628/yr	36
California State University-Northridge	16.0x	$26,767/yr	31

Want to compare two Ethnic & Cultural Studies programs side by side? Use the comparison tool →

Related Majors

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Consider the Trade Route

Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Ethnic & Cultural Studies offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the typical salary after a Ethnic & Cultural Studies degree?

The median first-year salary across 92 Ethnic & Cultural Studies programs is $32,229. School selection matters — the gap between the lowest ($16,635) and highest ($55,206) earning programs is significant.

Will AI affect Ethnic & Cultural Studies careers?

Ethnic & Cultural Studies is rated "Very High" for AI automation risk, with 67% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means most career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Ethnic & Cultural Studies program?

Our data ranks California State University-East Bay first among 92 Ethnic & Cultural Studies programs. Its score of 45/100 reflects strong outcomes across earnings ($47,511/yr), return on investment, and career durability.

What's the ROI on a Ethnic & Cultural Studies degree?

On average, Ethnic & Cultural Studies graduates earn 8.6x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →