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International Studies Degree

81 schools compared · Average earnings $34,874/yr

Students study global politics, international economics, cross-cultural dynamics, and transnational issues like migration, trade, climate change, and human rights. Graduates typically pursue careers in international business, diplomacy, NGOs, global consulting firms, intelligence agencies, and international development organizations. This major develops the global perspective increasingly demanded in a connected economy.

What International Studies Graduates Do

Your understanding of global systems prepares you for distinct careers in analysis or academia. As a political scientist, you might spend your days tracking international developments, analyzing foreign policy, and writing detailed briefs for government agencies or private firms. Progression often means moving from a junior analyst role to a senior advisor shaping strategy. Alternatively, you could become a postsecondary teacher, where you’ll design syllabi, lead classroom debates on global issues, and mentor students, eventually moving from lecturer to a tenured professor with administrative duties.

While the academic path offers modest but stable growth, roles for political scientists face headwinds. AI is also reshaping the analyst’s job, automating significant parts of routine data collection and report generation. This means your day-to-day work will change, shifting your focus toward high-level strategic interpretation and making judgment calls that AI can't. In contrast, the core of teaching—mentorship and fostering critical debate—remains a deeply human task.

Schools Offering

Avg Grad Earnings

$34,874/yr

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

30/100

AI Automation Risk

Moderate

36% task exposure

Common Career Paths

Where International Studies graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 2,000 combined openings per year.

Career Path	Salary Range	Openings/yr	Growth	AI Risk
Political scientists	$139,380 $103K$172K	500	-3.1%	48%
Social sciences teachers, postsecondary, all other	$75,040 $60K$105K	1,500	+1.7%	0%

Political scientists

$139,380

$103K $172K

500 openings/yr -3.1% growth 48% AI risk

Social sciences teachers, postsecondary, all other

$75,040

$60K $105K

1,500 openings/yr +1.7% growth 0% AI risk

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

Explore our International Studies rankings across 81 schools nationwide →

Best Schools for International Studies

Top 20 of 81 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	American Public University System Charles Town, WV	64 64–64	$64,133/yr	23.8x
2	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	52 53–52	$42,701/yr	14.9x
3	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	50 51–50	$45,168/yr	11.1x
4	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL	50 53–50	$38,953/yr	24.0x
5	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	48 51–48	$39,082/yr	13.1x
6	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	47 48–48	$44,446/yr	9.5x
7	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	45 44–45	$55,240/yr	9.7x
8	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	45 47–46	$41,886/yr	11.0x
9	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	45 48–46	$40,594/yr	12.7x
10	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	45 50–46	$36,883/yr	16.2x
11	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	43 43–43	$45,648/yr	11.8x
12	Bentley University Waltham, MA	41 41–41	$75,006/yr	2.2x
13	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	41 41–41	$51,371/yr	2.0x
14	University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD	41 41–42	$49,115/yr	8.5x
15	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK	41 48–42	$32,129/yr	16.7x
16	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	40 40–40	$69,362/yr	1.8x
17	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	40 48–41	$29,043/yr	24.3x
18	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	39 39–39	$46,660/yr	6.9x
19	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	39 43–40	$38,410/yr	8.8x
20	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE	39 44–40	$36,926/yr	12.4x
21	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	37 43–37	$33,553/yr	10.0x
22	Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, ID	37 45–38	$29,287/yr	28.3x
23	Colby College Waterville, ME	36 37–36	$42,756/yr	2.0x
24	University at Albany Albany, NY	36 41–36	$35,683/yr	11.5x
25	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA	36 42–36	$33,388/yr	10.0x
26	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA	35 37–35	$40,189/yr	2.2x
27	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	35 40–36	$37,161/yr	9.7x
28	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA	34 36–35	$42,197/yr	4.0x
29	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA	33 33–33	$46,530/yr	0.9x
30	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC	33 41–34	$32,206/yr	15.3x
31	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI	33 41–34	$31,433/yr	12.5x
32	The University of the South Sewanee, TN	32 34–32	$42,390/yr	2.0x
33	Texas State University San Marcos, TX	32 36–32	$37,397/yr	7.2x
34	California State University-Monterey Bay Seaside, CA	31 38–32	$34,246/yr	10.5x
35	University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL	31 39–32	$30,861/yr	16.3x
36	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ	30 35–31	$37,161/yr	—
37	University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO	30 37–31	$33,892/yr	7.4x
38	University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE	30 36–31	$33,798/yr	11.6x
39	Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI	29 36–30	$32,147/yr	7.9x
40	University of Vermont Burlington, VT	28 34–29	$33,757/yr	6.0x
41	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	28 36–29	$31,589/yr	10.3x
42	University of North Texas Denton, TX	28 35–29	$30,621/yr	10.0x
43	Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO	27 30–27	$38,854/yr	0.5x
44	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	27 34–28	$33,504/yr	6.1x
45	University of Wyoming Laramie, WY	27 35–28	$29,132/yr	13.8x
46	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	27 35–28	$28,919/yr	9.3x
47	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	27 35–28	$28,140/yr	10.7x
48	Spelman College Atlanta, GA	27 34–27	$25,753/yr	5.1x
49	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	26 31–27	$36,874/yr	1.7x
50	Wright State University-Main Campus Dayton, OH	26 33–27	$32,819/yr	6.3x
51	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC	26 30–26	$21,830/yr	14.3x
52	Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN	25 33–26	$30,365/yr	10.2x
53	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	25 32–25	$26,104/yr	9.0x
54	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO	25 32–26	$25,307/yr	11.2x
55	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	24 32–24	$27,416/yr	8.3x
56	Saint Edward's University Austin, TX	23 28–24	$36,305/yr	1.9x
57	Centre College Danville, KY	23 29–24	$35,367/yr	0.7x
58	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA	23 30–23	$30,124/yr	4.6x
59	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM	23 31–24	$28,238/yr	7.7x
60	College of Charleston Charleston, SC	23 30–23	$25,764/yr	8.4x
61	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	22 30–23	$30,438/yr	3.8x
62	The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX	22 30–23	$29,118/yr	5.2x
63	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO	22 30–23	$27,814/yr	6.7x
64	Pepperdine University Malibu, CA	21 26–22	$36,920/yr	1.2x
65	Temple University Philadelphia, PA	21 29–22	$30,754/yr	2.5x
66	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH	21 29–22	$29,013/yr	4.2x
67	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	21 29–22	$28,502/yr	6.4x
68	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI	21 28–22	$25,217/yr	10.4x
69	Liberty University Lynchburg, VA	20 28–21	$30,349/yr	2.6x
70	Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO	20 28–21	$25,984/yr	5.8x
71	Appalachian State University Boone, NC	20 26–21	$23,073/yr	6.6x
72	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	20 24–21	$21,428/yr	7.6x
73	University of Dayton Dayton, OH	19 26–20	$32,994/yr	1.9x
74	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY	18 26–19	$30,759/yr	1.8x
75	University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA	18 19–19	$16,037/yr	-0.3x
76	Emmanuel College Boston, MA	17 25–18	$29,688/yr	0.6x
77	Arcadia University Glenside, PA	16 23–17	$30,872/yr	1.7x
78	Saint Mary's College Notre Dame, IN	14 21–15	$25,164/yr	0.2x
79	The New School New York, NY	11 19–12	$27,652/yr	1.0x
80	St Lawrence University Canton, NY	10 17–11	$26,016/yr	0.9x
81	Macalester College Saint Paul, MN	9 13–10	$21,176/yr	1.0x

Highest Earning International Studies Programs

Schools where International Studies graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score
Bentley University	$75,006/yr	41
University of Notre Dame	$69,362/yr	40
American Public University System	$64,133/yr	64
Ohio State University-Main Campus	$55,240/yr	45
Boston College	$51,371/yr	41
University of Maryland-Baltimore County	$49,115/yr	41
University of California-Berkeley	$46,660/yr	39
College of the Holy Cross	$46,530/yr	33
North Carolina State University at Raleigh	$45,648/yr	43
University of California-San Diego	$45,168/yr	50

Best ROI for International Studies

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for International Studies.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
Brigham Young University-Idaho	28.3x	$29,287/yr	37
University of Florida	24.3x	$29,043/yr	40
University of Central Florida	24.0x	$38,953/yr	50
American Public University System	23.8x	$64,133/yr	64
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	16.7x	$32,129/yr	41
University of North Florida	16.3x	$30,861/yr	31
University of Utah	16.2x	$36,883/yr	45
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	15.3x	$32,206/yr	33
The University of Texas at Austin	14.9x	$42,701/yr	52
University of North Carolina Wilmington	14.3x	$21,830/yr	26

Want to compare two International 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 International Studies offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do International Studies graduates earn?

The median first-year salary across 81 International Studies programs is $34,874. School selection matters — the gap between the lowest ($16,037) and highest ($75,006) earning programs is significant.

Will AI affect International Studies careers?

AI exposure for International Studies is rated "Moderate." With 36% of tasks potentially affected by large language models, some career functions face meaningful automation pressure in the coming decade.

Where should I study International Studies?

Our data ranks American Public University System first among 81 International Studies programs. Its score of 64/100 reflects strong outcomes across earnings ($64,133/yr), return on investment, and career durability.

What's the outlook for a International Studies degree?

Typical graduates earn 8.0 times what they paid in tuition within a decade. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly. Look at per-school ROI in the table above — averages can mask significant variation.

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