Best International Relations Schools by Graduate Salary & ROI (2026)

106 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering International Relations, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average International Relations graduate earns $39,530/yr across 106 schools.

What do International Relations graduates do? See career paths and salaries →

Programs Ranked

106

Avg Earnings

$39,530/yr

Avg DW Score

42/100

AI Risk

High

54% task exposure

Top Institutions

Leading the field for International Relations

The top four programs by DegreeOutlook Score. Full ranking of 106 programs below.

Rank #1 · DegreeOutlook Score 69

Brigham Young University

Provo, UT · Private nonprofit

$76,166/yr · 4.1x ROI

American Public University System

WV · #3

$48,142/yr · 18.1x ROI

University of North Georgia

GA · #4

$43,564/yr · 29.6x ROI

The Ranking Matrix

All International Relations Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

Sort by

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Brigham Young University Provo, UT · Private nonprofit	69 66–70	$50,563/yr	35.2x
2	Stanford University Stanford, CA · Private nonprofit	63 60–64	$76,166/yr	4.1x
3	American Public University System Charles Town, WV · Private for-profit	62 58–62	$48,142/yr	18.1x
4	University of North Georgia Dahlonega, GA · Public	61 58–61	$43,564/yr	29.6x
5	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT · Private nonprofit	60 57–61	$68,344/yr	3.4x
6	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA · Public	58 55–59	$46,870/yr	9.4x
7	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA · Public	57 54–57	$44,638/yr	11.0x
8	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA · Public	56 53–56	$44,667/yr	11.3x
9	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	55 51–56	$65,559/yr	2.5x
10	Angelo State University San Angelo, TX · Public	55 51–56	$53,246/yr	15.0x
11	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA · Public	55 52–56	$47,270/yr	7.2x
12	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA · Public	55 52–56	$44,429/yr	8.6x
13	University of Georgia Athens, GA · Public	54 53–55	$39,275/yr	14.2x
14	SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo, NY · Public	54 54–55	$36,754/yr	18.2x
15	Lafayette College Easton, PA · Private nonprofit	54 50–55	$58,433/yr	2.6x
16	George Mason University Fairfax, VA · Public	54 51–55	$44,644/yr	10.6x
17	San Diego State University San Diego, CA · Public	53 53–53	$35,361/yr	19.2x
18	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA · Public	52 52–53	$36,376/yr	14.7x
19	Towson University Towson, MD · Public	52 51–52	$39,208/yr	12.9x
20	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI · Public	52 51–53	$38,810/yr	10.9x
21	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA · Private nonprofit	52 49–52	$77,312/yr	2.0x
22	Brown University Providence, RI · Private nonprofit	52 49–53	$46,284/yr	2.8x
23	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	51 50–52	$38,584/yr	11.8x
24	California State University-Chico Chico, CA · Public	50 48–50	$39,060/yr	15.0x
25	Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey Monterey, CA · Private nonprofit	50 47–51	$68,344/yr	—
26	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit	50 46–51	$52,262/yr	2.2x
27	George Washington University Washington, DC · Private nonprofit	50 46–51	$52,933/yr	2.3x
28	Liberty University Lynchburg, VA · Private nonprofit	50 47–50	$43,567/yr	6.8x
29	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public	50 50–50	$34,343/yr	23.1x
30	California State University Maritime Academy Vallejo, CA · Public	49 47–50	$42,924/yr	13.0x
31	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL · Public	49 51–50	$32,098/yr	25.7x
32	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN · Public	49 49–49	$36,100/yr	12.5x
33	Georgetown University Washington, DC · Private nonprofit	48 44–49	$50,588/yr	2.1x
34	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD · Private nonprofit	48 46–49	$44,004/yr	2.6x
35	Tufts University Medford, MA · Private nonprofit	48 44–49	$54,079/yr	2.0x
36	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott Prescott, AZ · Private nonprofit	47 44–48	$46,868/yr	3.1x
37	Fairfield University Fairfield, CT · Private nonprofit	47 43–48	$49,239/yr	2.3x
38	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, FL · Private nonprofit	47 44–48	$46,868/yr	3.1x
39	Northwestern University Evanston, IL · Private nonprofit	47 43–48	$58,326/yr	1.8x
40	University of California-Davis Davis, CA · Public	46 47–47	$34,949/yr	10.3x
41	Florida International University Miami, FL · Public	46 47–47	$33,417/yr	18.8x
42	University of South Florida Tampa, FL · Public	46 47–46	$30,977/yr	20.6x
43	Emory University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit	46 43–47	$45,022/yr	2.3x
44	The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ · Public	46 47–47	$34,841/yr	9.1x
45	CUNY City College New York, NY · Public	46 48–47	$30,627/yr	19.5x
46	Norwich University Northfield, VT · Private nonprofit	46 44–47	$43,621/yr	2.9x
47	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL · Public	45 45–46	$35,324/yr	11.3x
48	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH · Public	45 44–46	$38,766/yr	7.6x
49	University of San Diego San Diego, CA · Private nonprofit	44 40–45	$50,948/yr	2.0x
50	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA · Public	44 46–45	$31,254/yr	17.4x
51	American University Washington, DC · Private nonprofit	44 41–45	$47,551/yr	2.1x
52	University of Idaho Moscow, ID · Public	44 45–44	$30,261/yr	15.5x
53	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI · Public	44 44–44	$35,802/yr	9.5x
54	Fordham University Bronx, NY · Private nonprofit	44 41–45	$46,653/yr	2.0x
55	University of Delaware Newark, DE · Public	43 42–44	$38,250/yr	7.8x
56	Boston University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	43 39–43	$45,870/yr	1.8x
57	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH · Public	43 44–44	$34,036/yr	8.1x
58	Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA · Private nonprofit	42 41–43	$39,630/yr	2.8x
59	Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ · Private nonprofit	41 38–42	$45,440/yr	2.1x
60	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC · Public	41 42–42	$33,612/yr	10.0x
61	University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI · Public	41 41–42	$36,726/yr	10.2x
62	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV · Public	40 41–40	$29,539/yr	13.7x
63	Fairmont State University Fairmont, WV · Public	40 40–40	$35,925/yr	9.6x
64	Occidental College Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit	39 39–39	$35,231/yr	2.3x
65	Connecticut College New London, CT · Private nonprofit	39 36–40	$45,543/yr	0.8x
66	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Public	39 39–40	$36,889/yr	7.8x
67	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA · Private nonprofit	39 35–40	$47,956/yr	1.5x
68	Hamilton College Clinton, NY · Private nonprofit	39 36–40	$45,332/yr	0.7x
69	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR · Public	38 38–39	$22,612/yr	13.8x
70	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA · Private nonprofit	38 38–39	$36,147/yr	2.2x
71	Wofford College Spartanburg, SC · Private nonprofit	38 35–39	$43,428/yr	1.0x
72	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI · Private nonprofit	38 35–39	$43,290/yr	1.2x
73	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ · Public	37 39–38	$29,924/yr	10.0x
74	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY · Private nonprofit	37 34–38	$43,249/yr	1.6x
75	University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA · Public	37 38–37	$30,357/yr	8.8x
76	Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA · Public	36 37–36	$27,664/yr	16.6x
77	University of Maine Orono, ME · Public	36 37–37	$35,337/yr	6.0x
78	Hobart William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY · Private nonprofit	36 34–36	$40,648/yr	0.6x
79	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA · Public	34 36–35	$27,021/yr	9.0x
80	University of Denver Denver, CO · Private nonprofit	34 32–35	$40,923/yr	1.6x
81	Wheaton College Wheaton, IL · Private nonprofit	34 33–35	$40,084/yr	2.1x
82	SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY · Public	34 35–34	$31,455/yr	7.9x
83	Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA · Public	34 35–35	$33,581/yr	8.1x
84	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL · Private nonprofit	33 34–33	$31,813/yr	2.2x
85	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	33 35–34	$28,596/yr	7.5x
86	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH · Public	33 34–33	$32,543/yr	5.0x
87	Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH · Public	32 33–32	$31,434/yr	5.2x
88	DePaul University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit	31 31–31	$35,792/yr	2.1x
89	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY · Private nonprofit	31 32–31	$31,956/yr	1.8x
90	Baylor University Waco, TX · Private nonprofit	31 30–31	$37,507/yr	1.6x
91	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit	30 30–30	$34,575/yr	0.5x
92	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA · Private nonprofit	28 28–29	$36,669/yr	1.3x
93	State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, NY · Public	28 29–28	$24,893/yr	6.1x
94	Portland State University Portland, OR · Public	28 30–28	$30,253/yr	7.1x
95	The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX · Public	28 30–29	$25,879/yr	6.2x
96	Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit	26 27–26	$32,682/yr	1.7x
97	Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA · Private nonprofit	26 27–27	$26,306/yr	1.9x
98	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI · Public	26 28–26	$28,202/yr	5.8x
99	Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY · Public	25 26–26	$21,915/yr	4.0x
100	Texas State University San Marcos, TX · Public	25 25–26	$20,547/yr	3.5x
101	Rollins College Winter Park, FL · Private nonprofit	24 26–24	$28,113/yr	1.8x
102	University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA · Private nonprofit	24 26–24	$28,176/yr	1.7x
103	Rhodes College Memphis, TN · Private nonprofit	23 24–24	$23,835/yr	2.0x
104	Eckerd College Saint Petersburg, FL · Private nonprofit	22 24–23	$26,526/yr	0.3x
105	Goucher College Baltimore, MD · Private nonprofit	22 23–23	$25,868/yr	0.3x
106	Allegheny College Meadville, PA · Private nonprofit	21 22–22	$24,303/yr	0.1x

FAQ

Frequently asked

What is the best school for International Relations?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score, Brigham Young University ranks #1 for International Relations with a score of 69/100 and graduate earnings of $50,563/yr.

How much do International Relations graduates earn?

Across 106 schools, International Relations graduates earn an average of $39,530/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $77,312/yr.

Is International Relations a good major for AI resistance?

International Relations has an average AI task exposure of 54%, rated "High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.

Programs are ranked by DegreeOutlook Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.