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

81 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering International Studies, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average International Studies graduate earns $34,874/yr across 81 schools.

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

Why an Online, For-Profit School Is #1

American Public University System’s top rank is driven by its unique student body: active-duty military and federal employees. Many students already possess security clearances and professional experience, creating a direct pipeline into well-paid government and defense contractor roles where this degree is a required credential. The high average earning of $64,133/yr reflects this career-advanced population, not the starting salary of a typical 22-year-old college graduate.

The Public University Advantage in a Government-Focused Field

Public universities dominate this list, occupying 16 of the top 20 spots. This is a matter of financial alignment. International Studies often leads to careers in government or non-profits, which don't offer the high starting salaries of finance or tech. The affordable tuition at schools like the University of Central Florida (#4, 24.0x ROI) or the University of Florida (#16, 24.3x ROI) provides a rational path into these fields without the burden of crippling debt seen at expensive private colleges.

Prestige Isn't a Paycheck: The Private School Value Trap

Be wary of famous names with poor financial outcomes. While Bentley University (#13) boasts the highest graduate earnings at $75,006/yr, its staggering $232,600 four-year tuition results in a dismal 2.2x ROI. Similarly, a degree from Notre Dame (#17) yields just a 1.8x return. The data is clear: in this field, a prestigious nameplate is no guarantee of value, and can often be a worse financial decision than a strong state school.

AI Won't Steal Your Job, It Will Change It

The moderate 36% AI task exposure in this field signals a shift in work, not an elimination of it. AI is automating the grunt work of analysis—routine data collection and report generation. This elevates the importance of uniquely human skills. Your value will come from what AI can’t do: high-level strategic interpretation, nuanced cross-cultural negotiation, and making critical judgment calls based on incomplete information.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$34,874/yr

Avg DW Score

30/100

AI Risk

Moderate

36% task exposure

All International Studies Programs Ranked

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

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

Scores calculated using College Scorecard, BLS, and AI task-exposure data. See full methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for International Studies?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score, American Public University System ranks #1 for International Studies with a score of 64/100 and graduate earnings of $64,133/yr.

How much do International Studies graduates earn?

Across 81 schools, International Studies graduates earn an average of $34,874/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $75,006/yr.

Is International Studies a good major for AI resistance?

International Studies has an average AI task exposure of 36%, rated "Moderate". This field has moderate AI exposure — some career paths are more resilient than others.