Urban Studiesat Vassar College
Graduates earn $39,410/yr in their first year — about 4.0% below the national Urban Studies average. Base-case 10-year earnings $475K; scenarios range from $449K to $473K depending on AI disruption.
What this degree looks like at Vassar College
Vassar's Urban Studies program offers a rigorous, interdisciplinary approach, fostering deep analytical skills highly valued across sectors. While initial earnings may reflect graduates often pursuing meaningful careers in the public or non-profit spheres, or immediately entering advanced degree programs, the long-term trajectory for liberal arts graduates from an institution of this caliber is strong, often leading to leadership roles like those in management. Your path might involve local government, urban planning firms, community development, or policy advocacy. The field's "AI risk" largely pertains to data analysis and administrative tasks, underscoring the enduring human need for community engagement, ethical judgment, and complex problem-solving that Vassar cultivates. To maximize your opportunities, actively seek internships that provide hands-on experience and build your professional network in major metropolitan areas like New York City, where many Vassar alums thrive.
Three scenarios, ten years out
Each scenario is a different assumption about how AI reshapes the career paths this major feeds into. Earnings projections stack the full 10-year cumulative trajectory; scores use the same 0–100 metric as the hero, recomputed under that scenario's assumptions.
10 year projection
Year-by-year earnings under each scenario. Base case reflects BLS growth patterns applied to Vassar College's starting earnings; optimistic and pessimistic adjust for AI's effect on each career path this major feeds into.
Common career destinations for this program's graduates, weighted by the school's specific occupation mix. Salary is BLS national median; AI risk is per-role task-exposure research.
Peer schools offering Urban Studies
How Vassar College stacks up against other schools offering this major.
Other top programs at Vassar College
Other highest-scoring programs offered at Vassar College, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.
Frequently asked about Urban Studies at Vassar College
What is the DegreeOutlook Score for Urban Studies at Vassar College?
A score of 34/100 indicates below-average financial outcomes for Urban Studies. Earnings, ROI, or AI risk factors are pulling the score down.
Will AI replace Urban Studies careers?
With 37% of typical job tasks exposed to AI, this is one of the higher-risk fields. Our pessimistic scenario projects $449,180 in decade earnings vs $473,155 in the optimistic case — a meaningful gap.