Home Schools Vassar College Urban Studies
Social Sciences · Urban Studies Rank #24 of 25

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.

Poughkeepsie, NY Private nonprofit Bachelor's Degree
DegreeOutlook Score
34 AT RISK
35
Optimistic
32
Pessimistic
Earnings
$39,410
1-year post-graduation
ROI
0.5x
Earnings : tuition
10-yr Base
$475K
Cumulative base-case earnings
AI Risk
High
45% task exposure
Program Analysis

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.

AI Outlook Integration

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.

Pessimistic
Mass Automation
$449K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score32/100
Earnings Multiple1.7x
Base Case
Moderate Integration
$475K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score34/100
Earnings Multiple1.7x
Optimistic
AI Augmentation
$473K
10-year cumulative earnings
Scenario Score35/100
Earnings Multiple1.7x
Earnings Trajectory

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.

Career Paths

Where Urban Studies graduates typically work

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.

1
Managers, all other
+4.5% 10-yr growth · 106,700 openings/yr
$136,550/yr
Moderate
2
Sociologists
+3.6% 10-yr growth · 300 openings/yr
$101,690/yr
High
3
Urban and regional planners
+3.4% 10-yr growth · 3,400 openings/yr
$83,720/yr
Moderate
4
Social sciences teachers, postsecondary, all other
+1.7% 10-yr growth · 1,500 openings/yr
$75,040/yr
Low
Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. AI exposure from OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs and Felten AIOE research.
Compare & Explore

Peer schools offering Urban Studies

How Vassar College stacks up against other schools offering this major.

Highest earnings
University of California-Berkeley
CA · Public
69
DW Score
$58K
1-yr earn
16.7x
ROI
San Francisco State University
CA · Public
60
DW Score
$50K
1-yr earn
18.5x
ROI
Brown University
RI · Private nonprofit
40
DW Score
$49K
1-yr earn
0.8x
ROI
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
WA · Public
57
DW Score
$48K
1-yr earn
12.1x
ROI
University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
WA · Public
57
DW Score
$48K
1-yr earn
11.9x
ROI
Also at Vassar College

Other top programs at Vassar College

Other highest-scoring programs offered at Vassar College, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score.

FAQ

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.