---
title: American University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Washington, DC
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# American University

Washington, DC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $77,370 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $51,260 – $112,884 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $19,500 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,750 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 75% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $76,058 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 84% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.25× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $49,370 | derived |

**75% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $19,500 (≈ 25% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $25,854 to $93,187 across 51 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Taxation. | Master's Degree | $93,187 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $89,205 | $89,433 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Master's Degree | $87,167 | $51,250 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Master's Degree | $76,001 | not reported |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $73,918 | not reported |
| Public Administration. | Master's Degree | $69,734 | $55,000 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,161 | $22,625 |
| Economics. | Master's Degree | $62,457 | $46,108 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $61,356 | not reported |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $61,023 | $43,885 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $60,267 | $161,696 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Master's Degree | $59,460 | $61,500 |
| Public Policy Analysis. | Master's Degree | $59,308 | $54,986 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $59,305 | $51,250 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $58,228 | $51,250 |
| Homeland Security. | Master's Degree | $58,107 | $41,000 |
| Public Health. | Master's Degree | $55,617 | not reported |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Master's Degree | $53,337 | $26,500 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Master's Degree | $52,793 | not reported |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Master's Degree | $51,147 | $53,268 |
| Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. | Master's Degree | $50,964 | $62,122 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,809 | $24,500 |
| Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $49,550 | $51,250 |
| International and Comparative Education. | Master's Degree | $48,881 | $39,375 |
| Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies. | Master's Degree | $48,710 | $65,926 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,661 | $22,191 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management. | Master's Degree | $47,574 | $59,904 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,217 | $23,250 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,098 | $26,442 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,939 | $23,000 |
| Non-Professional Legal Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,628 | $24,375 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,551 | not reported |
| Journalism. | Master's Degree | $43,477 | $55,989 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Master's Degree | $42,901 | $66,504 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,806 | $22,611 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,948 | $23,250 |
| Philosophy. | Master's Degree | $41,396 | $42,373 |
| Anthropology. | Master's Degree | $41,034 | not reported |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,534 | $24,976 |
| History. | Master's Degree | $39,634 | $41,000 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,002 | $23,250 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Master's Degree | $38,845 | $51,250 |
| Literature. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,528 | $26,105 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,775 | $23,250 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,226 | $23,500 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,261 | not reported |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Master's Degree | $33,988 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,080 | $19,701 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,838 | $22,000 |
| Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,863 | $19,085 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,854 | $24,989 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore American University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?131159

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/american-university-dc.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`