College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges
Is an Area Studies degree worth the debt?
The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 72 colleges (72 of 72 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.
Graduates only, early career.$33,325 two years out.
Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.
63% of a first year's earnings.
Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.
The college you pick moves this a lot
The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Area Studies report early-career pay between $27,085 and $36,522 — a spread of $9,437 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.
By degree level
Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.
Where an Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay
The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.
What these numbers are — and are not
Every figure here is a median across college programs in Area Studies, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.
Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard