---
title: Is an International and Comparative Education degree worth the debt?
cip: 1307
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is an International and Comparative Education degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Master's**, across **6** colleges (6 of 6 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $51,360 ($53,400 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $40,500 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.81× a first year's pay


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Master's | $51,360 | $40,500 | 0.81× | 6 | 6/6 |

## Where an Master's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Loyola University Chicago (IL) | $55,099 | $40,500 |
| Teachers College at Columbia University (NY) | $53,971 | $68,250 |
| George Washington University (DC) | $53,840 | $41,000 |
| American University (DC) | $48,881 | $39,375 |
| SIT Graduate Institute (VT) | $46,178 | $38,654 |
| Florida International University (FL) | $41,139 | — |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/international-and-comparative-education.jsonld` · `/education/fields/international-and-comparative-education.json`