---
title: Is an International Business degree worth the debt?
cip: 5211
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 Business degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **104** colleges (104 of 104 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $45,004 ($44,596 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $22,250 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.48× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $38,836–$51,252 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $45,004 | $22,250 | 0.48× | 104 | 104/104 |
| Master's | $69,630 | $57,553 | 0.77× | 16 | 16/16 |

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

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Georgetown University (DC) | $86,661 | $14,394 |
| Villanova University (PA) | $69,177 | $22,250 |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia (SC) | $66,365 | $25,174 |
| Fordham University (NY) | $63,347 | $23,250 |
| Northeastern University (MA) | $61,027 | $25,625 |
| Howard University (DC) | $60,535 | $24,000 |
| George Washington University (DC) | $60,116 | $21,875 |
| Bryant University (RI) | $58,854 | $26,790 |
| University of Georgia (GA) | $57,817 | $15,820 |
| University of Maryland-College Park (MD) | $57,661 | $22,500 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (MN) | $56,320 | $19,600 |
| Dickinson College (PA) | $56,304 | $19,000 |
| Baylor University (TX) | $56,151 | — |
| Bowling Green State University-Main Campus (OH) | $55,186 | $26,500 |
| University of Arkansas (AR) | $54,061 | $18,665 |

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-business.jsonld` · `/education/fields/international-business.json`