College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 187 colleges (187 of 187 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$35,122

Graduates only, early career.$34,603 two years out.

Median federal debt

$21,698

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.59×

60% 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 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other report early-career pay between $30,066 and $40,802 — a spread of $10,736 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $30,066 median $35,122 75th pct $40,802

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Associate's 26 colleges $32,701 $11,202 0.38×

Bachelor's 187 colleges $35,122 $21,698 0.59×

Master's 23 colleges $50,365 $40,601 0.69×

Where a 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.

University of Minnesota-Crookston MN $82,190 $16,648 debt

Thomas Edison State University NJ $76,418 $11,812 debt

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute NY $64,983 $26,500 debt

Drexel University PA $60,242 $25,000 debt

University of Arkansas Grantham AR $56,582 —

Yale University CT $53,864 $15,000 debt

Montana State University Billings MT $51,489 $16,076 debt

Texas Southern University TX $50,406 $29,480 debt

Western New Mexico University NM $50,375 —

University of Houston TX $49,029 $18,634 debt

University of Houston-Clear Lake TX $47,440 $18,758 debt

Baldwin Wallace University OH $47,422 —

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI $47,344 $19,000 debt

The University of Texas at Arlington TX $46,676 $17,365 debt

Franklin and Marshall College PA $46,421 $19,000 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other, 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