Area Studies at Cornell University

Ithaca, NY · Bachelor's Degree · about 37 graduates a year

$43,831
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$96,976
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$56,625
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#1 of 70
Rank by pay
#1 of 70
Rank, wage-adjusted
$17,250
Median federal debt

Cornell University graduates in area studies earn 71% more than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 18% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Cornell University Compares for Area Studies

All 70 colleges reporting area studies earnings at this degree level, ranked by median pay four years after graduation. “Wage-adjusted” divides pay by the square root of the state’s wage index so colleges in low-wage states aren’t penalized for local pay.

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjustedAdj. rank1 yr after
1Cornell University Ithaca, NY$96,976$92,301#1$43,831
2Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY$96,884$92,213#2$41,479
3Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH$79,449$84,784#3$50,637
4Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME$75,966$80,732#5$45,315
5University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN$75,832$81,354#4$35,304
6Fordham University Bronx, NY$75,563$71,920#8$40,811
7University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO$75,230$80,662#6$44,096
8Emory University Atlanta, GA$75,205$77,852#7$33,549
9Trinity College Hartford, CT$73,229$65,929#13—
10University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA$70,366$64,028#17$50,728

Other Majors at Cornell University by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer Science$223,309$152,656#3 of 349
Operations Research$151,709$96,377—
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$147,241$100,516#4 of 258
Agricultural Business and Management$145,218$92,163#1 of 77
Computer and Information Sciences$144,389$103,650#18 of 459
Economics$137,935$84,967#12 of 368
Mathematics$134,455$87,251#7 of 309
Engineering$128,207—#2 of 57
Public Policy Analysis$126,767$77,906#1 of 34
Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology$124,242$78,358—
Physics$118,649$50,933#2 of 107
Chemical Engineering$116,165$85,578#4 of 158
Human Resources Management and Services$112,713$73,436#1 of 187
Hospitality Administration/Management$112,289$77,803#1 of 137
Mechanical Engineering$112,212$85,440#9 of 318
Statistics$111,090$82,531#8 of 50
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering$103,016$69,558#1 of 46
Agricultural Engineering$99,600$54,435#1 of 26
Political Science and Government$95,391$60,292#7 of 565
Apparel and Textiles$94,967—#1 of 57
Civil Engineering$91,242$80,261#47 of 233
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics$89,275$33,419#4 of 225
Communication and Media Studies$88,463$62,182#3 of 660
Biological and Biomedical Sciences$85,883$38,841#3 of 17
Food Science and Technology$84,147$64,062#2 of 29
History$82,031$44,706#9 of 459
Chemistry$79,311$28,372#22 of 209
Psychology$78,049$36,630#6 of 1027
Sociology$73,200$36,709#9 of 462
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services$73,066$38,401#1 of 172

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Cornell University area studies graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $43,831 one year after graduating and $96,976 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Cornell University rank for area studies?

Among 70 colleges reporting earnings for area studies graduates, Cornell University ranks #1 by median pay four years after graduation, and #1 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is area studies at Cornell University worth it?

Its graduates earn 71% more than the national median for area studies ($56,625), and the median federal debt at graduation is $17,250.

← All data for Cornell University · Methodology

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study data. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled; programs with few graduates are not reported. Wage adjustment uses Census ACS state median household income.