International/Global Studies at Assumption University

In Massachusetts, International/Global Studies programs show considerable range—from nearly $75,000 at Bentley to under $30,000 at Emmanuel—making it difficult to predict outcomes for Assumption's program, where graduate numbers are too small for the Department of Education to publish actual data. Based on the median of comparable Massachusetts programs, graduates might expect around $46,530 in first-year earnings against roughly $23,625 in debt, putting this program in the middle of the state pack but well above the $32,819 national median for the field.

That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.51 suggests manageable repayment if those earnings estimates hold true, though international studies careers often require graduate degrees or unpaid internships that can delay financial stability. The field itself tends toward lower starting salaries nationally, so the Massachusetts figures—boosted by the state's strong economy and concentration of nonprofits, consulting firms, and global organizations—may represent a best-case scenario rather than a typical outcome.

The core challenge here is uncertainty: with no reported graduate data from Assumption itself, you're betting on whether this program performs more like Holy Cross (solid mid-$40Ks) or Emmanuel (sub-$30K). For a family comfortable with modest debt and flexible about their child's career timeline, these estimates suggest reasonable value. But if you need your child earning immediately after graduation to justify the investment, the lack of concrete outcomes data makes this a harder call.