Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at CUNY Hunter College

CUNY Hunter's Romance Languages program starts graduates at $30,534—well below both the state median ($37,442) and national average ($34,497), landing in just the 25th percentile among New York's 75 programs offering this degree. That's roughly $16,000 less than what Columbia or Colgate graduates earn initially, and even trails other CUNY schools like York College by over $16,000. The silver lining? Earnings jump 52% to $46,322 by year four, closing much of that gap and actually exceeding the national median.

The modest debt load of $15,523 helps cushion the blow of those first-year earnings. With a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.51, graduates owe about half their annual salary—manageable territory that keeps monthly payments reasonable while they're building their careers. Still, this is a humanities degree from a school where 55% of students receive Pell grants, meaning many families are banking on language skills translating to stable employment in New York's job market.

If your child is passionate about languages and committed to staying in New York, the strong earnings growth and low debt make this workable, especially given Hunter's accessibility and reasonable cost. But understand they'll likely start behind peers from higher-ranked programs and need those first few years to catch up professionally. The numbers improve significantly with time—just be prepared for a financially tight launch period.