Sociology at John Carroll University

John Carroll's sociology program shows decent outcomes for a liberal arts major, but the small graduate pool means these numbers could shift significantly year to year. With first-year earnings of $36,845 and manageable debt of $27,000, graduates face a debt load equivalent to about nine months of salary—better than many sociology programs nationally and on par with Ohio averages.

The 33% earnings jump to $48,903 by year four is encouraging and outpaces typical wage growth for recent graduates. This program ranks in the 60th percentile among Ohio's 46 sociology programs, placing it solidly in the middle of the pack statewide. It trails the state's top performers like Miami University and Cincinnati by $5,000-$6,000 in starting salary, but keeps pace with Ohio State's main campus. The relatively low debt burden (25th percentile nationally) helps offset the modest starting salary.

The caveat here matters: with fewer than 30 graduates in the sample, a few outliers could be driving these numbers up or down. That said, the fundamentals look reasonable for parents willing to accept sociology's inherent earnings limitations. Your child won't be rich starting out, but they also won't be drowning in debt, and the trajectory points upward. If your student is set on sociology and prefers a smaller Catholic university environment over a large state school, this represents a financially defensible choice within the major's constraints.