International Relations and National Security Studies at Lenoir-Rhyne University

A bachelor's in International Relations and National Security Studies at a small North Carolina university raises practical questions about market positioning. Based on national benchmarks for similar programs, first-year earnings around $37,000 paired with $21,500 in estimated debt creates a manageable but modest start—the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.58 suggests graduates could reasonably handle repayment, though there's little financial cushion in those early years.

The challenge lies less in the numbers themselves than in what they reveal about this field's reality: international relations programs nationally cluster around these same figures, meaning this isn't a Lenoir-Rhyne problem but a sector-wide pattern. For a degree often associated with competitive government positions or think tank work, these typical outcomes suggest many graduates end up in adjacent roles—general business positions, nonprofit work, or graduate school preparation—rather than the specialized careers the degree name implies. The 81% admission rate and 40% Pell population indicate this program serves students who may need immediate post-graduation income rather than unpaid internships or graduate school.

Parents should understand they're looking at estimates because the graduate cohort is too small to generate reportable data—which itself signals limited program scale. Whether this degree opens doors your student couldn't access with a broader social sciences major is the crucial question, especially given that international relations careers often require graduate credentials anyway.