Sociology and Anthropology at Lewis & Clark College

Lewis & Clark's sociology and anthropology program saddles graduates with modest debt, but the earnings tell a troubling story. At $24,098 one year out, graduates earn about $4,000 less than the national median for this major and trail even Oregon's state median by nearly $2,000. The program ranks in just the 19th percentile nationally—meaning 81% of similar programs produce better-earning graduates. Even Southern Oregon University's comparable program delivers earnings 15% higher.

The debt picture offers little comfort. While $19,000 isn't catastrophic, it's still above the state median, and more importantly, graduates struggle to service it on such low starting salaries. A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.79 means nearly a full year's salary would go toward the loan balance—a tough proposition when you're making barely over $2,000 per month before taxes. The program does perform at the state median (40th percentile), but that's mainly because Oregon's three programs all struggle with similar earnings challenges.

For a selective liberal arts college charging premium tuition, these outcomes fall short. If your child is committed to sociology or anthropology, they should understand they'll likely need graduate school or significant career pivoting to reach middle-class earnings. The low starting salary isn't unusual for social sciences, but Lewis & Clark isn't providing enough advantage to justify choosing it over less expensive state options.