Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies at Loyola Marymount University

A $26,868 starting salary after four years at a selective private university should give any parent pause, but the small sample size here—fewer than 30 graduates—means these numbers might not tell the full story. Still, the pattern is concerning: this program ranks in just the 21st percentile nationally and sits below the California median for this field by about $4,000. When California schools like Cal State East Bay are producing graduates earning $47,500 in this same field, that $20,000+ gap demands explanation.

The debt picture adds complexity. At $23,149, borrowing is roughly on par with national norms for this major, yielding a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.86—not catastrophic, but tight for a graduate earning under $27,000. With only 13% of LMU students receiving Pell grants, most families here are paying significant out-of-pocket costs on top of any loans, making the return on investment even more uncertain.

The small cohort size matters—perhaps most graduates pursue different career paths, or the timing of measurement caught an unusual year. But if these numbers hold, families should think carefully about whether LMU's private school premium makes sense for this particular program when California's public universities appear to deliver substantially better earnings outcomes in this field.