History at Mount Holyoke College

Mount Holyoke's history program starts at just $23,337 a year after graduation—roughly $11,000 below the Massachusetts median and $8,000 below the national average for history majors. This places it in the bottom 10% statewide and the bottom 5% nationally, an unexpectedly weak showing for a selective college with a 1422 average SAT. For context, nearby UMass-Boston history graduates earn nearly double at the one-year mark, and even regional state universities like Fitchburg significantly outperform Mount Holyoke on this measure.

The debt picture is fairly typical at $23,250, resulting in a 1.00 debt-to-earnings ratio that would be manageable if starting salaries were higher. Earnings do grow to $35,564 by year four, which approaches the state median, but this still trails every comparison school listed and barely exceeds the national average. The small sample size (under 30 graduates) suggests these numbers might not be fully representative, though that also raises questions about the program's size and career support infrastructure.

For families considering Mount Holyoke's history program, the return on investment appears problematic given the college's private school tuition. If your child is drawn to liberal arts in Massachusetts, the data suggests exploring comparable programs at state universities or the notably stronger outcomes at nearby Amherst or Holy Cross. If Mount Holyoke offers substantial merit aid that brings net costs down significantly, that changes the calculation—but at full price, these outcomes are difficult to justify.