International/Global Studies at University of California-Berkeley

UC Berkeley's International/Global Studies program delivers something rare: elite university prestige with public university debt levels. Graduates earn $46,660 in their first year—42% above the national median for this degree and ranking in the 95th percentile nationally. That's significantly more than UCLA's equivalent program ($39K) and nearly $10K above the state median. The debt load of $15,636 is manageable, creating a debt-to-earnings ratio of just 0.34—you're borrowing roughly four months of your starting salary, not years of it.

The 12% admission rate signals this isn't an easy program to access, but if your child gets in, they're positioned well. Among California's 32 International/Global Studies programs, Berkeley lands in the 80th percentile for earnings, trailing only UC San Diego by about $500. That's partly Berkeley's strong Bay Area network and partly the reality that this field doesn't command finance-level salaries regardless of school prestige.

For families considering Berkeley over a less competitive UC or CSU for this major, the earnings premium is real and substantial—roughly $12K over most alternatives. The combination of strong outcomes and modest debt makes this one of the better bets in a field that often struggles to translate intellectual value into economic returns.