Geography and Cartography at University of Northern Colorado

Geography graduates at the University of Northern Colorado earn $36,996 in their first year out—solidly mid-pack among Colorado's geography programs but trailing the national median by about $1,700. What complicates the picture here is that the debt figure is estimated from similar programs across Colorado (roughly $22,135), since too few graduates from this specific program reported data. That debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.60 suggests manageable repayment if the earnings estimate holds, but you're making decisions with incomplete information about what UNC geography majors specifically face.

The earnings spread among Colorado geography programs is surprisingly wide—from Metropolitan State's $44,861 down to CU Boulder's $32,078—which means the institution and its career network matter considerably in this field. UNC lands in the middle of that range, performing better than Boulder but significantly behind Metro State. For a program at a school with an 86% admission rate, these outcomes aren't alarming, but they're not particularly strong either.

The practical concern is straightforward: you're evaluating this program using proxy data rather than actual graduate outcomes. If your student is committed to geography and prefers UNC's environment, the estimated debt load won't be crushing. But given that Metropolitan State reports nearly $8,000 higher first-year earnings with similar debt levels, parents should understand exactly what draws their child to this specific program beyond the geography label itself.