Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies at University of Saint Katherine

A 0.75 debt-to-earnings ratio falls into workable territory for a bachelor's degree, though comparable interdisciplinary programs nationally suggest modest first-year earnings around $35,000. This is a broad-based degree that often appeals to students seeking flexibility, but that same flexibility can make career outcomes harder to predict. With over a third of students receiving Pell grants, University of Saint Katherine serves many families for whom $26,500 in debt—while close to national norms for this field—represents significant financial risk if career plans remain undefined.

The real challenge here is that interdisciplinary studies programs live or die by what students do with them. Similar programs in California show considerable variability, with some graduates earning in the low $30,000s while others push above average. The estimated debt load is manageable if your child has a clear professional direction—teaching credential work, nonprofit management, graduate school preparation—but becomes problematic if they're still exploring options senior year. First-year earnings barely exceed what many associate degrees produce, yet the debt burden is substantially higher.

Your child should be able to articulate exactly how this degree connects to a specific career path before committing. If they can't explain what jobs they're pursuing and why this interdisciplinary approach opens doors that traditional majors don't, the financial picture becomes considerably riskier than these baseline estimates suggest.