Which interdisciplinary studies bachelor's program pays the most?

Lehigh University in Pennsylvania reports the highest first-year pay of the 50 programs ranked here, $74,734. Its median federal debt is $24,960.

How much debt do interdisciplinary studies bachelor's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $26,000 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 76% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Interdisciplinary Studies (Bachelor's) Programs in the US

52 programs report first-year pay
1 state ranking
Bachelor's in Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median interdisciplinary studies bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $34,782 in their first year and $48,160 five years after. Florida is the only state with enough programs to rank, with a median of $35,282. The median program leaves its graduates with $26,000 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$34,782Across 52 programs

Median pay after 5 years$48,160Across 41 programs

Median federal debt$26,000Across 57 programs

Debt-to-earnings76%Across 48 programs

All 50 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Lehigh UniversityBethlehem, PA · private nonprofit	$74,734	Not adjusted	$90,977	$24,960	33%
2	IU EastRichmond, IN · public	$60,513	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
3	Marist UniversityPoughkeepsie, NY · private nonprofit	$57,906	$53,656	$59,695	$31,142	54%
4	Park UniversityParkville, MO · private nonprofit	$50,454	Not adjusted	Not reported	$23,369	46%
5	University of Oklahoma-Norman CampusNorman, OK · public	$46,614	$53,065	$58,308	$23,000	49%
6	University of AlabamaTuscaloosa, AL · public	$44,838	Not adjusted	$52,664	$29,311	65%
7	Touro UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit	$41,692	$38,632	$57,888	$16,417	39%
8	Embry-Riddle Daytona BeachDaytona Beach, FL · private nonprofit	$41,524	Not adjusted	Not reported	$29,319	71%
9	University of ToledoToledo, OH · public	$41,513	$44,746	$44,707	$31,355	76%
10	Keiser UniversityFort Lauderdale, FL · private nonprofit	$40,975	$39,622	$39,958	$41,026	100%
11	Liberty UniversityLynchburg, VA · private nonprofit	$40,717	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,832	68%
12	University of WashingtonSeattle, WA · public	$39,715	$37,112	$44,430	$15,215	38%
13	Fitchburg StateFitchburg, MA · public	$39,530	$37,378	$52,167	$26,000	66%
14	University of ArizonaTucson, AZ · public	$39,487	$39,221	$53,789	$25,000	63%
15	Auburn UniversityAuburn, AL · public	$39,414	$44,374	$49,480	$23,000	58%
16	Eastern Washington UniversityCheney, WA · public	$39,325	$36,748	$54,564	$24,750	63%
17	Boise StateBoise, ID · public	$38,831	$40,663	$53,063	$31,613	81%
18	CUNY York CollegeJamaica, NY · public	$38,718	$35,876	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
19	UCFOrlando, FL · public	$37,282	$36,051	$50,442	$24,700	66%
20	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan CampusTeaneck, NJ · private nonprofit	$37,183	$34,174	$48,160	$25,000	67%
21	University of ArkansasFayetteville, AR · public	$36,588	$42,086	Not reported	$30,944	85%
22	FIUMiami, FL · public	$35,476	$34,305	Not reported	$24,025	68%
23	Trinity College of JacksonvilleJacksonville, FL · private nonprofit	$35,282	$34,117	Not reported	$21,875	62%
24	Jackson StateJackson, MS · public	$35,174	$40,452	$41,366	$42,752	122%
25	FAUBoca Raton, FL · public	$34,957	$33,803	$50,873	$22,324	64%
26	Ole MissUniversity, MS · public	$34,607	$39,800	Not reported	$24,525	71%
27	Florida Gulf Coast UniversityFort Myers, FL · public	$34,328	$33,195	Not reported	$19,500	57%
28	Western Washington UniversityBellingham, WA · public	$34,119	$31,883	$48,524	$24,055	71%
29	National UniversitySan Diego, CA · private nonprofit	$34,012	$30,719	$57,291	$33,094	97%
30	Bethel University (Indiana)Mishawaka, IN · private nonprofit	$33,596	$35,997	Not reported	$46,989	140%
31	Paul Smiths College of Arts and SciencePaul Smiths, NY · private nonprofit	$33,333	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
32	Northern Arizona UniversityFlagstaff, AZ · public	$32,452	$32,234	$47,828	$26,899	83%
33	Utah Tech UniversitySaint George, UT · public	$32,450	$32,823	Not reported	$25,996	80%
34	BYU-IdahoRexburg, ID · private nonprofit	$32,247	Not adjusted	$38,086	$13,730	43%
35	College of Coastal GeorgiaBrunswick, GA · public	$32,049	$33,283	Not reported	$24,725	77%
36	Slippery Rock University of PennsylvaniaSlippery Rock, PA · public	$31,955	$32,750	$46,977	$26,264	82%
37	University of South AlabamaMobile, AL · public	$31,630	$35,610	$44,628	$29,625	94%
38	Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleEdwardsville, IL · public	$31,570	$31,583	Not reported	$30,357	96%
39	Eastern Oregon UniversityLa Grande, OR · public	$31,291	$30,274	Not reported	$37,568	120%
40	Fresno StateFresno, CA · public	$30,891	$27,900	Not reported	$20,202	65%
41	Auburn University at MontgomeryMontgomery, AL · public	$30,694	$34,556	Not reported	$31,500	103%
42	Baylor UniversityWaco, TX · private nonprofit	$30,687	$31,618	Not reported	$27,000	88%
43	FAMUTallahassee, FL · public	$30,107	$29,113	$40,260	$31,000	103%
44	Millersville University of PennsylvaniaMillersville, PA · public	$30,099	$30,848	Not reported	$25,990	86%
45	University of KentuckyLexington, KY · public	$29,529	Not adjusted	Not reported	$26,000	88%
46	University of North FloridaJacksonville, FL · public	$29,021	$28,063	$51,720	$22,500	78%
47	Wiley UniversityMarshall, TX · private nonprofit	$24,629	$25,376	$44,597	$30,000	122%
48	Savannah StateSavannah, GA · public	$23,631	$24,541	Not reported	$35,576	151%
49	College of the AtlanticBar Harbor, ME · private nonprofit	$23,003	Not adjusted	$38,763	$25,475	111%
50	Coker UniversityHartsville, SC · private nonprofit	$21,574	Not adjusted	Not reported	$29,116	135%

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 39 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 11, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

3 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked. 2 more programs report pay but aren't listed, because College Scorecard's school file doesn't name their schools. The national medians above still count them.

Interdisciplinary Studies (Bachelor's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's interdisciplinary studies bachelor's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Florida	9	$35,282	$24,025

Programs in 24 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Lowest median debt

Florida Gulf Coast University, FL$19,500
Trinity College of Jacksonville, FL$21,875
FAU, FL$22,324
University of North Florida, FL$22,500
FIU, FL$24,025
UCF, FL$24,700
Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach, FL$29,319
FAMU, FL$31,000
Keiser University, FL$41,026

Lowest debt for the pay

Only the 9 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

Common questions

The median interdisciplinary studies bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $34,782 in their first year and $48,160 five years after.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024