Which American University bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Biology graduates leave with a median of $19,866 in federal loans, the lowest among 24 American University bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does American University cost?

Tuition and fees are $58,771 a year for all students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $41,943 a year.

How many American University programs report graduate pay?

25 bachelor's programs and 3 certificate programs at American University report first-year pay, and 27 of them also report federal debt.

American University Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Private nonprofit university
Washington, DC
7,266 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

25 American University bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Finance pays the most in the first year ($83,505), and Audiovisual Technology the least ($19,337). The median program pays $43,809. American University also has 3 certificate programs that report pay.

Tuition and fees$58,771Per year, for all students

Average net price after aid$41,943Per year

Graduation rate75%Within 6 years

Admission rate62%Of applicants

All 25 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in District of Columbia" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across District of Columbia. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in District of Columbia
1	FinanceAbout 65 graduates a year	$83,505	$103,137	$22,625	2nd of 5
2	Business AdministrationAbout 264 graduates a year	$58,299	$88,921	$24,697	3rd of 7
3	EconomicsAbout 71 graduates a year	$58,151	$77,219	$22,625	3rd of 3
4	Teacher EducationAbout 18 graduates a year	$55,625	$66,315	$27,000	1st of 1
5	Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 107 graduates a year	$50,026	$94,957	$26,442	1st of 2
6	Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 125 graduates a year	$49,486	$69,087	$23,000	1st of 1
7	Political ScienceAbout 216 graduates a year	$48,034	$78,954	$23,250	4th of 6
8	International RelationsAbout 387 graduates a year	$47,551	$71,028	$23,250	3rd of 3
9	Environmental Science and ConservationAbout 26 graduates a year	$46,780	$78,483	$26,905	2nd of 2
10	Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender StudiesAbout 7 graduates a year	$46,206	$66,897	$25,000	2nd of 3
11	Legal StudiesAbout 31 graduates a year	$45,790	$101,273	$24,375	1st of 2
12	JournalismAbout 49 graduates a year	$44,387	$55,636	$25,000	2nd of 2
13	HistoryAbout 29 graduates a year	$43,809	$54,363	$26,000	2nd of 3
14	Area StudiesAbout 26 graduates a year	$43,671	$67,023	$27,000	1st of 1
15	Public HealthAbout 65 graduates a year	$42,194	$67,737	$23,452	3rd of 3
16	SociologyAbout 21 graduates a year	$40,119	$62,954	Not reported	1st of 2
17	Criminal JusticeAbout 104 graduates a year	$37,147	$61,582	$23,250	4th of 5
18	CommunicationsAbout 27 graduates a year	$36,980	$75,154	$22,611	3rd of 4
19	Fine and Studio ArtsAbout 14 graduates a year	$35,115	Not reported	$23,250	1st of 1
20	BiologyAbout 25 graduates a year	$33,917	$54,479	$19,866	2nd of 4
21	Film and PhotographyAbout 45 graduates a year	$26,767	$69,028	$23,250	1st of 1
22	PsychologyAbout 79 graduates a year	$25,773	$62,657	$23,799	3rd of 6
23	TheatreAbout 16 graduates a year	$23,979	$46,621	$24,989	1st of 1
24	LiteratureAbout 16 graduates a year	$23,164	$51,266	$26,105	1st of 1
25	Audiovisual TechnologyAbout 11 graduates a year	$19,337	$65,827	$20,980	1st of 1

Program names link to the program's own page, and District of Columbia ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five District of Columbia programs in the field do too.

One more bachelor's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

All 3 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in District of Columbia" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across District of Columbia. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in District of Columbia
1	Linguistics and Language StudiesAbout 31 graduates a year	$52,493	Not reported	$24,250	1st of 1
2	Political ScienceAbout 56 graduates a year	$51,222	$73,852	$23,250	1st of 1
3	Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 63 graduates a year	$45,207	Not reported	$22,673	1st of 1

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Finance$83,505
Business Administration$58,299
Economics$58,151
Teacher Education$55,625
Public Relations and Advertising$50,026

Lowest median debt

Biology$19,866
Audiovisual Technology$20,980
Communications$22,611
Finance$22,625
Economics$22,625

Largest programs

International RelationsAbout 387 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 264 graduates a year
Political ScienceAbout 216 graduates a year
Other Interdisciplinary StudiesAbout 125 graduates a year
Public Relations and AdvertisingAbout 107 graduates a year

Common questions

Finance graduates earn a median of $83,505 in their first year, the most of 25 American University bachelor's programs that report pay.

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.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of District of Columbia rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels