Is a ethnic, cultural, and gender studies degree from Columbia University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 34% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 69%.

Columbia University Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Studies (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Columbia University ethnic, cultural, and gender studies graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $18,799, which ranks 3rd lowest of 8 ethnic, cultural, and gender studies bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $199 a month over 10 years.

Bachelor's in Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies
Private nonprofit university
New York, NY
About 36 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Columbia University ethnic, cultural, and gender studies graduates earn more than graduates of most ethnic, cultural, and gender studies programs nationally, $55,206 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $18,799 in federal loans, less than at 75% of ethnic, cultural, and gender studies programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying ethnic, cultural, and gender studies degrees in New York.

First-year earnings$55,20699th percentile of 84 programs nationally

Median federal debt$18,7993rd lowest of 8 New York programs

Debt-to-earnings34%New York median 64%, national 69%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all ethnic, cultural, and gender studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Columbia University	New York	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$55,206	$29,823	$31,311
Median federal debt at graduation	$18,799	$23,016	$22,938
Debt as share of first-year pay	34%	64%	69%
Programs compared		9	84

Debt and first-year pay at every New York ethnic, cultural, and gender studies program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York medians.

Columbia UniversityOther New York programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $199 a month, or 4.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $55,206 salary here buys what about $49,045 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to ethnic, cultural, and gender studies, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Interpreters and Translators

$84,090

Median pay in New York. 3,240 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $48,930Top 10%: $127,350

About Columbia University

Tuition and fees	$71,845 / year
Average net price after aid	$21,590 / year
Admission rate	4%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	96%
Undergraduate students	8,973

Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Studies ranks 11th of 26 bachelor's programs at Columbia University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($118,636), Operations Research ($110,457), and Computer Engineering ($102,083).

Other ethnic, cultural, and gender studies bachelor's programs near New York

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Columbia UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit		$55,206	$18,799
City College of New YorkNew York, NY · public	1 mi	$26,973	$20,532
Hunter CollegeNew York, NY · public	3 mi	$34,007	$10,698
Lehman CollegeBronx, NY · public	6 mi	$36,292	$18,896
Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn, NY · public	12 mi	$32,083	$14,094

Common questions

The median graduate earns $55,206 one year after graduating. The median across ethnic, cultural, and gender studies bachelor's programs in New York is $29,823.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
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 New York comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the ethnic, cultural, and gender studies program.

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
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Studies bachelor's programs in New York, ranked9 programs by pay and debt Ethnic, Cultural, and Gender Studies bachelor's programs in the US, ranked84 programs by pay and debt All Columbia University programs, ranked26 programs by pay and debt