Portland State Other Interdisciplinary Studies (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other
- Public university
- Portland, OR
- About 111 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Portland State other interdisciplinary studies graduates earn less than graduates of most other interdisciplinary studies programs nationally, $31,571 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $16,500 in federal loans, less than at 92% of other interdisciplinary studies programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying other interdisciplinary studies degrees in Oregon.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Oregon and national columns are the medians across all other interdisciplinary studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Portland State graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the Oregon median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Oregon other interdisciplinary studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Oregon medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 81% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates. They also borrowed less. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $175 a month, or 6.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 27 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $18,614.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
77% of graduates (91 of 118) were working in Oregon one year after graduating. Prices in the Portland area are about 5% above the national average, so a $31,571 salary here buys what about $29,948 buys in a typical US city.
About Portland State
Other Interdisciplinary Studies ranks 36th of 50 bachelor's programs at Portland State by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($87,259), Electrical Engineering ($82,853), and Computer Science ($78,669).
Other other interdisciplinary studies bachelor's programs near Portland
Common questions
The median graduate earns $31,571 one year after graduating and $57,275 five years after. The median across other interdisciplinary studies bachelor's programs in Oregon is $31,571.
The median federal loan balance is $16,500, which ranks the lowest of 5 other interdisciplinary studies bachelor's programs in Oregon. That works out to about $175 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 52% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 65%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less.
Most do. 77% (91 of 118) were working in Oregon one year after graduating.
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 Oregon 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 other interdisciplinary 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