Program ranking · CIP 45.09 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for International Relations

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for International Relations (CIP 45.09) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$99,205
Highest international relations earnings: 70
Colleges ranked: $42,864
#70 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $42,864 median earnings for International Relations bachelor's (CIP 45.09) completers. Johns Hopkins University leads at $99,205.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$99,205
#1 - Johns Hopkins University: $42,864
#70 - the cutoff to make this list: 25+
completers required per school: 363
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

Johns Hopkins University

$99,205
Claremont McKenna College

$96,520
Middlebury College

$92,728
Stanford University

$91,075
William & Mary

$91,065
Angelo State University

$87,991
University of Pennsylvania

$87,439
Brown University

$86,780
University of Southern C…

$84,866
University of Miami

$84,474
University of Virginia-M…

$82,991
Georgetown University

$82,197
Lehigh University

$79,569
Emory University

$78,029
Tufts University

$77,998

What this shows International-relations medians mix government, NGO, and graduate-school pipelines - debt still matters when early public-sector pay sits below private knowledge work.

The full top 70

#	School Name	State	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
1	Johns Hopkins University	MD	$99,205	$12,000	78
2	Claremont McKenna College	CA	$96,520	-	30
3	Middlebury College	VT	$92,728	-	49
4	Stanford University	CA	$91,075	-	64
5	William & Mary	VA	$91,065	$20,500	76
6	Angelo State University	TX	$87,991	-	45
7	University of Pennsylvania	PA	$87,439	$10,470	49
8	Brown University	RI	$86,780	$12,000	100
9	University of Southern California	CA	$84,866	$13,247	165
10	University of Miami	FL	$84,474	$16,478	36
11	University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	$82,991	$19,500	203
12	Georgetown University	DC	$82,197	$17,500	268
13	Lehigh University	PA	$79,569	$21,250	35
14	Emory University	GA	$78,029	$19,500	34
15	Tufts University	MA	$77,998	$16,250	133
16	Tulane University of Louisiana	LA	$77,300	$20,000	64
17	Fordham University	NY	$77,234	$24,759	93
18	Colgate University	NY	$77,199	-	47
19	George Washington University	DC	$76,751	$20,958	537
20	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott	AZ	$75,520	$22,500	61
21	Northeastern University	MA	$74,816	$21,000	51
22	Michigan State University	MI	$74,709	$23,750	87
23	Northwestern University	IL	$74,477	$19,234	34
24	American University	DC	$73,865	$23,250	382
25	Virginia Military Institute	VA	$72,700	$21,875	45
26	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	$71,988	$21,250	130
27	Connecticut College	CT	$71,960	$25,605	26
28	Seton Hall University	NJ	$71,949	$20,500	81
29	Fairmont State University	WV	$71,751	$18,896	29
30	Brigham Young University	UT	$71,622	-	32
31	Liberty University	VA	$71,436	$21,750	50
32	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	$71,001	$24,375	139
33	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus	PA	$71,001	$24,375	33
34	University of Georgia	GA	$70,510	$18,761	226
35	Rollins College	FL	$70,502	$27,000	26
36	Occidental College	CA	$70,394	$19,275	53
37	George Mason University	VA	$69,399	$20,117	166
38	James Madison University	VA	$68,798	$18,138	82
39	Syracuse University	NY	$68,049	$26,068	101
40	Norwich University	VT	$68,004	$18,000	26
41	University of North Georgia	GA	$67,692	$20,500	28
42	Baylor University	TX	$67,484	$22,409	53
43	Miami University-Oxford	OH	$67,301	$20,475	44
44	University of California-Davis	CA	$67,056	$12,500	121
45	Boston University	MA	$66,661	$23,394	233
46	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	$66,064	$18,384	144
47	San Francisco State University	CA	$65,775	$16,625	58
48	University of Delaware	DE	$64,715	$24,748	35
49	Hamilton College	NY	$64,585	$19,000	25
50	Florida International University	FL	$64,399	$17,662	305
51	Florida State University	FL	$63,984	$16,750	298
52	Dickinson College	PA	$62,570	$19,000	29
53	University of San Diego	CA	$61,509	$24,100	31
54	Kennesaw State University	GA	$60,031	$21,500	32
55	University of Denver	CO	$59,895	$19,500	83
56	San Diego State University	CA	$59,733	$15,124	52
57	University of San Francisco	CA	$59,387	$24,603	40
58	CUNY City College	NY	$59,039	$14,060	64
59	University of South Florida	FL	$58,999	$16,204	93
60	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	$58,002	$21,094	35
61	Indiana University-Bloomington	IN	$57,806	$16,832	120
62	Lewis & Clark College	OR	$57,783	$23,000	39
63	Towson University	MD	$57,498	$21,824	32
64	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	$57,228	$22,500	42
65	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	$56,257	$19,632	57
66	University of California-Riverside	CA	$56,108	$18,829	92
67	The University of Alabama	AL	$55,419	$23,250	34
68	University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	$54,781	$18,875	40
69	University of Arkansas	AR	$48,925	$20,500	34
70	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	$42,864	$21,522	36

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for International Relations (CIP 45.09) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see International Relations (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. This list covers International Relations and National Security Studies (CIP 45.09) bachelor's programs - political science (CIP 45.10) is ranked separately.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.

Cite this page

PlainCollege, “Best Colleges for International Relations.” Compiled from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, IPEDS, and Treasury earnings-linkage datasets; data as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals. https://plaincollege.com/rankings/best-colleges-for-international-relations

Formal citation formats (APA / MLA)

APA: PlainCollege. (2026). Best Colleges for International Relations. Retrieved September 11, 2026, from https://plaincollege.com/rankings/best-colleges-for-international-relations

MLA: "Best Colleges for International Relations." PlainCollege, 2026, https://plaincollege.com/rankings/best-colleges-for-international-relations.

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