Master's · earnings grade

Is a History degree worth it?

Graduates earn a median $39,927 two years after finishing, more than 14% of master's majors. Measured across 395 US programmes by the Department of Education — real graduate pay, not survey answers.

F

The verdict on the money

On earnings alone this is among the lowest-paying majors at this level. That does not make it a bad subject, but it does make the debt you take on for it matter more.

Median earnings $39,927 2 years after finishing
Typical range $33,993–$44,468 middle half of US programmes
Over no degree +$407 vs $39,520 high-school median
Graduates a year 3,626 395 programmes

Where a History degree pays best US programmes ranked on their own graduates' median earnings two years out.

#University1 yr out2 yrs out3 yrs outGraduates/yr
1 Ashland University cost & debt at this university → $53,609 $58,221 $61,835 42
2 Norwich University cost & debt at this university → $49,698 $54,035 $58,905 58
3 The University of Texas at Arlington cost & debt at this university → not published $53,810 not published 16
4 New York University cost & debt at this university → not published $52,107 $57,142 36
5 American Public University System cost & debt at this university → $52,904 $51,638 $52,414 150
6 Boston College $49,394 $51,607 not published 14
7 American University $39,634 $50,231 $56,282 27
8 University of Houston-Clear Lake not published $49,058 not published 5
9 University of Nebraska at Kearney cost & debt at this university → $50,130 $47,260 $43,213 30
10 California State University-Sacramento cost & debt at this university → $32,370 $47,260 $52,741 17
11 California State University-Fullerton cost & debt at this university → $35,997 $46,790 $57,105 22
12 San Jose State University cost & debt at this university → not published $45,808 not published 14

What this figure does and does not tell you

It is the median of what real graduates of this exact major earned, taken from tax records two years after they completed. It is not a starting salary, not an average of job adverts, and not a projection. The median master's major in this dataset reports $54,713, so History sits below the middle by $14,786.

Two years is early in a career. Fields with long training pipelines — medicine, law, research — look weaker at this point than they will at ten, while trades and applied technical fields peak sooner. Read a low figure in a long-pipeline subject as "slow start", not "bad degree".

There is no debt figure here on purpose. The Department of Education publishes earnings by field of study but not borrowing, so nobody can honestly tell you the debt of a specific major. Debt is published per institution — that is where our university cost pages carry it.

History at other levels

Bachelor's — $29,685 (D)

Scholarships for History students

Whatever the subject pays, the money you do not borrow is the money you keep.

150 Fully Funded PhD Degree Scholarships for International Stu... Richard Rogers Fellowship Residencies at Harvard Graduate Scho... 12 Fully-funded Birkbeck Postgraduate Research Scholarships in... Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of Toronto in Canada, 20... School of Philosophy and Art History Research Scholarship Sche... Pears Foundation PhD Scholarships at University of Sussex in U...
See all History scholarships →

Study History Programmes listed on ScholarshipsAds.

History of Religions — Stockholm University PhD in Economic History — Lund University Early Modern History — Uppsala University American History — University of Cambridge PhD in History (University of Cambridge) — University of Cambridge History — University of Cambridge

Majors that pay more at this level Closest first — useful if you are still choosing.

Sociology — $40,560 Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness — $40,843 Journalism — $41,863 Psychology, General — $42,682 Social Work — $44,960 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods — $45,668

Funding the degree Lenders that fund US and international students — compare the rate before you sign.

MPOWER Financing
No-cosigner, no-collateral loans for international and DACA students in the US a...
· no co-signer
See MPOWER Financing →
Prodigy Finance
Cosigner-free loans for international postgraduate students at top global univer...
· no co-signer
See Prodigy Finance →
Sallie Mae
One of the largest US private student loan lenders, with international options v...
See Sallie Mae →

We may earn a commission if you take a loan through a provider here. It never changes the earnings figures on this page — those come from the US Department of Education.

History: the questions people ask

How much do History graduates earn?
The median master's graduate earns $39,927 two years after finishing, across 49 US programmes that publish the figure. One year out it is $39,755.
Is a History degree worth it?
On earnings alone this is among the lowest-paying majors at this level. That does not make it a bad subject, but it does make the debt you take on for it matter more. The median graduate earns $407 a year more than a US worker whose highest qualification is a high-school diploma.
What is the salary range for History?
Half of US programmes report medians between $33,993 and $44,468. Where you study moves this figure more than most applicants expect.
How many people graduate in History each year?
About 3,626 students complete a master's in this field each year across 395 US programmes.
Does this include student debt?
No — and deliberately. The Department of Education publishes earnings by field of study but not debt, so any "debt by major" figure you see elsewhere is an estimate. Debt is published per institution, which is why our university pages carry it and this page does not.
All degree grades Highest paying majors Most popular majors University costs & payback

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings (median earnings of graduates who received federal financial aid, measured 1–3 years after completion). Figures are per major and credential level, pooled across US programmes. Information only, not financial advice.