Ranked

Most popular US degrees by number of graduates

Ranked by how many students complete them each year, with what those graduates go on to earn.

#MajorLevelGradeMedian earningsTypical rangeGraduates/yr
81 International Relations Bachelor's C $38,889 $30,305–$40,467 8,079
82 Rehabilitation Master's C $63,600 $46,087–$66,941 8,046
83 Hospitality Management Bachelor's C $38,634 $33,192–$40,140 7,940
84 Allied Health Diagnostic Bachelor's B $53,858 $36,848–$57,318 7,919
85 Management Information Systems Bachelor's B $58,985 $46,478–$61,303 7,889
86 Biology Master's F $35,416 $28,212–$46,087 7,761
87 Physics Bachelor's C $43,240 $34,847–$48,432 7,710
88 Mechanical Engineering Master's B $82,882 $75,518–$86,129 7,395
89 Physiology Bachelor's F $26,121 $25,194–$31,305 7,361
90 Animal Sciences Bachelor's D $30,616 $25,967–$32,925 7,296
91 Psychology Master's D $41,681 $38,289–$48,265 6,941
92 Education Bachelor's C $33,993 $29,374–$37,671 6,888
93 Criminal Justice Master's D $47,729 $39,009–$52,289 6,816
94 Educational Leadership Master's C $53,699 $46,478–$57,860 6,788
95 Applied Mathematics Master's A $97,071 $70,456–$86,689 6,541
96 Air Transportation Bachelor's B $46,869 $39,950–$47,650 6,478
97 Music Master's F $25,194 $24,228–$33,993 6,242
98 Aerospace Engineering Bachelor's A $65,029 $61,380–$67,995 6,195
99 Rhetoric and Composition & Writing Studies Bachelor's D $31,585 $22,872–$33,993 5,997
100 Computer Engineering Master's A $109,095 $84,653–$104,192 5,898
101 Library Science and Administration Master's D $43,872 $40,461–$45,696 5,568
102 Social Sciences Bachelor's C $34,704 $29,565–$37,568 5,560
103 Religion & Religious Studies Bachelor's F $28,598 $19,794–$31,127 5,540
104 Statistics Bachelor's B $54,435 $47,650–$61,516 5,318
105 Economics Master's B $70,596 $57,318–$70,596 5,317
106 International Relations Master's C $65,995 $47,963–$64,493 5,256
107 Industrial Engineering Bachelor's A $69,710 $63,005–$71,643 5,205
108 International & Globalization Studies Bachelor's C $34,660 $27,822–$36,049 5,169
109 International Business Bachelor's C $44,189 $38,289–$52,107 5,159
110 Geological Bachelor's C $34,259 $31,081–$39,369 5,018
111 Civil Engineering Master's B $71,823 $66,169–$74,200 4,960
112 Linguistic, Comparative Bachelor's F $26,933 $23,649–$31,848 4,816
113 Agricultural Business and Management Bachelor's C $45,149 $38,289–$46,087 4,791
114 Communications Master's C $51,899 $40,728–$53,775 4,685
115 Applied Mathematics Bachelor's B $55,151 $45,919–$65,387 4,620
116 Cell & Cellular Biology Bachelor's D $33,043 $27,494–$37,208 4,605
117 Ecology, Evolution, Systematics Bachelor's F $24,904 $21,964–$28,598 4,476
118 Clinical, Counseling Bachelor's D $32,925 $28,417–$36,077 4,401
119 Computer Software and Media Applications Bachelor's C $37,424 $29,887–$44,170 4,223
120 Finance Master's B $82,993 $64,196–$87,973 4,158

Popular does not mean well paid

The most-awarded degrees in the US are not the best-paying ones. Business, psychology and nursing dominate on volume for reasons of interest, access and licensing rather than salary — check the earnings column beside each row.

Why volume matters anyway

A field with tens of thousands of graduates a year has a deep, competitive job market and plenty of programmes to choose between, which usually means more scholarship money in circulation and more places where you can study it affordably.

Questions

What is the most popular college major in the US?
International Relations (Bachelor's) — $35,060 median earnings two years after finishing, across 390 US programmes.
Are these starting salaries?
No. They are median earnings two years after students completed the degree, taken from tax records rather than surveys or job adverts.
Can I compare a master's with a bachelor's here?
Only with care. Each grade is a percentile inside its own credential level, so an A master's and an A bachelor's are both top-of-their-level rather than equal in salary.

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study earnings, measured two years after completion. Majors with too few programmes publishing earnings are left out rather than estimated.