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Lowest Paying Majors
Bottom 50 college majors by estimated median 5-year earnings
| # | College | Major | Earnings | ROI | Employ | Degrees | Accept | SAT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | State University of New York at New Paltz | $13,712 | 1 | 92% | 14 | 46% | 1260 |
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| 2 | Roosevelt | Musical Theatre | $15,262 | 1 | 95% | 46 | 92% | 1030 |
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| 3 | Roosevelt | Acting | $15,262 | 1 | 95% | 17 | 92% | 1030 |
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| 4 | U. of California, Irvine | Human Biology | $15,599 | 1 | 90% | 126 | 29% | — |
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| 5 | Fashion Institute of Technology | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special Effects | $16,318 | 2 | 71% | 25 | 58% | — |
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| 6 | Berklee College of Music | Dance | $17,904 | 1 | 95% | 63 | 55% | — |
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| 7 | U. of California, Berkeley | Music | $17,970 | 1 | 73% | 46 | 11% | — |
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| 8 | Arcadia | Theatre | $18,045 | 1 | 100% | 11 | 68% | — |
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| 9 | Clemson | Fine Arts | $18,478 | 1 | 90% | 10 | 42% | 1330 |
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| 10 | Clemson | Fine/Studio Arts | $18,478 | 1 | 90% | 11 | 42% | 1330 |
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| 11 | Florida Atlantic | Theatre | $18,574 | 2 | 95% | 20 | 52% | 1120 |
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| 12 | Columbus State | Music Performance | $18,610 | 2 | 100% | 22 | 79% | 930 |
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| 13 | Pacific Northwest College of Art | Digital Arts | $19,152 | 1 | 84% | 20 | 75% | — |
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| 14 | New Mexico State | $19,406 | 1 | 89% | 10 | 57% | 990 |
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| 15 | Lewis & Clark | Art History | $20,013 | 1 | 91% | 17 | 79% | — |
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| 16 | Lewis & Clark | Studio Art | $20,013 | 1 | 91% | 21 | 79% | — |
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| 17 | SUNY at Purchase | Dance | $20,200 | 2 | 94% | 38 | 75% | 1280 |
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| 18 | Georgia Southern | Theater | $20,923 | 2 | 96% | 12 | 72% | 1060 |
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| 19 | Florida International | $21,331 | 2 | 74% | 23 | 42% | 1170 |
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| 20 | Bennington | Visual Arts | $21,365 | 1 | 88% | 17 | 45% | 1350 |
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| 21 | Rowan | Theater | $21,581 | 2 | 100% | 23 | 77% | 1200 |
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| 22 | U. of Florida | Dance | $21,635 | 2 | 93% | 22 | 20% | 1410 |
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| 23 | Indiana | Dance | $21,767 | 1 | 94% | 15 | 76% | 1290 |
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| 24 | State University of New York at New Paltz | Theater | $21,853 | 2 | 95% | 26 | 46% | 1260 |
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| 25 | U. of Southern California | Jazz/Jazz Studies | $21,859 | 1 | 86% | 13 | 11% | 1510 |
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| 26 | U. of Southern California | Choral Music | $21,859 | 1 | 86% | 24 | 11% | 1510 |
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| 27 | The New School | Jazz Studies | $21,999 | 1 | 86% | 57 | 63% | — |
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| 28 | The New School | Music History | $21,999 | 1 | 86% | 13 | 63% | — |
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| 29 | The New School | Music Performance | $21,999 | 1 | 85% | 21 | 63% | — |
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| 30 | U. of Central Arkansas | Film Production | $22,566 | 2 | 88% | 25 | 72% | 1040 |
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| 31 | The New School | Theatre | $22,663 | 1 | 94% | 36 | 63% | — |
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| 32 | The New School | Musical Theatre | $22,663 | 1 | 94% | 31 | 63% | — |
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| 33 | U. of Georgia | Music Performance | $22,677 | 2 | 95% | 16 | 30% | 1380 |
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| 34 | U. of Georgia | Music | $22,677 | 2 | 95% | 15 | 30% | 1380 |
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| 35 | Old Dominion | Theater | $22,706 | 1 | 100% | 12 | 91% | 1200 |
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| 36 | Calvin | Film Studies | $22,809 | 1 | 100% | 15 | 75% | 1210 |
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| 37 | CUNY City | Theatre | $22,972 | 3 | 86% | 23 | 42% | 1270 |
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| 38 | U. of Oklahoma - Norman | Dance | $23,083 | 2 | 100% | 18 | 72% | 1240 |
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| 39 | U. of Texas at El Paso | International Business | $23,296 | 2 | 94% | 40 | 95% | 970 |
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| 40 | Cal State Fullerton | Music Performance | $23,297 | 3 | 100% | 32 | 52% | — |
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| 41 | Cal State Fullerton | Music | $23,297 | 3 | 100% | 36 | 52% | — |
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| 42 | Cal State Long Beach | Theatre Arts | $23,349 | 3 | 94% | 74 | 46% | — |
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| 43 | State University of New York at New Paltz | Music | $23,427 | 3 | 94% | 20 | 46% | 1260 |
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| 44 | Oberlin | $23,575 | 1 | 100% | 14 | 34% | 1430 |
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| 45 | Bennington | Theatre | $23,819 | 1 | 94% | 18 | 45% | 1350 |
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| 46 | San Francisco Conservatory of Music | Technology and Applied Composition | $23,902 | 1 | 81% | 11 | 55% | — |
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| 47 | San Francisco Conservatory of Music | Strings | $23,902 | 1 | 81% | 13 | 55% | — |
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| 48 | Nazareth | Theater | $23,931 | 1 | 100% | 10 | 55% | 1200 |
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| 49 | U. of Illinois Chicago | Entrepreneurship | $23,966 | 2 | 90% | 18 | 76% | 1170 |
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| 50 | Cal State Long Beach | Dance | $24,143 | 3 | 87% | 40 | 46% | — |
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