Highest-Paying History Programs
Colleges whose history graduates earn the most one year after finishing, across all bachelor's programs in the field.
Ranked by median earnings, 1 year after completing · 548 of 2,406 institutions report this measure · Compiled 2026-09-01
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Top schools on this list that also show up elsewhere — hop lists without leaving the trail.
#1
Yale University
New Haven, CT
#6
Duke University
Durham, NC
#7
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
- 1Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · Private$57,318Compare nearby
Also on 13 other lists
- English Language & Literature#5
- Most Selective Colleges in America#5
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#7
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#7
- Computer Science#9
- Social Sciences#9
- Multidisciplinary Studies#10
- the Highest ACT Scores#11
- Are Least Likely to Leave#15
- the Highest SAT Averages#15
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#16
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#17
- Psychology#24
- 2Williams CollegeWilliamstown, MA · Private$55,964Compare nearby
- 3Amherst CollegeAmherst, MA · Private$52,289Compare nearby
- 4Saint Anselm CollegeManchester, NH · Private$52,107Compare nearby
- 5Excelsior UniversityAlbany, NY · Private$52,107Compare nearby
- 6Duke UniversityDurham, NC · Private$52,107Compare nearby
- 7Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara, CA · Private$50,439Compare nearby
- 8Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · Private$50,231Compare nearby
Also on 13 other lists
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#2
- Most Selective Colleges in America#2
- the Highest ACT Scores#3
- Psychology#3
- the Highest SAT Averages#3
- Biological Sciences#4
- Computer Science#4
- Mathematics & Statistics#6
- English Language & Literature#8
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#10
- Are Least Likely to Leave#18
- Social Sciences#21
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#24
- 9American Public University SystemCharles Town, WV · For-profit$49,331Compare nearby
- 10University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA · Private$48,849Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#2
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#4
- Communications#4
- Mathematics & Statistics#4
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#5
- Multidisciplinary Studies#5
- Business#9
- the Highest SAT Averages#11
- Most Selective Colleges in America#11
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#12
- Engineering#12
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#17
- Computer Science#18
- Are Least Likely to Leave#20
- Social Sciences#22
- 11Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH · Private$48,432Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#1
- Physical Sciences#1
- Mathematics & Statistics#3
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#9
- Most Selective Colleges in America#12
- Computer Science#14
- English Language & Literature#14
- the Highest SAT Averages#16
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#17
- the Highest ACT Scores#19
- Are Least Likely to Leave#25
- 12Georgetown UniversityWashington, DC · Private$47,260Compare nearby
- 13Bates CollegeLewiston, ME · Private$47,260Compare nearby
- 14College of the Holy CrossWorcester, MA · Private$47,260Compare nearby
- 15Colgate UniversityHamilton, NY · Private$47,260Compare nearby
- 16Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York, NY · Private$47,260Compare nearby
Also on 14 other lists
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#3
- the Highest ACT Scores#4
- Most Selective Colleges in America#4
- Foreign Languages#5
- the Highest SAT Averages#8
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#9
- Mathematics & Statistics#16
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#18
- Area & Ethnic Studies#19
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#21
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#25
- Computer Science#25
- Social Sciences#25
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#25
- 17Tufts UniversityMedford, MA · Private$46,673Compare nearby
- 18University of Notre DameNotre Dame, IN · Private$46,087Compare nearby
- 19Monmouth UniversityWest Long Branch, NJ · Private$45,696Compare nearby
- 20University of Virginia-Main CampusCharlottesville, VA · Public$45,383Compare nearby
- 21George Washington UniversityWashington, DC · Private$44,933Compare nearby
- 22Marymount UniversityArlington, VA · Private$44,384Compare nearby
- 23Texas A&M University-San AntonioSan Antonio, TX · Public$44,384Compare nearby
- 24National UniversitySan Diego, CA · Private$43,798Compare nearby
- 25University of Cincinnati-Main CampusCincinnati, OH · Public$43,798Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Median earnings, 1 year after completing — sorted highest to lowest
- Source variable
EARN_MDN_HI_1YR- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Field-of-Study (04-17-2025 release)
- Where a college offers several history programs, the figure shown is the median across those programs.
- Earnings cover graduates who received federal financial aid, were working and not enrolled one year after completing, and whose highest credential is that bachelor's degree.
- 548 institutions report earnings for this field; programs with too few graduates are suppressed for privacy by the Department of Education and cannot be ranked.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
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Keep going
Highest-Paying Liberal Arts Programs
Colleges whose liberal arts graduates earn the most one year after finishing, across all bachelor's programs in the field.
Highest-Paying Biological Sciences Programs
Colleges whose biological sciences graduates earn the most one year after finishing, across all bachelor's programs in the field.
Highest-Paying Mathematics & Statistics Programs
Colleges whose mathematics & statistics graduates earn the most one year after finishing, across all bachelor's programs in the field.