International Relations and Affairs Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
International Relations and Affairs maps to BLS occupations averaging about $64,987, with roughly 1,596,050 workers nationwide in those roles. About 7,153 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; median program completion runs near 64%.
Key Statistics
International Relations and Affairs: what the data shows
Common questions about international relations and affairs degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a international relations and affairs degree?
A International Relations and Affairs program is classified under NCES CIP 45.0901 in the International Relations and National Security Studies field family (45.09).
A program that focuses on the systematic study of international politics and institutions, and the conduct of diplomacy and foreign policy. Includes instruction in international relations theory, foreign policy analysis, international law and organization, the comparative study of specific countries and regions, and the theory and practice of diplomacy
IPEDS counted 7,153 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
How long does it take to get a international relations and affairs degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 45.0901 in our file:
- 18 Associate (0.2% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 7,153 Bachelor's (64.1% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 3,988 Master's (35.7% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in international relations and affairs?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 45.0901, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a international relations and affairs degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links International Relations and Affairs to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | 1,500,000 | — |
| Secondary School Teachers | 1,072,540 | $64,580 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a international relations and affairs degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the International Relations and National Security Studies bachelor's program family: median debt $50,224, median earnings $66,596 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 1.31.
About 8.6% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $7,540 and median net price is $17,622.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in International Relations and Affairs and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$7,540 Median In-State Public
$36,030 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for International Relations and Affairs majors are, on average, $7,540 for in-state public colleges, and $36,030 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for International Relations and Affairs programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
7,153 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in International Relations and Affairs from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in International Relations and Affairs.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 76,996 |
| 2 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 68,619 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,398 |
| 4 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
| 5 | University of Central Florida | FL | 59,095 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering International Relations and Affairs programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haskell Indian Nations University | KS | $600 |
| 2 | Copper Mountain Community College | CA | $1,114 |
| 3 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 4 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 5 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,126 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for International Relations and Affairs programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $10 |
| 2 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $29 |
| 3 | Coahoma Community College | MS | $560 |
| 4 | Henry Ford College | MI | $576 |
| 5 | Oxnard College | CA | $659 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for International Relations and Affairs programs.
Graduation Rates
63.96% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
62.92% Average Graduation Rate
568 Institutions Reporting
51.38% - 74.74% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for International Relations and Affairs programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for International Relations and Affairs is in DC (1,094 completions). That state represents about 15.3% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is DC (4.99% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC | 1,094 | 15.3% | 4.99% |
| VA | 669 | 9.3% | 0.55% |
| FL | 636 | 8.9% | 0.28% |
| NY | 590 | 8.2% | 0.21% |
| CA | 583 | 8.2% | 0.13% |
| MA | 437 | 6.1% | 0.34% |
| GA | 361 | 5.0% | 0.32% |
| PA | 346 | 4.8% | 0.20% |
| OH | 238 | 3.3% | 0.17% |
| RI | 184 | 2.6% | 0.72% |
| MI | 176 | 2.5% | 0.15% |
| IL | 146 | 2.0% | 0.10% |
| IN | 145 | 2.0% | 0.14% |
| CO | 138 | 1.9% | 0.19% |
| MN | 127 | 1.8% | 0.15% |
| CT | 108 | 1.5% | 0.22% |
| TX | 100 | 1.4% | 0.03% |
| MD | 92 | 1.3% | 0.12% |
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 45.0901 in the survey year used in our extract (11,159 total across levels below).
- 18 Associate (0.2% of IPEDS total)
- 7,153 Bachelor's (64.1% of IPEDS total)
- 3,988 Master's (35.7% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $64,987. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of International Relations and Affairs graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | $36,511 | 1,500,000 |
| Secondary School Teachers | $104,813 | 1,072,540 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the International Relations and National Security Studies CIP family (33 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every International Relations and Affairs graduate.
- $50,224 median federal loan debt among completers
- $66,596 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 1.31 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 8.6% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$40,621 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for International Relations and Affairs majors is $40,621.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for International Relations and Affairs majors.
Occupations by Share
1,596,050 2023 Workforce
The number of International Relations and Affairs graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in International Relations and Affairs by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in International Relations and Affairs in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in International Relations and Affairs.
Age distribution for International Relations and Affairs degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
7,153 Total Degrees Awarded
2,729 Male (38.15%)
4,424 Female (61.85%)
Gender distribution of International Relations and Affairs degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
3,577 White (50.01%)
1,254 Hispanic or Latino (17.53%)
616 Asian (8.61%)
491 Black or African American (6.86%)
383 Two or More Races (5.35%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of International Relations and Affairs degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in International Relations and Affairs are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in International Relations and Affairs.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the International Relations and Affairs field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
International Relations and Affairs majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for International Relations and Affairs majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for International Relations and Affairs majors.
About
A program that focuses on the systematic study of international politics and institutions, and the conduct of diplomacy and foreign policy. Includes instruction in international relations theory, foreign policy analysis, international law and organization, the comparative study of specific countries and regions, and the theory and practice of diplomacy
In 2023, 7,153 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in International Relations and Affairs.
CIP Code
45.0901 - International Relations and Affairs
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $50,224 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $66,596, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.31. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual International Relations and Affairs graduate.
About 8.6% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians. That is a program-level mobility signal, not a national underemployment rate.
Women earned 58.1% of 11,684 International Relations and Affairs completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $64,987. The largest mapped role by headcount is Teachers, Postsecondary (1,500,000 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $7,540 in-state at public colleges and $36,030 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.