University of Southern California
ROI analysis for 74 degree programs. Sorted worst first.
| Major | Level | Debt | Earnings | Ratio | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | Master's | $167,503 | $28,279 | 5.92x | TRAP |
| Dentistry | Degree | $439,325 | $84,839 | 5.18x | TRAP |
| Medicine | Degree | $234,702 | $61,414 | 3.82x | TRAP |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | Master's | $108,033 | $34,673 | 3.12x | TRAP |
| Music | Master's | $64,278 | $22,177 | 2.9x | TRAP |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | Doctoral | $210,709 | $73,500 | 2.87x | TRAP |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions | Master's | $130,999 | $47,828 | 2.74x | TRAP |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services | Master's | $118,051 | $43,485 | 2.71x | TRAP |
| Social Work | Master's | $125,849 | $50,797 | 2.48x | TRAP |
| Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences | Degree | $252,481 | $104,166 | 2.42x | TRAP |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration | Degree | $234,278 | $106,344 | 2.2x | TRAP |
| Special Education and Teaching | Degree | $98,855 | $48,557 | 2.04x | TRAP |
| Library Science and Administration | Master's | $83,905 | $42,614 | 1.97x | TRAP |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Master's | $232,660 | $121,309 | 1.92x | TRAP |
| Architectural Sciences and Technology | Master's | $118,666 | $62,067 | 1.91x | TRAP |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | Master's | $80,255 | $46,690 | 1.72x | TRAP |
| Public Health | Master's | $83,937 | $51,640 | 1.63x | TRAP |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | Master's | $82,426 | $52,873 | 1.56x | TRAP |
| Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language | Master's | $66,499 | $43,457 | 1.53x | TRAP |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | Degree | $108,346 | $74,136 | 1.46x | CAUTION |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | Master's | $68,331 | $48,045 | 1.42x | CAUTION |
| Public Policy Analysis | Degree | $85,385 | $63,791 | 1.34x | CAUTION |
| Gerontology | Master's | $66,250 | $50,914 | 1.3x | CAUTION |
| Journalism | Master's | $48,232 | $37,963 | 1.27x | CAUTION |
| Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies | Degree | $69,961 | $57,225 | 1.22x | CAUTION |
| Law | Degree | $138,518 | $121,676 | 1.14x | CAUTION |
| Communication and Media Studies | Master's | $70,426 | $63,499 | 1.11x | CAUTION |
| Public Administration | Master's | $75,887 | $68,264 | 1.11x | CAUTION |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology | Master's | $61,632 | $57,415 | 1.07x | CAUTION |
| Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations | Master's | $58,425 | $56,947 | 1.03x | CAUTION |
| Educational Administration and Supervision | Doctoral | $99,714 | $99,851 | 1.0x | CAUTION |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Degree | $79,250 | $80,572 | 0.98x | CAUTION |
| Legal Professions and Studies, Other | Degree | $75,568 | $79,420 | 0.95x | CAUTION |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning | Master's | $57,982 | $61,621 | 0.94x | CAUTION |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering | Master's | $65,600 | $76,738 | 0.85x | CAUTION |
| Marketing | Degree | $95,362 | $113,473 | 0.84x | CAUTION |
| Dispute Resolution | Degree | $56,326 | $68,397 | 0.82x | CAUTION |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Bachelor's | $19,131 | $23,653 | 0.81x | CAUTION |
| Accounting and Related Services | Master's | $48,666 | $65,462 | 0.74x | VIABLE |
| Geography and Cartography | Degree | $41,000 | $55,848 | 0.73x | VIABLE |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Bachelor's | $19,750 | $28,913 | 0.68x | VIABLE |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | Master's | $60,405 | $93,128 | 0.65x | VIABLE |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | Bachelor's | $20,353 | $31,628 | 0.64x | VIABLE |
| Taxation | Master's | $50,834 | $81,685 | 0.62x | VIABLE |
| Design and Applied Arts | Bachelor's | $18,000 | $29,631 | 0.61x | VIABLE |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Master's | $96,260 | $167,228 | 0.58x | VIABLE |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's | $20,000 | $36,038 | 0.55x | VIABLE |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering | Master's | $55,288 | $99,666 | 0.55x | VIABLE |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences | Bachelor's | $14,000 | $26,886 | 0.52x | VIABLE |
| Human Biology | Bachelor's | $14,481 | $30,297 | 0.48x | VIABLE |
| Computer Science | Master's | $51,250 | $110,796 | 0.46x | VIABLE |
| Dental Support Services and Allied Professions | Bachelor's | $30,556 | $66,674 | 0.46x | VIABLE |
| History | Bachelor's | $12,138 | $29,963 | 0.41x | VIABLE |
| Psychology, General | Bachelor's | $14,000 | $34,924 | 0.4x | VIABLE |
| Public Administration and Social Service Professions, Other | Master's | $51,250 | $135,775 | 0.38x | VIABLE |
| Cognitive Science | Bachelor's | $18,250 | $49,368 | 0.37x | VIABLE |
| Engineering, Other | Master's | $30,125 | $97,458 | 0.31x | VIABLE |
| Political Science and Government | Bachelor's | $12,000 | $41,043 | 0.29x | VIABLE |
| Real Estate Development | Bachelor's | $17,375 | $60,983 | 0.28x | VIABLE |
| International Relations and National Security Studies | Bachelor's | $13,247 | $48,625 | 0.27x | VIABLE |
| Real Estate | Bachelor's | $19,500 | $75,665 | 0.26x | VIABLE |
| Sociology | Bachelor's | $9,625 | $37,102 | 0.26x | VIABLE |
| Philosophy | Bachelor's | $7,500 | $28,506 | 0.26x | VIABLE |
| Economics | Bachelor's | $13,850 | $54,837 | 0.25x | VIABLE |
| Industrial Engineering | Bachelor's | $17,704 | $70,709 | 0.25x | VIABLE |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | Bachelor's | $18,497 | $81,661 | 0.23x | VIABLE |
| Applied Mathematics | Bachelor's | $12,251 | $61,861 | 0.2x | VIABLE |
| Chemical Engineering | Bachelor's | $13,000 | $66,458 | 0.2x | VIABLE |
| Mechanical Engineering | Bachelor's | $14,250 | $74,693 | 0.19x | VIABLE |
| Biology, General | Bachelor's | $4,618 | $24,988 | 0.18x | VIABLE |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | Bachelor's | $3,000 | $24,569 | 0.12x | VIABLE |
| Civil Engineering | Bachelor's | $8,125 | $75,576 | 0.11x | VIABLE |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Bachelor's | $3,000 | $31,909 | 0.09x | VIABLE |
| Computer Engineering | Bachelor's | $6,625 | $106,621 | 0.06x | VIABLE |