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BACHELOR'S DEGREE · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES

Is a bachelor's degree in Religion/Religious Studies worth it?

Compare cost, debt and earnings across 51 college programs with reportable data.

Based onObserved earnings + college priceEstimate10-year payoff
Estimated 10-year payoff
Negative payoff

−$228,551 over 10 years

National scenario across reporting bachelor's degree programs, using median year-4 earnings, their institutions’ average net prices and a typical 4-year duration.

91.9 yrsTime to earn back the modeled cost
−89%Estimated return after 10 years
$47,791Observed earnings · year 4
Not reachedHighest annual price before payoff reaches $0
Start with your decision

What do you need to compare?

PRICE SENSITIVITY

The price can change the verdict.

Hold observed earnings constant and see how the modeled ten-year payoff changes as annual price rises.

What stays fixed$47,791 observed annual earnings · 4 years of study · $45,000 alternative annual earnings · ten-year horizonThe marked price is the average college-wide net-price context across reporting institutions. This is a sensitivity test, not a tuition quote or earnings forecast.
WHAT THIS DEGREE PAYS

Outcomes at a glance

$47,791Typical earnings four years after completion
$42,764Average earnings five years after completion
$25,000Typical federal student debt
16thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
15Degrees awarded in 2024–25
45College programs reporting earnings

Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 2 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.

A PRACTICAL READ

Four useful answers about Religion/Religious Studies

How much do Religion/Religious Studies bachelor's degree graduates earn?

The national median is $47,791 four years after completion across reportable bachelor's degree programs in this federal field.

How much federal debt do graduates have?

The median reported federal debt is $25,000. The figure excludes private loans and does not describe every graduate.

Does the college matter for Religion/Religious Studies?

Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $35,960 to $53,789 in observed year-4 earnings.

What careers are related to Religion/Religious Studies?

DegreeVerdict links this field to 3 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.

COMPARE DEGREE LEVELS

More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.

Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.

OPEN PROFILE

Associate's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$49,315
Federal debt
$27,875
Programs in the comparison
5
4 report earnings →CURRENT VIEW

Bachelor's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$47,791
Federal debt
$25,000
Programs in the comparison
51
45 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Master's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$65,111
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
4
4 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Doctoral Degree

Year-4 earnings
$54,096
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
3
3 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

First Professional Degree

Year-4 earnings
$72,345
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
2
2 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Graduate/Professional Certificate

Year-4 earnings
$28,595
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
1
1 report earnings →
COLLEGE-TO-COLLEGE RANGE

Where the middle half of programs lands

Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.

Median
25th percentile$35,960National median$47,79175th percentile$53,789
45 programs report year‑4 earnings.
BEFORE YOU CHOOSE

Compare price, debt and earnings together

$53,78975th-percentile year-4 earnings among reporting programs
$25,000Median federal debt across programs that report it
5Programs with earnings in the top quarter and debt at or below the median
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION

Three useful places to start

Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.

Highest observed earnings

Yeshivas Be'er Yitzchok

$98,832 four years after completionElizabeth, NJ · inspect the full program →Lowest reported federal debt

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

$12,550 among completer borrowersChapel Hill, NC · inspect the full program →Largest recent graduating class

Beth Medrash Govoha

524 reported awards in 2024–25Lakewood, NJ · inspect the full program →
PRICE × EARNINGS MAP

Where colleges sit for this exact degree

Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.

$74,060Observed year-4 earnings$42,196
$9,597Annual college-wide average net price$41,104
All reporting colleges Lower-price, higher-earnings quadrantAxes trim the outer 5% for readability; outliers remain pinned to the chart edge. Price is institution-wide context, not exact program tuition.
Build your shortlist

Choose colleges offering this exact degree

Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.

30 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 25 shown
Search every reporting program →
WHERE OUTCOMES ARE STRONGEST

See the spread, not just the national number.

1Yeshivas Be'er Yitzchok$98,8322Yeshiva Shaarei Torah of Rockland$81,3493Jewish Theological Seminary of America$74,0604Ner Israel Rabbinical College$73,5675Wabash College$69,9886Faith International University$64,2357Fordham University$61,8778University of California, Davis$59,4489Beth Medrash Govoha$59,03610University of Virginia-Main Campus$58,324

Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking

Career outlook

Jobs this degree may lead to

Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.

Pay and projected demand

Related careers do not share one outlook

Bubble size = annual openings2025–35 national projection

Occupation wages describe workers in these jobs, not graduates of this degree. BLS projections are national estimates and do not guarantee hiring.

Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary$80,260 median wage20,460 jobs nationwide+2.0% projected growth through 2035 · 1,800 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$49,140–$139,580 typical wage rangeArea, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary$85,020 median wage11,300 jobs nationwide+2.7% projected growth through 2035 · 1,000 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$52,070–$160,420 typical wage rangeNO MATCHUnreported jobs nationwide

BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.

COMPARE NEARBY FIELDS

Similar degrees in the same subject family

These alternatives share the same broad federal CIP family and credential level. Earnings and debt use the same definitions as this page.

Bachelor's Degree

Philosophy

Year-4 earnings
$56,849
Federal debt
$22,862
123 reporting programs →
EXPLORE BY STATE

Where this degree has enough data to compare

State pages are published only when at least five operating colleges report year-4 earnings for this exact field and credential.

NY14 programs$32,280 average earningsCA5 programs$48,011 average earnings

This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.