Best institutions to study Ethnic
Compare 541 U.S. colleges offering Ethnic by graduate earnings, cost, and outcomes. Federal data across 51 states.
Ethnic programs report a median of $31,443 one year after graduation (College Scorecard, 2024), and map to CIP 05.02 and the Interpreters and Translators occupation (BLS SOC).
About Ethnic programs
The Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies program focuses on the study of differences related to race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. This interdisciplinary field examines how these identities intersect with power dynamics in society, providing students with a comprehensive understanding of cultural and social issues. It is ideal for individuals interested in social justice, advocacy, and cultural awareness.
Students in this program develop essential skills such as critical thinking, active listening, and effective communication. Coursework often includes studies in various specializations like African-American Studies, Women's Studies, and Gay/Lesbian Studies, equipping students with a broad knowledge base and practical skills applicable in diverse contexts.
Top 50 institutions, ranked by graduate earnings
Earnings = median 1 year after graduation (College Scorecard, predominant credential).
| # | Institution | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Completions | Grad rate | Net price | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $55,206 | 21 | 96% | $15,315 | $18,799 |
| 2 | Georgetown University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $51,388 | 4 | 95% | $22,242 | $17,000 |
| 3 | California State University - East Bay Hayward, CA Public · Bachelor's degree | $47,511 | 47 | 48% | — | $18,638 |
| 4 | American University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $46,206 | 22 | 75% | $30,225 | $25,000 |
| 5 | Wellesley College Wellesley, MA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $43,926 | 13 | 92% | $19,292 | — |
| 6 | University of Minnesota - Duluth Duluth, MN Public · Bachelor's degree | $41,926 | 11 | 65% | — | — |
| 7 | University of Massachusetts - Boston Boston, MA Public · Bachelor's degree | $41,872 | 18 | 49% | — | $26,965 |
| 8 | Stanford University Stanford, CA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $41,156 | 39 | 92% | $12,032 | — |
| 9 | University of New Hampshire - Main Campus Durham, NH Public · Bachelor's degree | $40,720 | 5 | 76% | — | $25,832 |
| 10 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ Public · Bachelor's degree | $40,719 | 61 | 68% | — | $23,000 |
| 11 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ Public · Bachelor's degree | $40,719 | 32 | 0% | — | $23,000 |
| 12 | California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Pomona, CA Public · Bachelor's degree | $40,253 | 18 | 68% | — | $13,486 |
| 13 | Amherst College Amherst, MA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $40,120 | 19 | 94% | $16,081 | $18,032 |
| 14 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT Public · Bachelor's degree | $39,343 | 9 | 83% | — | $26,262 |
| 15 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $39,012 | 26 | 95% | $14,799 | — |
| 16 | University of New Mexico - Main Campus Albuquerque, NM Public · Bachelor's degree | $38,260 | 36 | 55% | — | $25,000 |
| 17 | University of Delaware Newark, DE Public · Bachelor's degree | $38,124 | 15 | 81% | — | $25,000 |
| 18 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO Public · Bachelor's degree | $37,621 | 5 | 46% | — | $28,375 |
| 19 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · Bachelor's degree | $37,411 | 14 | 69% | — | $31,000 |
| 20 | University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO Public · Certificate degree | $37,389 | 1,231 | 75% | — | $21,500 |
| 21 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Public · Bachelor's degree | $37,046 | 57 | 89% | — | $26,000 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · Bachelor's degree | $36,426 | 11 | 86% | — | $26,825 |
| 23 | CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY Public · Bachelor's degree | $36,292 | 9 | 51% | — | $18,896 |
| 24 | Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA Public · Bachelor's degree | $35,263 | 18 | 58% | — | $19,187 |
| 25 | Brandeis University Waltham, MA Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $35,057 | 12 | 86% | $25,074 | $24,226 |
| 26 | Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO Public · Bachelor's degree | $34,906 | 16 | 32% | — | $31,966 |
| 27 | University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD Public · Bachelor's degree | $34,777 | 30 | 89% | — | $19,500 |
| 28 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · Bachelor's degree | $34,559 | 100 | 93% | — | $15,740 |
| 29 | University of Iowa Iowa City, IA Public · Certificate degree | $34,216 | 46 | 75% | — | $27,000 |
| 30 | University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA Public · Bachelor's degree | $34,197 | 9 | 96% | — | $14,100 |
| 31 | CUNY Hunter College New York, NY Public · Bachelor's degree | $34,007 | 14 | 57% | — | $10,698 |
| 32 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · Bachelor's degree | $33,991 | 26 | 93% | — | $14,802 |
| 33 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · Bachelor's degree | $33,366 | 53 | 62% | — | $19,448 |
| 34 | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN Public · Bachelor's degree | $33,000 | 23 | 85% | — | $21,964 |
| 35 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · Bachelor's degree | $32,856 | 13 | 85% | — | $23,402 |
| 36 | Towson University Towson, MD Public · Bachelor's degree | $32,740 | 20 | 69% | — | $22,250 |
| 37 | Yale University New Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $32,624 | 37 | 96% | $27,025 | $13,107 |
| 38 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · Bachelor's degree | $32,563 | 93 | 86% | — | $14,155 |
| 39 | Portland State University Portland, OR Public · Bachelor's degree | $32,441 | 31 | 53% | — | $26,500 |
| 40 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · Bachelor's degree | $32,341 | 54 | 83% | — | $13,500 |
| 41 | CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY Public · Bachelor's degree | $32,083 | 43 | 54% | — | $14,094 |
| 42 | Dartmouth College Hanover, NH Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $31,967 | 22 | 96% | $14,689 | $15,157 |
| 43 | Gallaudet University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · Bachelor's degree | $31,541 | 34 | 47% | $14,382 | $28,125 |
| 44 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA Public · Bachelor's degree | $31,459 | 50 | 85% | — | $15,056 |
| 45 | University of Washington - Bothell Campus Bothell, WA Public · Bachelor's degree | $31,459 | 4 | 65% | — | $15,056 |
| 46 | University of Washington - Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA Public · Bachelor's degree | $31,459 | 9 | 63% | — | $15,056 |
| 47 | University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA Public · Bachelor's degree | $31,443 | 38 | 76% | — | $23,000 |
| 48 | Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · Bachelor's degree | $31,179 | 17 | 88% | — | $22,056 |
| 49 | University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA Public · Bachelor's degree | $31,140 | 107 | 75% | — | $19,747 |
| 50 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA Public · Bachelor's degree | $31,001 | 64 | 50% | — | $17,875 |
Offered across 51 states
The same program, compared state by state. Pick a state for in-state earnings and institutions.
Careers & outlook
The payoff after graduation: occupation 27-3091, Interpreters and Translators, and its national outlook.
Graduates of the Ethnic Studies program can pursue various careers in education, social services, and community advocacy. The job outlook is stable, with an annual growth rate of 1.7% and approximately 6,900 openings each year. The median wage for related positions is $59,440, typically requiring a Bachelor's degree.
Top-paying metros
Related careers
CIP-to-SOC crosswalk for Ethnic
The SOC occupations NCES officially maps to CIP 05.02.
Under the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, CIP 05.02 (Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies) maps to 2 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) occupations, the jobs the U.S. Department of Labor links to this field of study.
| SOC code | Occupation |
|---|---|
| 25-1062 | Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary |
| 27-3091 | Interpreters and Translatorsprimary |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk.
Skills & knowledge in Ethnic programs
From the U.S. Dept. of Labor for the occupation this program most leads to.
Skills you'll build
Knowledge areas
What graduates do on the job
- Follow ethical codes that protect the confidentiality of information.
- Translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible.
- Listen to speakers' statements to determine meanings and to prepare translations, using electronic listening systems as necessary.
- Compile terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material.
- Refer to reference materials, such as dictionaries, lexicons, encyclopedias, and computerized terminology banks, as needed to ensure translation accuracy.
- Check translations of technical terms and terminology to ensure that they are accurate and remain consistent throughout translation revisions.
Concentrations within Ethnic
Specializations under this field (NCES CIP 2020).
- Ethnic StudiesCIP 05.0200
A program that focuses on the interdisciplinary and comparative study of the history, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of North American racial and ethnic groups, including African American
- African-American/Black StudiesCIP 05.0201
A program that focuses on the history, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of the North American peoples descended from the African diaspora; focusing on the United States, Canada, and the Car
- American Indian/Native American StudiesCIP 05.0202
A program that focuses on the history, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the American Indian, Aleut, Inuit, Hawaiian and other native peoples of the Americas from earliest
- Hispanic-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American/Chicano StudiesCIP 05.0203
A program that focuses on the history, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of one or more of the Hispanic American immigrant populations within the U.S
- Asian-American StudiesCIP 05.0206
A program that focuses on the history, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of Asian population groups who have immigrated to the United States and Canada, or sought refugee asylum, from the co
- Women's StudiesCIP 05.0207
A program that focuses on the history, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of women, and the development of modern feminism in relation to the roles played by women in different periods and lo
- Gay/Lesbian StudiesCIP 05.0208
A program that focuses on homosexuality in history, society, politics, and cultural life; usually with an emphasis on the modern emergence of gays and lesbians as a sociocultural minority movement, th
- Folklore StudiesCIP 05.0209
A program that focuses on the study of creativity and aesthetic expression in everyday life, as expressed in narrative, literature, performing arts, culture, work, family and community.
- Disability StudiesCIP 05.0210
A program that focuses on the nature, meaning, and consequences of what it is to be defined as disabled and explores the historical, cultural, economic, physiological, and socio-political dynamics of
- Deaf StudiesCIP 05.0211
A program that focuses on the sociological, historical and linguistic aspects of the deaf and hearing impaired, and that prepares individuals to work with the deaf and hearing impaired
- Comparative Group StudiesCIP 05.0212
A program that focuses on the comparative study of the history, literature, sociology, politics, culture, and economics of different groups such as racial, gender, sexual, class, ethnic, geographical,
- Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, OtherCIP 05.0299
Any instructional program in ethnic, cultural minority, gender, and group studies not listed above.
Common questions
What is Ethnic Studies?+
Ethnic Studies is the study of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, focusing on their impact on society and power dynamics.
What skills will I gain?+
You will develop skills in critical thinking, communication, active listening, and cultural awareness.
What careers can I pursue?+
Graduates can work in education, social services, and advocacy roles.
What is the job outlook?+
The job outlook shows a growth rate of 1.7% with about 6,900 annual openings.
How much do Ethnic graduates earn?+
Ethnic graduates report median earnings of $31,443 one year after graduation, per College Scorecard (2024); the Interpreters and Translators occupation pays about $66,360 on average nationally (BLS OEWS May 2025).
What is the CIP code for Ethnic?+
Ethnic maps to CIP 05.02 in the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP), the U.S. Department of Education taxonomy used for College Scorecard Field of Study earnings and IPEDS completions.
About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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