Best Value / By Major

Best Value Colleges for International Relations and National Security Studies

Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.

50

Schools Ranked

$36,273

Avg. Earnings

<1 yr

Best Payback

6,995

Graduates

How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.

#	School	Net Price/yr	Major Earnings	Payback
1	Yale University New Haven, CT · Private	$2,815	$52,107	<1 yr
2	Stanford University Stanford, CA · Private	$7,081	$58,221	1.2 yrs
3	Northwestern University Evanston, IL · Private	$5,849	$46,087	2.1 yrs
4	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD · Private	$8,457	$50,231	2.2 yrs
5	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA · Private	$12,020	$55,547	2.3 yrs
6	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT · Private	$13,580	$55,964	2.6 yrs
7	Brown University Providence, RI · Private	$10,219	$50,105	2.7 yrs
8	Georgetown University Washington, DC · Private	$12,505	$48,752	3.6 yrs
9	Colgate University Hamilton, NY · Private	$17,557	$53,775	3.7 yrs
10	Lafayette College Easton, PA · Private	$13,393	$48,198	4.1 yrs
11	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA · Public	$10,995	$45,383	4.2 yrs
12	Hamilton College Clinton, NY · Private	$13,321	$46,087	4.8 yrs
13	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA · Private	$26,956	$55,964	5.1 yrs
14	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA · Public	$15,415	$46,478	5.4 yrs
15	Dickinson College Carlisle, PA · Private	$19,300	$48,823	5.6 yrs
16	Tufts University Medford, MA · Private	$19,827	$48,139	6 yrs
17	California State University Maritime Academy Vallejo, CA · Public	$18,885	$47,394	6.1 yrs
18	Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA · Private	$16,248	$45,696	6.1 yrs
19	Wheaton College Wheaton, IL · Private	$18,373	$45,696	6.9 yrs
20	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA · Public	$16,019	$43,674	7.4 yrs
21	CUNY City College New York, NY · Public	$7,521	$39,009	7.5 yrs
22	George Washington University Washington, DC · Private	$21,174	$45,997	7.7 yrs
23	Northeastern University Boston, MA · Private	$18,389	$44,021	8.2 yrs
24	Fairfield University Fairfield, CT · Private	$25,929	$47,260	8.5 yrs
25	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI · Public	$20,557	$44,170	9 yrs
26	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH · Public	$20,896	$44,170	9.1 yrs
27	Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY · Private	$16,176	$41,193	10.4 yrs
28	Emory University Atlanta, GA · Private	$16,646	$41,342	10.5 yrs
29	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA · Private	$19,026	$42,123	10.7 yrs
30	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA · Private	$22,826	$42,884	11.6 yrs
31	Brigham Young University Provo, UT · Private	$12,676	$39,369	11.6 yrs
32	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA · Public	$13,613	$39,305	12.6 yrs
33	Connecticut College New London, CT · Private	$16,044	$39,729	13.6 yrs
34	Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN · Public	$14,995	$39,369	13.7 yrs
35	American University Washington, DC · Private	$27,374	$42,469	14.7 yrs
36	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Lehigh Valley Center Valley, PA · Public	$19,297	$39,909	15.7 yrs
37	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus University Park, PA · Public	$19,223	$39,909	15.7 yrs
38	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA · Public	$16,065	$39,009	16 yrs
39	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks Reading, PA · Public	$22,967	$39,909	18.7 yrs
40	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA · Public	$18,372	$38,878	18.9 yrs
41	Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN · Public	$13,140	$37,748	19.1 yrs
42	Boston University Boston, MA · Private	$18,458	$38,797	19.4 yrs
43	George Mason University Fairfax, VA · Public	$19,066	$38,889	19.6 yrs
44	Liberty University Lynchburg, VA · Private	$27,305	$40,467	20 yrs
45	University of Chicago Chicago, IL · Private	$8,375	$36,674	20 yrs
46	Roger Williams University Bristol, RI · Private	$33,796	$41,565	20.6 yrs
47	Fordham University Bronx, NY · Private	$31,221	$40,821	21.5 yrs
48	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA · Public	$27,137	$39,909	22.1 yrs
49	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH · Public	$18,606	$38,289	22.6 yrs
50	Norwich University Northfield, VT · Private	$21,686	$38,721	23.3 yrs

Top Earners in International Relations and National Security Studies

See schools ranked by earnings alone, without considering cost.

Best Value Rankings

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Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.