Bachelor's · Allendale, Michigan

Is International Relations and National Security Studies at Grand Valley State University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5.1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $42,625; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $63,160; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $21,499; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $70k (likely $70k – $95k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $26k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.1 years (likely 3.8–6.8); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$6k (likely −$98k – $92k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $328k (likely $134k – $556k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 65%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26