Master's · New York, New York

Is International and Comparative Education at Teachers College at Columbia 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 slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 7.4 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $76,591; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $83,926; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $61,251; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $65k (likely $65k – $65k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $16k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in NY; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 7.4 years (likely 4.9–16.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$94k (likely −$201k – $6k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $117k (likely −$122k – $335k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.