Master's · Boston, Massachusetts

Is International/Globalization Studies at Northeastern University worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ 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 5.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $75,714; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $91,977; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $40,133; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $43k (likely $43k – $43k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $20k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in MA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.2 years (likely 3.8–7.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$38k (likely −$118k – $51k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $248k (likely $58k – $465k); Today's dollars

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