Berea College

Berea College's program mix is anchored in Business, with additional strength in applied and social-science fields — a portfolio consistent with a small private liberal-arts college focused on practical workforce preparation. Business Administration is the largest program by graduates (24 students), followed by Artificial Intelligence (22 graduates), Biology, General (21 graduates), Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (19 graduates), and Engineering Technologies/Technicians (17 graduates).

Across 25 programs serving roughly 293 students annually, 6 meet Azimuth's ranking threshold. Business accounts for 8% of degree output, Education for 6%, and Arts for 5%.

The strongest four-year earnings come from Artificial Intelligence, where 22 graduates earn median earnings of $82,491 four years after enrollment — Azimuth ranks the program #106 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Engineering Technologies/Technicians follows with 17 graduates earning $55,830, and Azimuth ranks it #20 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Communication and Media Studies (15 graduates, $41,723) and Psychology, General (17 graduates, $40,768) round out the top earners. Azimuth ranks Artificial Intelligence #106 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning $82,491 — notable given its large cohort relative to the institution's size.

Several of Berea College's strongest programs feed directly into workforce pathways where four-year earnings reflect labor-market outcomes — particularly Artificial Intelligence, Engineering Technologies/Technicians, and Engineering Technologies/Technicians. Fields like Biology, General and Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services may include graduates who continue to graduate study, where four-year earnings undercount the longer-term trajectory.

The [supply and demand for college graduates](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) provides context for how Berea College's dominant program families align with national labor-market demand, and the [program-ranking methodology](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) explains how Azimuth evaluates programs across cohort size, earnings, and benchmarking. ```

Berea College's published cost of attendance is $60,718, but the institution's distinctive aid model reshapes that figure dramatically across income levels. Low-income families pay approximately $5,428 per year in net price — a figure that reflects Berea's deep commitment to need-based aid and its unusual tuition-free pledge for qualifying students.

Middle-income families see annual costs around $8,132, and higher-income families pay approximately $13,700. Azimuth ranks Berea College #1 for post-graduation affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions — in the 100th percentile for post-graduation affordability.

The gap between sticker price and what families actually pay is among the widest in the Azimuth coverage set; understanding [how net price differs from published cost](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) is especially important here. Berea's aid structure is built around demonstrated financial need, and the college's labor program — in which students work on campus as part of their aid package — is a distinctive feature that reduces reliance on borrowing.

The result is a net-price profile that is unusually favorable for low- and middle-income families relative to most nonprofit four-year institutions. Families should apply using the FAFSA and any institution-specific materials to determine their individual aid package, as net prices shown are medians within each income band and individual outcomes vary.

Median federal student loan debt at graduation is $3,591, well below the peer median of $25,000 — a reflection of Berea's aid-first model and the college's emphasis on minimizing student borrowing. For a graduate at the institution's median four-year earnings of $42,924, median federal debt of $3,591 projects to a monthly payment of about $41 under standard ten-year repayment.

In a downside earnings scenario anchored on lower-earning program clusters, the same debt load at earnings of $35,478 carries a heavier relative weight — a pattern worth exploring at the program level using [Azimuth's Financial GPS tool](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/). Families using Parent PLUS loans should review the [Parent PLUS risk framework](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) before borrowing, as household context shapes how manageable those obligations become over time.

Graduates of Berea College earn median earnings of $42,924 four years after enrollment, placing Berea College in the 2.1 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure sits below the $57,042 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band).

Graduates earn about $6,804 less than similar students at comparable institutions, placing the institution in the 29.8 percentile for [earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) among nonprofit four-year institutions. Those figures represent lifetime returns relative to KY's no-degree-equivalent earnings baseline of $31,626 — the state median earnings of working adults age 25–34 with only a high school credential.

Artificial Intelligence combines the largest cohort scale with solid earnings, anchoring Berea College's program-level return story. Business is the dominant program family, representing 8% of degrees awarded, followed by Education at 6% and Arts at 5%.

Among individual programs, Azimuth ranks Artificial Intelligence #106 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions [per the program-ranking methodology](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/), with 22 graduates earning median earnings of $82,491 — 0.9× the national benchmark for the field. Azimuth ranks Biology, General #365 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 21 graduates earning median earnings of $32,729.

Azimuth ranks Engineering Technologies/Technicians #20 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions, with 17 graduates earning median earnings of $55,830 — 0.7× the national benchmark for the field. The broader mix of Business Administration (24 graduates) and Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services (19 graduates) rounds out Berea College's degree output, reflecting a portfolio weighted toward applied and professional fields.