Cuny Hunter College

CUNY Hunter College prices its degrees at one of the most accessible levels in the Azimuth coverage set. Low-income families pay approximately $1,029 per year in net price, middle-income families see annual costs around $6,003, and higher-income families pay approximately $12,259.

Azimuth ranks Cuny Hunter College #19 for post-graduation affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The spread across income bands is notably narrow, reflecting Hunter's public CUNY tuition structure, which keeps costs low for most students regardless of family income.

The [net price illusion](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) is less pronounced here than at higher-sticker institutions — what families see is largely what they pay. Hunter's aid structure includes named programs such as Honors & Scholars and Research and Scholarship opportunities, per the financial aid page, which provide additional support beyond standard need-based grants.

Students apply for federal and state aid through the FAFSA, and New York State's Excelsior Scholarship and TAP programs further reduce net costs for qualifying residents, compressing the effective price even further for many in-state families. Median federal student loan debt at graduation is $11,000, and families using Parent PLUS borrow a median of $20,252; private or institutional loans may add further borrowing that falls outside these federal-only figures — see the [Parent PLUS risk framework](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) for how household context shapes PLUS decisions.

For a graduate at the institution's median four-year earnings of $73,236, median federal debt of $11,000 projects to a monthly payment of about $124 under standard ten-year repayment. For personalized projections across earnings scenarios — including Parent PLUS planning — use [Azimuth's Financial GPS tool](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).

Graduates of Cuny Hunter College earn median earnings of $73,236 four years after enrollment, placing Cuny Hunter College in the 74.2 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure sits below the $65,228 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band).

Graduates earn about $18,009 more than similar students at comparable institutions, placing the institution in the 94.5 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 NY's no-degree-equivalent earnings baseline of $32,204, the state median earnings of working adults without a college credential.

While institution-level earnings track NY's regional labor market, specific programs deliver materially stronger outcomes. Azimuth ranks Nursing #32 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions [per the program-ranking methodology](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/), with graduates earning median earnings of $116,361 — 1.31x the national benchmark for the field.

Psychology, General is the largest program with 673 graduates earning median earnings of $59,149, and Azimuth ranks it #28 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. The Human Biology program graduates 442 students with median earnings of $83,420, while Azimuth ranks Computer Science #73 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions with 276 graduates earning median earnings of $102,321.

The Psychology department — Cuny Hunter College's dominant program family — offers a Research Psychology Concentration and an honors program, per the department's curriculum page, pathways that may channel graduates toward graduate study and higher-earning research careers. Psychology accounts for 14% of degrees, followed by Arts at 6% and other STEM fields at 4%.

Cuny Hunter College's program mix is centered on Psychology, which accounts for 14% of graduates — a concentration that shapes the institution's overall earnings profile and reflects its identity as a liberal-arts-oriented public college in New York City. Arts represents 6% of degree output and other STEM fields accounts for 4%, rounding out a portfolio that leans toward social sciences, health, and humanities rather than engineering or computer science.

The largest programs by cohort size are Psychology, General (673 graduates), Human Biology (442 graduates), and Computer Science (276 graduates), with English Language and Literature, General and Biology, General also graduating substantial cohorts. Across 40 programs serving roughly 3,643 students annually, 28 meet Azimuth's ranking threshold.

The strongest earnings come from fields outside the dominant psychology concentration. Azimuth ranks Nursing #32 nationally for median earnings four years after enrollment [per the program-ranking methodology](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/), with graduates earning $116,361 — the highest four-year earnings at the institution.

Azimuth ranks Computer Science #73 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions, with graduates earning $102,321, and Azimuth ranks Human Biology #1 nationally with graduates earning $83,420. Psychology, General, the largest program, produces median earnings of $59,149 four years out — a figure that reflects the grad-school-dependent nature of the field, where four-year earnings undercount lifetime trajectory for graduates who continue to clinical or research programs.

The Psychology department offers a Research Psychology Concentration and an honors program, per the department's curriculum page, signaling structured pathways into graduate study. Several of Cuny Hunter College's highest-earning programs — including Economics (graduates earning $69,920) and Biology, General (graduates earning $59,204) — are high-mobility pathways where graduates enter New York City's labor market directly and four-year earnings reflect actual workforce outcomes.

Psychology, by contrast, functions primarily as a grad-school feeder where the full return materializes over a longer horizon. The [supply-demand map](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) provides context for how these program families align with national labor-market demand. ```