Graduates of Occidental College earn median 4-year earnings of $68,467, placing Occidental College in the 72.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Occidental College #526 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings profile reflects a social-sciences-anchored curriculum where Social Sciences represents the dominant concentration, shaping both the institution's graduate outcomes and the career pathways students pursue after enrollment. The program lineup spans humanities, social sciences, and applied fields. Economics is the largest program with 85 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $103,164, delivering 1.2× the national CIP-4 benchmark for the field. The International Relations and National Security Studies program graduates 53 students earning median 4-year earnings of $70,394, while Biology, General and Research Psychology round out the top programs with 40 and 36 graduates respectively. The concentration in Social Sciences (representing 30% of degrees) alongside Arts (10%) and other STEM fields (4%) reflects Occidental College's liberal-arts identity and positions graduates for careers in education, policy, nonprofit leadership, and professional services where social-sciences training translates into sustained earning power.
Graduates of Occidental College earn median 4-year earnings of $68,467, placing Occidental College in the 72.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Occidental College #526 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings profile reflects a social-sciences-anchored curriculum where Social Sciences represents the dominant concentration, shaping both the institution's graduate outcomes and the career pathways students pursue after enrollment. The program lineup spans humanities, social sciences, and applied fields. Economics is the largest program with 85 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $103,164, delivering 1.2× the national CIP-4 benchmark for the field. The International Relations and National Security Studies program graduates 53 students earning median 4-year earnings of $70,394, while Biology, General and Research Psychology round out the top programs with 40 and 36 graduates respectively. The concentration in Social Sciences (representing 30% of degrees) alongside Arts (10%) and other STEM fields (4%) reflects Occidental College's liberal-arts identity and positions graduates for careers in education, policy, nonprofit leadership, and professional services where social-sciences training translates into sustained earning power.
Latest FE earnings field: 10-year
Lower quartile, 10-year field
Upper quartile, 10-year field
Graduates of Occidental College earn median 4-year earnings of $68,467, placing Occidental College in the 72.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Occidental College #526 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings profile reflects a social-sciences-anchored curriculum where Social Sciences represents the dominant concentration, shaping both the institution's graduate outcomes and the career pathways students pursue after enrollment. The program lineup spans humanities, social sciences, and applied fields. Economics is the largest program with 85 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $103,164, delivering 1.2× the national CIP-4 benchmark for the field. The International Relations and National Security Studies program graduates 53 students earning median 4-year earnings of $70,394, while Biology, General and Research Psychology round out the top programs with 40 and 36 graduates respectively. The concentration in Social Sciences (representing 30% of degrees) alongside Arts (10%) and other STEM fields (4%) reflects Occidental College's liberal-arts identity and positions graduates for careers in education, policy, nonprofit leadership, and professional services where social-sciences training translates into sustained earning power.
How graduate earnings grow across the currently available FE horizons.
Financial justification for the investment.
Graduates of Occidental College earn median 4-year earnings of $68,467, placing Occidental College in the 72.0 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks Occidental College #526 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings profile reflects a social-sciences-anchored curriculum where Social Sciences represents the dominant concentration, shaping both the institution's graduate outcomes and the career pathways students pursue after enrollment. The program lineup spans humanities, social sciences, and applied fields. Economics is the largest program with 85 graduates earning median 4-year earnings of $103,164, delivering 1.2× the national CIP-4 benchmark for the field. The International Relations and National Security Studies program graduates 53 students earning median 4-year earnings of $70,394, while Biology, General and Research Psychology round out the top programs with 40 and 36 graduates respectively. The concentration in Social Sciences (representing 30% of degrees) alongside Arts (10%) and other STEM fields (4%) reflects Occidental College's liberal-arts identity and positions graduates for careers in education, policy, nonprofit leadership, and professional services where social-sciences training translates into sustained earning power.
Program mix and student pathways explain much of the earnings story.
Occidental College's program mix is anchored in social sciences, humanities, and interdisciplinary fields—a signature aligned with the institution's liberal arts identity in Los Angeles. Economics is the largest program with 85 graduates, followed by International Relations and National Security Studies, Biology, General, Research Psychology, and Computer Science. The program portfolio reflects a concentration in Social Sciences (representing 30% of degrees), alongside Arts (10%) and other STEM fields (4%). The highest-earning programs at Occidental College cluster in applied and quantitative fields. Economics leads with median earnings of $103,164 four years after enrollment from 85 graduates, followed by Cognitive Science at $78,782 (23 graduates), Political Science at $72,441 (22 graduates), International Relations and National Security Studies at $70,394, and Biology, General at $59,985. These earnings reflect outcomes for graduates entering the workforce directly in fields with strong labor-market demand. Many of Occidental College's largest programs—particularly those in social sciences and humanities—represent pathways where a meaningful share of graduates continue to graduate or professional school, meaning four-year earnings undercount lifetime trajectory for those students. The supply and demand for college graduates provides context for how the institution's dominant program families align with national labor-market trends and wage growth across sectors.
See which programs drive the strongest earnings and career trajectories
