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Sustainability Studies at Aquinas College

Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's Degree
34 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
40
Optimistic
34
Base Case
28
Pessimistic
Earnings $29,399/yr (-21% vs median)
AI Risk High (44% exposed)
Job Market Large (45,900 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

Three scenarios based on how aggressively AI disrupts the career paths available to Sustainability Studies graduates.

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $924K $437K $225K
Earnings Multiple 6.0x 2.8x 1.5x
Viable Career Paths 8 of 8 8 of 8 8 of 8
DegreeWorth Score 40 34 28

10-Year Earnings Projection

*Year 1 uses actual reported earnings. Scenarios diverge as AI impact compounds over time.

4-Year Tuition
$154,080
Reported Earnings (5 Year)
$69,211
135% growth from Year 1

Career Paths

Where Sustainability Studies graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 45,900 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Natural sciences managers $161,180 8,500 +3.7% 50%
Social scientists and related workers, all other $100,340 3,200 -1.7% 52%
Environmental science teachers, postsecondary $87,710 700 +2.9% 52%
Urban and regional planners $83,720 3,400 +3.4% 48%
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health $80,060 8,500 +4.4% 53%
Postsecondary teachers, all other $78,490 13,500 +1.8% 0%
Conservation scientists $67,950 2,500 +3.4% 52%
Environmental science and protection technicians, including health $49,490 5,600 +4.0% 46%

Compare & Explore

Sustainability Studies at Other Schools

University of Wisconsin-Platteville ($59,089) Columbia University in the City of New York ($53,957) University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ($50,678) University of New Hampshire-Main Campus ($43,090) University of Northern Colorado ($42,076) Western Washington University ($41,600) Montclair State University ($41,445) Utah State University ($39,679)

Other Majors at Aquinas College

Accounting and Related Services ($63,311) Business/Corporate Communications ($49,378) Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods ($45,713) Business Administration, Management and Operations ($44,913) Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities ($33,555) Communication and Media Studies ($31,817) Psychology, General ($31,789) Biology, General ($31,787)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for Sustainability Studies at Aquinas College?
This program scores 34/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 40 (optimistic) to 28 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect Sustainability Studies career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, Sustainability Studies graduates retain 8 of 8 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $224,818 (pessimistic) to $924,236 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for Sustainability Studies graduates?
The career paths mapped to Sustainability Studies have roughly 45,900 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a large job market.
Is Sustainability Studies at Aquinas College worth it?
In the Base Case, this degree earns 2.8x its in-state tuition over 10 years. Even in the Pessimistic scenario, the multiple is 1.5x. The spread between scenarios tells you how sensitive this degree is to AI disruption.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024-2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Scenarios use a continuous weighting function combining AI exposure and BLS job growth projections. "Earnings Multiple" is total 10-year projected earnings divided by tuition — not a discounted financial ROI. Last updated 2025.