Home › Kansas State University › Gerontology

Gerontology at Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS · Public · Bachelor's Degree
53 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
58
Optimistic
53
Base Case
44
Pessimistic
Earnings $37,623/yr (1% vs median)
AI Risk High (49% exposed)
Job Market Large (41,500 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

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

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $779K $474K $277K
Earnings Multiple (In-State) 17.8x 10.8x 6.3x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State) 7.0x 4.3x 2.5x
Viable Career Paths 4 of 4 4 of 4 4 of 4
DegreeWorth Score 58 53 44

10-Year Earnings Projection

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

4-Year Tuition (In-State)
$43,768
Out-of-state: $111,264
Median Debt at Graduation
$24,083
7.7 months of Year 1 earnings
Reported Earnings (5 Year)
$66,752
77% growth from Year 1

Career Paths

Where Gerontology graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 41,500 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary $105,620 27,400 +17.3% 48%
Medical scientists, except epidemiologists $100,590 9,600 +8.7% 52%
Social scientists and related workers, all other $100,340 3,200 -1.7% 52%
Social work teachers, postsecondary $76,210 1,300 +2.3% 42%

Compare & Explore

Gerontology at Other Schools

University of Maryland Global Campus ($43,840) California State University-Sacramento ($38,461) Ashford University ($33,706) Bowling Green State University-Main Campus ($33,497)

Other Majors at Kansas State University

Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering ($78,758) Computer Engineering ($77,938) Industrial Engineering ($77,724) Chemical Engineering ($77,492) Computer and Information Sciences, General ($76,385) Agricultural and Food Products Processing ($76,052) Construction Engineering Technologies ($74,253) Architectural Engineering ($74,091)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for Gerontology at Kansas State University?
This program scores 53/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 58 (optimistic) to 44 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect Gerontology career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, Gerontology graduates retain 4 of 4 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $276,649 (pessimistic) to $779,442 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for Gerontology graduates?
The career paths mapped to Gerontology have roughly 41,500 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a large job market.
Is Gerontology at Kansas State University worth it?
In the Base Case, this degree earns 10.8x its in-state tuition over 10 years. Even in the Pessimistic scenario, the multiple is 6.3x. 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.