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International Relations at Virginia Military Institute

Lexington, VA · Public · Bachelor's Degree · International Relations and National Security Studies
56 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
61
Optimistic
56
Base Case
50
Pessimistic
Earnings $44,429/yr (12% vs median)
AI Risk High (47% exposed)
Job Market Very Large (108,800 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

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

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $924K $528K $325K
Earnings Multiple (In-State) 11.3x 6.4x 4.0x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State) 4.5x 2.6x 1.6x
Viable Career Paths 3 of 3 3 of 3 3 of 3
DegreeWorth Score 61 56 50

10-Year Earnings Projection

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

4-Year Tuition (In-State)
$81,936
Out-of-state: $204,744
Median Debt at Graduation
$21,875
5.9 months of Year 1 earnings
Reported Earnings (5 Year)
$79,025
78% growth from Year 1

Career Paths

Where International Relations graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 108,800 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Political scientists $139,380 500 -3.1% 48%
Managers, all other $136,550 106,700 +4.5% 47%
Political science teachers, postsecondary $94,680 1,600 +2.0% 48%

Compare & Explore

International Relations at Other Schools

Bucknell University ($77,312) Stanford University ($76,166) Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey ($68,344) Middlebury College ($68,344) University of Pennsylvania ($65,559) Lafayette College ($58,433) Northwestern University ($58,326) Tufts University ($54,079)

Other Majors at Virginia Military Institute

Civil Engineering ($61,547) Computer Science ($58,225) Mechanical Engineering ($47,837) Physics ($46,641) Economics ($46,046) Psychology, General ($44,163) Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services ($43,923) Biology, General ($43,797)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for International Relations at Virginia Military Institute?
This program scores 56/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 61 (optimistic) to 50 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect International Relations career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, International Relations graduates retain 3 of 3 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $325,335 (pessimistic) to $923,700 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for International Relations graduates?
The career paths mapped to International Relations have roughly 108,800 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a very large job market.
Is International Relations at Virginia Military Institute worth it?
In the Base Case, this degree earns 6.4x its in-state tuition over 10 years. Even in the Pessimistic scenario, the multiple is 4.0x. 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.