{
  "major": "History",
  "slug": "history",
  "field": "Social Sciences & Humanities",
  "as_of": "2026",
  "url": "https://collegeranked.com/best-history-schools/",
  "source": "U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2026 release); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics",
  "metric_definitions": {
    "median_earnings": "Median earnings one year after graduation (Scorecard)",
    "net_price": "Average annual cost of attendance after grant aid. For PUBLIC schools this reflects IN-STATE cost; out-of-state students pay more.",
    "roi_10yr_usd": "Ten years of earnings minus four years of net price",
    "public": "true = public university (net_price is in-state basis); false = private (residency-neutral)"
  },
  "total_colleges_with_reported_data": 394,
  "shown": 25,
  "ranking": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "school": "Amherst College",
      "state": "MA",
      "median_earnings": 56444,
      "net_price": 23367,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 470972,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "school": "Harvard University",
      "state": "MA",
      "median_earnings": 53468,
      "net_price": 19066,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 458416,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "school": "Vanderbilt University",
      "state": "TN",
      "median_earnings": 46856,
      "net_price": 15846,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 405176,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 4,
      "school": "Dartmouth College",
      "state": "NH",
      "median_earnings": 61127,
      "net_price": 29519,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 493194,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 5,
      "school": "Duke University",
      "state": "NC",
      "median_earnings": 60750,
      "net_price": 29612,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 489052,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 6,
      "school": "CUNY Lehman College",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 43874,
      "net_price": 3148,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 426148,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 7,
      "school": "University of Pennsylvania",
      "state": "PA",
      "median_earnings": 48555,
      "net_price": 28699,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 370754,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 8,
      "school": "University of Chicago",
      "state": "IL",
      "median_earnings": 46616,
      "net_price": 14860,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 406720,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 9,
      "school": "Columbia University in the City of New York",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 53828,
      "net_price": 21590,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 451920,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 10,
      "school": "Cornell University",
      "state": "NY",
      "median_earnings": 44706,
      "net_price": 28690,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 332300,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 11,
      "school": "Princeton University",
      "state": "NJ",
      "median_earnings": 45363,
      "net_price": 6128,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 429118,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 12,
      "school": "Brown University",
      "state": "RI",
      "median_earnings": 42296,
      "net_price": 25184,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 322224,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 13,
      "school": "The University of Texas at Arlington",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 44806,
      "net_price": 13951,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 392256,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 14,
      "school": "University of Houston-Clear Lake",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 57239,
      "net_price": 15563,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 510138,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 15,
      "school": "Virginia Military Institute",
      "state": "VA",
      "median_earnings": 42543,
      "net_price": 17113,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 356978,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 16,
      "school": "Northwestern University",
      "state": "IL",
      "median_earnings": 50161,
      "net_price": 29167,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 384942,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 17,
      "school": "Grinnell College",
      "state": "IA",
      "median_earnings": 39687,
      "net_price": 17648,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 326278,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 18,
      "school": "University of Notre Dame",
      "state": "IN",
      "median_earnings": 39522,
      "net_price": 26780,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 288100,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 19,
      "school": "Brigham Young University",
      "state": "UT",
      "median_earnings": 38643,
      "net_price": 15564,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 324174,
      "public": false
    },
    {
      "rank": 20,
      "school": "University of North Georgia",
      "state": "GA",
      "median_earnings": 38226,
      "net_price": 9823,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 342968,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 21,
      "school": "California State University-Northridge",
      "state": "CA",
      "median_earnings": 37031,
      "net_price": 7021,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 342226,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 22,
      "school": "Nevada State University",
      "state": "NV",
      "median_earnings": 50149,
      "net_price": 14068,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 445218,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 23,
      "school": "The University of Texas at Dallas",
      "state": "TX",
      "median_earnings": 37450,
      "net_price": 18267,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 301432,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 24,
      "school": "University of Massachusetts-Boston",
      "state": "MA",
      "median_earnings": 46908,
      "net_price": 17707,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 398252,
      "public": true
    },
    {
      "rank": 25,
      "school": "Wayne State University",
      "state": "MI",
      "median_earnings": 41874,
      "net_price": 12766,
      "roi_10yr_usd": 367676,
      "public": true
    }
  ]
}