What is the least popular college degree?

Asked by: scraper  |  Last update: August 4, 2026
Score: 0/5 (0 votes)

While there is no single "least popular" degree, the least-pursued degrees are highly specialized or strictly niche fields that require intense technical training and are offered by only a handful of universities.

What is the least common college degree?

Degrees frequently classified as "useless" are those with low direct-to-career pipelines, high underemployment rates, and heavy student debt. Majors like Studio Arts, Drama, Film, and Communications frequently rank among the least valuable unless paired with strong technical minors or targeted internships.

What are the top 5 most regretted degrees?

Surveys of recent graduates highlight Journalism as the most regretted degree, with up to 87% expressing dissatisfaction due to low starting salaries and a highly saturated job market. The remaining top regretted degrees generally offer similar challenges: limited entry-level opportunities and a perceived low return on investment (ROI).

What is the least popular degree?

10 least common majors

  • Military Technologies and Applied Sciences. ...
  • Legal Professions and Studies. ...
  • Communication Technologies. ...
  • Theology and Religious Vocations. ...
  • Transportation and Highway Engineering. ...
  • Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies. ...
  • Architecture. ...
  • Philosophy and Religious Studies.

What are the top 10 worthless college degrees?

No degree is inherently "useless," but certain majors have higher unemployment rates, lower salary potentials, or high rates of graduate regret due to a disconnect with current job market demands.

New Report Ranks Most, Least Valuable College Degrees

24 related questions found

What professions make $200,000 a year without a degree?

Jobs that pay $200,000 annually without a degree include air traffic controllers, commercial pilots (with certification), real estate brokers, and construction managers. Highly skilled trades like elevator installers and petroleum technicians can also reach this salary with experience and certifications.

What is the lowest paid major?

College majors with the lowest median starting salaries (early career, ages 22-27) generally range from $40,000 to $45,000 annually. These typically fall into education, arts, humanities, and social services fields, which often require further graduate education to see significant mid-career wage growth.

Where do the 1% go to college?

At 38 colleges in America, including five in the Ivy League – Dartmouth, Princeton, Yale, Penn and Brown – more students came from the top 1 percent of the income scale than from the entire bottom 60 percent.

What are the 5 hardest majors in college?

College major difficulty is generally defined by heavy workloads, low average GPAs, and significant time spent preparing for class. Based on data from major ranking platforms and the National Survey of Student Engagement, these are the top 5 hardest college majors:

What college majors are declining?

The Decline of Humanities, Pure Sciences, and Service Fields

Liberal arts and humanities majors have experienced some of the most significant drops. From 2018 to 2023, the number of students majoring in liberal arts and humanities fell by nearly 30 percent.

What degrees are a waste of time?

For decades, “useless degrees” referred to majors such as Art History, Philosophy, Creative Writing, Anthropology, and Theater Arts, typically defined by lower starting pay, fewer direct job pipelines, or the need for graduate school to achieve financial payoff.

What is the most stressful university degree?

The most stressful university degrees often involve intense workloads, high-stakes memorization, and long hours, topped by Medicine, Engineering, Architecture, Nursing, and Law. These fields are mentally exhausting, frequently cause burnout, and require intense dedication to complex, fast-changing, or highly detailed material.

What are the happiest degrees?

What are the 10 easiest college degrees?

10 Easiest College Majors for 2026

  • Business Administration. ...
  • Computer Science. ...
  • Psychology. ...
  • Accounting. ...
  • Nursing. ...
  • Finance. ...
  • Economics. ...
  • Healthcare Administration.

Did Taylor Swift go to college?

Taylor Swift did not attend college. Her music career took off when she was a teenager, so she opted to finish her high school education through homeschooling.

Which president didn't go to school?

And if you're still curious, the nine presidents who didn't go to college are: George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Grover Cleveland, and Harry Truman.

What major has the lowest GPA?

Chemistry and Engineering consistently report the lowest average college GPAs, often hovering between 2.70 and 3.20 depending on the university. Rigorous math requirements, heavy laboratory hours, and strictly objective grading scales make these STEM disciplines highly challenging compared to humanities and education.

What major leads to the most stress?

Computer Science, Neuroscience, Mechanical Engineering, Pre-Med or Biology, Kinesiology, Chemistry, Finance, Physics, and Architecture were top of the list for high-stress majors. When I meet students with these paths, I always wonder if this is a major that is the best fit for them.

What is the 10 hardest degrees?

List of 10 Toughest Degree Courses Globally

  • Medicine.
  • Engineering.
  • Data Science.
  • Neuroscience.
  • Architecture.
  • Aeronautics.
  • Astronomy.
  • Finance.

Where do billionaires go to college?

Billionaires are highly concentrated in elite universities, with schools like Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of Pennsylvania producing the most billionaire alumni globally.

What is the happiest college in the US ranking?

Based on 2025–2026 data, the top happiest colleges in the US are led by Texas Christian University (TCU), Auburn University, and Denison University, which frequently top rankings based on student surveys regarding campus life, mental health support, and satisfaction. Key factors for this high satisfaction include small class sizes, active social scenes, strong athletic spirit, and supportive environments.

What school has the richest students?

Based on data regarding student family income, Trinity College (CT) and Colorado College have some of the highest concentrations of students from the top 1% of earners, with median family incomes exceeding $250,000. Other institutions with very wealthy student bodies include Washington and Lee University, Colgate University, and Washington University in St. Louis.

What degrees don't pay off?

Liberal arts, recreation and fitness studies, and social sciences students saw the lowest returns among the categories included in the report.

What majors make 100k?

10 Best Degree Programs That Lead to 100k Salary Jobs for 2026

  • Engineering Management. Engineering management programs prepare students to lead technical teams and oversee engineering projects. ...
  • Architecture. ...
  • Computer Engineering. ...
  • Electrical Engineering. ...
  • Aerospace Engineering. ...
  • Actuarial Science. ...
  • Finance. ...
  • Chemical Engineering.

What are the richest majors?

The college majors that produce the highest early-career salaries, most millionaires, and richest ultra-high-net-worth individuals fall primarily into STEM, business, and medical fields: