The Five Most Expensive College Degrees in the World

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With tuition costs the way they are globally, nabbing a college degree anywhere could seem like a luxury. That, of course, weighs heavily on where you’re getting that degree, and some institutions’ costs have become astronomically high.

Not surprisingly, graduate and professional degrees are among the most expensive to land. Yet in a recent list from Business Insider, there are a handful of undergraduate degrees that crack the top five in terms of priciness—and they’re not from the usual suspects.

Below is a list of the five most expensive degrees, with tuition and living expenses included, around the world.

Harvey Mudd College

This private college in Claremont, California, offers one of the priciest bachelor’s degrees in the world. With a cost of $209,532, Harvey Mudd’s Bachelor of Science degree is well worth the price tag: It produces the highest-paid alumni, according to data from PayScale. That is, Harvey Mudd grads reportedly earn a median, mid-career salary of $133,000, more than enough to pay off those student loans.

Students and others gather at Beckman Hall on the grounds of the Harvey Mudd College Campus. (Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images)

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Columbia University

No surprise this Ivy League institution’s on the list. Over four years, Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, ranked seventh in the world, will cost its students $230,536. But that price tag thrusts alumni into the ranks of the medical elite, with numerous renowned innovators and Nobel laureates in their midst.

Columbia University Medical Center, seen at dusk from above Hudson River. (Getty Images)

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Tufts University

Like Columbia, a medical degree at this Boston-area university costs future doctors an arm and a leg (i.e. $238,056). However, Tufts is situated in one the cities with the highest concentrations of higher education institutions, providing its student body with the ability to take part in other schools’ programs.

Fourth year medical students from Tufts University School of Medicine gather for what’s known as Match Day to receive their envelopes telling them where they will do their residency training. Mina Khorashadi opens her acceptance letter, telling her she will be going to Stewart Carney Hospital for a one-year internship before moving to Anesthesiology at the University of California San Francisco. (Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Bard College

The priciest bachelor’s degree in the United States, Bard’s Bachelor of Music is a five-year program that costs $253,520. But it’s sort of a two-for-one deal: The world-class conservatory requires students to earn a Bachelor of Arts in a field other than music.

19th Century Gate House at Bard College. (Getty Images)

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University of Cambridge

For the most expensive degree on Earth, look no further than Cambridge, England. Its recently announced Doctor of Business diploma costs students $332,000 over four years. The university says the program is geared towards “senior executive–level business leaders,” so at least its alumni won’t be starting their careers in mountains of debt.

Cyclists and pedestrians move along Trinity Street past St Johns College, part of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, U.K., on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014. (Peter Kindersley/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Read the full list here.

—RealClearLife Staff