US EditionSome of the most popular graduate degrees don’t pay off financially, study finds
The report says average graduate earnings rise 17%, but returns range from negative 8% in psychology to 173% for M.D. programs after costs.
- Researchers at the Postsecondary Education and Economics Research Center at American University found graduate school increases lifetime earnings by 17 percent on average, though returns vary significantly by field.
- Graduate enrollment among midcareer adults has surged, with the share of Students aged 35 to 39 holding advanced degrees rising from 31 percent to 41 percent, underscoring the need for quantitative data.
- Data shows Pharm programs see a 114 percent earnings boost and other Professional degrees offer a 173 percent average net increase, while fields like Clinical psychology yield negative returns after costs.
- Transparency in metrics is vital for accountability, as Students choosing between related fields face a 10 percent versus 21 percent return difference, requiring advisers to look beyond raw salary data.
- Co-Author Zhengren Zhu of Vassar College and Joseph Altonji of Yale University note that high postgraduate earnings do not guarantee high returns, describing returns for Engineering as "Moderate.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Graduate School Is Riskier Than You Think
More education leads to higher earnings—or so many people think. Over the past quarter-century, the share of the adult population with a graduate degree has risen from nine percent to 15 percent, a rise of two-thirds. Starting in 2006, Congress supported Americans’ aspirations to attend graduate school with effectively unlimited federal student loans through the Grad PLUS program. Two new reports from the Postsecondary Education and Economics Re…
Most popular US graduate degrees aren’t worth the money, study shows: ‘A very risky proposition’
According to a study recently released by the Postsecondary Education & Economics Center at American University, which was originally based on research from the Yale Tobin Center for Economic Policy, degrees in social work, psychology, and curriculum and instruction have the potential to yield a zero to negative return on investment, considering the full cost that goes into earning the degree.
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