---
title: Is an Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences degree worth the debt?
cip: 5105
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is an Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Grad cert.**, across **16** colleges (16 of 16 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $175,189 ($169,894 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $241,666 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 1.50× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $145,024–$202,596 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Master's | $189,764 | $155,250 | 0.79× | 5 | 5/5 |
| Grad cert. | $175,189 | $241,666 | 1.50× | 16 | 16/16 |

## Where an Grad cert. in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick (NJ) | $248,696 | — |
| University of Illinois Chicago (IL) | $224,715 | — |
| Boston University (MA) | $223,140 | — |
| Tufts University (MA) | $210,928 | $244,730 |
| Texas A&M University-College Station (TX) | $199,818 | $68,728 |
| University of Missouri-Kansas City (MO) | $196,454 | — |
| University of Iowa (IA) | $186,575 | $91,409 |
| The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (TX) | $176,150 | $104,188 |
| University of California-San Francisco (CA) | $174,228 | — |
| The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (TX) | $168,168 | $80,791 |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham (AL) | $158,993 | — |
| Harvard University (MA) | $151,371 | $278,414 |
| Loma Linda University (CA) | $125,982 | $260,371 |
| Nova Southeastern University (FL) | $122,573 | $238,601 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York (NY) | $110,949 | $320,742 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/advanced-graduate-dentistry-and-oral-sciences.jsonld` · `/education/fields/advanced-graduate-dentistry-and-oral-sciences.json`