College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 60 colleges (60 of 60 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$31,356

Graduates only, early career.$31,133 two years out.

Median federal debt

$25,000

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.79×

79% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology report early-career pay between $26,148 and $34,123 — a spread of $7,975 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $26,148 median $31,356 75th pct $34,123

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 60 colleges $31,356 $25,000 0.79×

Master's 271 colleges $45,045 $49,940 1.13×

Doctoral 91 colleges $62,474 $146,178 2.39×

Professional 3 colleges $60,193 $69,076 0.78×

Grad cert. 24 colleges $53,364 $48,403 1.04×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

CUNY Bernard M Baruch College NY $47,197 —

Boston College MA $41,046 $17,223 debt

Thomas Jefferson University PA $40,935 $27,750 debt

Azusa Pacific University CA $40,332 —

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott AZ $40,234 $23,733 debt

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach FL $40,234 $23,733 debt

Purdue University Global IN $38,533 $33,000 debt

Christian Brothers University TN $38,140 $37,500 debt

Middle Tennessee State University TN $37,088 $19,500 debt

SUNY Morrisville NY $35,639 $27,500 debt

University of Chicago IL $35,220 $12,000 debt

Emmanuel College MA $34,393 $27,000 debt

Tufts University MA $34,369 —

Albright College PA $34,365 $25,000 debt

University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA $34,123 $11,557 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard