---
title: Is a Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology degree worth the debt?
cip: 4228
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 a Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **60** colleges (60 of 60 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $31,356 ($31,133 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $25,000 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.79× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $26,148–$34,123 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $31,356 | $25,000 | 0.79× | 60 | 60/60 |
| Master's | $45,045 | $49,940 | 1.13× | 271 | 271/271 |
| Doctoral | $62,474 | $146,178 | 2.39× | 91 | 91/91 |
| Professional | $60,193 | $69,076 | 0.78× | 3 | 3/3 |
| Grad cert. | $53,364 | $48,403 | 1.04× | 24 | 24/24 |

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

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch College (NY) | $47,197 | — |
| Boston College (MA) | $41,046 | $17,223 |
| Thomas Jefferson University (PA) | $40,935 | $27,750 |
| Azusa Pacific University (CA) | $40,332 | — |
| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott (AZ) | $40,234 | $23,733 |
| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach (FL) | $40,234 | $23,733 |
| Purdue University Global (IN) | $38,533 | $33,000 |
| Christian Brothers University (TN) | $38,140 | $37,500 |
| Middle Tennessee State University (TN) | $37,088 | $19,500 |
| SUNY Morrisville (NY) | $35,639 | $27,500 |
| University of Chicago (IL) | $35,220 | $12,000 |
| Emmanuel College (MA) | $34,393 | $27,000 |
| Tufts University (MA) | $34,369 | — |
| Albright College (PA) | $34,365 | $25,000 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus (WA) | $34,123 | $11,557 |

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/clinical-counseling-and-applied-psychology.jsonld` · `/education/fields/clinical-counseling-and-applied-psychology.json`