---
title: Is a Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies degree worth the debt?
cip: 5114
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 Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Master's**, across **6** colleges (6 of 6 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $115,564 ($122,038 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $71,075 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 1.35× a first year's pay


**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 | $115,564 | $71,075 | 1.35× | 6 | 6/6 |

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

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus (PA) | $191,732 | — |
| Northwestern University (IL) | $150,242 | $81,076 |
| Quinnipiac University (CT) | $130,086 | — |
| Vanderbilt University (TN) | $101,041 | — |
| University of California-San Diego (CA) | $72,506 | — |
| University of Vermont (VT) | $28,246 | $61,074 |

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/medical-clinical-sciences-graduate-medical-studies.jsonld` · `/education/fields/medical-clinical-sciences-graduate-medical-studies.json`