---
title: Is a Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions degree worth the debt?
cip: 5115
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 Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **45** colleges (45 of 45 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $33,657 ($31,610 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $25,793 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.72× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $30,140–$36,032 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $28,102 | $12,959 | 0.38× | 16 | 16/16 |
| Associate's | $27,798 | $15,074 | 0.56× | 40 | 40/40 |
| Bachelor's | $33,657 | $25,793 | 0.72× | 45 | 45/45 |
| Master's | $42,016 | $53,110 | 1.31× | 200 | 200/200 |
| Doctoral | $54,649 | $99,250 | 1.72× | 3 | 3/3 |
| Grad cert. | $43,978 | $54,992 | 1.25× | 8 | 8/8 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Metropolitan State University (MN) | $47,114 | $21,335 |
| Saint Cloud State University (MN) | $43,232 | $26,421 |
| University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $39,242 | $12,634 |
| Western Washington University (WA) | $38,384 | — |
| Central Michigan University (MI) | $37,986 | $28,125 |
| University of Alaska Anchorage (AK) | $37,604 | — |
| Minnesota State University-Mankato (MN) | $37,009 | $25,736 |
| Northern Illinois University (IL) | $36,776 | $27,787 |
| Columbia Southern University (AL) | $36,507 | $25,000 |
| Alvernia University (PA) | $36,365 | $32,167 |
| Ohio University-Eastern Campus (OH) | $36,032 | $26,000 |
| Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus (OH) | $36,032 | $26,000 |
| Ohio University-Southern Campus (OH) | $36,032 | $26,000 |
| Ohio University-Lancaster Campus (OH) | $36,032 | $26,000 |
| Ohio University-Main Campus (OH) | $36,032 | $26,000 |

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/mental-and-social-health-services-and-allied-professions.jsonld` · `/education/fields/mental-and-social-health-services-and-allied-professions.json`