---
title: Is a Psychology, General degree worth the debt?
cip: 4201
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 Psychology, General degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **1,002** colleges (1,002 of 1,002 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $28,532 ($29,250 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,258 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.82× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $25,807–$31,049 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $18,945 | $10,000 | 0.47× | 25 | 25/25 |
| Bachelor's | $28,532 | $23,258 | 0.82× | 1,002 | 1,002/1,002 |
| Master's | $42,928 | $40,548 | 0.93× | 68 | 68/68 |
| Doctoral | $66,161 | $98,030 | 1.22× | 31 | 31/31 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stanford University (CA) | $51,407 | — |
| Santa Clara University (CA) | $50,081 | $17,000 |
| Colgate University (NY) | $48,179 | — |
| Georgetown University (DC) | $45,936 | $17,500 |
| Carnegie Mellon University (PA) | $45,925 | — |
| Dartmouth College (NH) | $45,057 | — |
| Elon University (NC) | $44,439 | $19,500 |
| Pillar College (NJ) | $42,475 | $27,892 |
| Duke University (NC) | $42,110 | $15,415 |
| Yale University (CT) | $41,892 | — |
| Excelsior University (NY) | $41,464 | $18,667 |
| CUNY Graduate School and University Center (NY) | $41,124 | $11,500 |
| Williams College (MA) | $40,760 | $13,416 |
| Dominican University of California (CA) | $40,581 | $27,000 |
| Southern Methodist University (TX) | $39,687 | $23,250 |

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/psychology-general.jsonld` · `/education/fields/psychology-general.json`