---
title: Is a Psychology, Other degree worth the debt?
cip: 4299
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, Other degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **9** colleges (9 of 9 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $27,825 ($31,305 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $13,904 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.50× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $27,549–$34,091 — 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 | $27,825 | $13,904 | 0.50× | 9 | 9/9 |
| Master's | $46,351 | $38,586 | 0.74× | 14 | 14/14 |
| Doctoral | $62,101 | $171,370 | 2.83× | 6 | 6/6 |

## 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Northwestern University (IL) | $37,353 | $11,630 |
| Marist University (NY) | $37,117 | $26,000 |
| Kean University (NJ) | $34,091 | — |
| Montreat College (NC) | $31,117 | — |
| SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill (NY) | $27,825 | — |
| University of California-Davis (CA) | $27,609 | $14,059 |
| California State University-Dominguez Hills (CA) | $27,549 | $13,750 |
| Saint Mary's College of California (CA) | $22,899 | $22,686 |
| University of Puerto Rico at Cayey (PR) | $13,712 | $5,200 |

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