College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 56 colleges (56 of 56 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$30,976

Graduates only, early career.$30,988 two years out.

Median federal debt

$25,000

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.80×

80% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions report early-career pay between $27,670 and $33,144 — a spread of $5,474 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $27,670 median $30,976 75th pct $33,144

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Associate's 9 colleges $37,201 $16,502 0.45×

Bachelor's 56 colleges $30,976 $25,000 0.80×

Master's 200 colleges $60,596 $56,282 0.99×

Doctoral 171 colleges $70,453 $87,234 1.22×

Professional 56 colleges $69,715 $104,803 1.52×

Grad cert. 4 colleges $58,166 — —

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

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

CUNY York College NY $64,562 —

Western New Mexico University NM $54,681 $18,175 debt

Eastern Washington University WA $40,810 $22,715 debt

University of North Dakota ND $38,640 —

Utica University NY $36,933 $27,000 debt

Grand Valley State University MI $36,184 $26,000 debt

Central Michigan University MI $35,927 $26,324 debt

Temple University PA $35,630 $26,000 debt

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania PA $34,646 $27,000 debt

Stephen F Austin State University TX $34,506 $20,500 debt

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse WI $34,193 $20,000 debt

University of Maryland Eastern Shore MD $33,921 $29,000 debt

CUNY Lehman College NY $33,799 $9,142 debt

University of Maine at Farmington ME $33,770 —

Boston University MA $32,935 $25,000 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard