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

Is a Research and Experimental Psychology degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 73 colleges (73 of 73 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$30,912

Graduates only, early career.$30,024 two years out.

Median federal debt

$19,500

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.66×

66% 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 Research and Experimental Psychology report early-career pay between $28,555 and $34,351 — a spread of $5,796 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $28,555 median $30,912 75th pct $34,351

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 73 colleges $30,912 $19,500 0.66×

Master's 7 colleges $42,397 $51,123 1.27×

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.

Harvard University MA $53,927 —

Princeton University NJ $45,198 —

Hamilton College NY $44,978 $17,450 debt

Columbia University in the City of New York NY $41,906 $19,347 debt

Amherst College MA $41,688 $10,800 debt

Brandeis University MA $40,643 $26,787 debt

University of Chicago IL $40,175 $17,500 debt

Barnard College NY $39,384 $17,875 debt

Trinity Washington University DC $37,867 $37,011 debt

Brown University RI $37,636 $15,110 debt

University of Rochester NY $36,115 $21,000 debt

Wellesley College MA $36,106 $11,782 debt

Northeastern University MA $35,413 $23,250 debt

Northeastern University Professional Programs MA $35,413 $23,250 debt

Tufts University MA $34,754 $15,500 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Research and Experimental Psychology, 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