---
title: Is a Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education degree worth the debt?
cip: 1309
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 Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Master's**, across **8** colleges (8 of 8 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $48,296 ($54,948 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $50,612 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.93× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $46,251–$51,072 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Master's | $48,296 | $50,612 | 0.93× | 8 | 8/8 |

## Where a Master'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) | $54,661 | $50,612 |
| University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $53,465 | $64,918 |
| Teachers College at Columbia University (NY) | $50,275 | — |
| University of Utah (UT) | $50,001 | — |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion (AZ) | $46,591 | — |
| Hope International University (CA) | $46,572 | $28,008 |
| University of New Mexico-Main Campus (NM) | $45,287 | — |
| University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (WI) | $42,318 | — |

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/social-and-philosophical-foundations-of-education.jsonld` · `/education/fields/social-and-philosophical-foundations-of-education.json`