Do you know how much money the average doctoral graduate student will borrow in student loans, and how much that student’s monthly loan payment will be? Do you know how psychology’s rising educational costs and student debt are mirroring other fields?
Look no further than two articles to help you increase your financial literacy.
“Graduate Debt in Psychology: A Quantitative Analysis”
First is an academic article published by former and current APAGS staff and governance members in the February 2016 issue of Training and Education in Professional Psychology. Hundreds of students and early career psychologists were surveyed about a wide range of factors related to debt.
“The debt trap”
Second is a companion piece, the April 2016 cover story for The Monitor on Psychology, which states:
APA found that the median anticipated final graduate debt load for current students — excluding undergraduate debt — is $110,000. For students in health service provider fields, it's $120,000. For those in research and other fields, it's $72,500. For those pursuing a PsyD, it’s $160,000. Among early career psychologists — those who graduated in the last 10 years — the median total debt was $80,000. Those in health service provider fields averaged $95,000 in debt; those in research and other fields averaged $58,000; and those with a PsyD owed $138,500 (p. 44).
Luckily, you can learn strategies to keep your debt down, apply for loan forgiveness and repayment programsopens in new window, and even make sure you are earning a competitive salary when you’ve finished with school.
