How much (and what kind of) financial aid do undergraduate psychology majors receive?

From 2004 to 2013, annual tuition for students earning a bachelor's degree in psychology increased by 37 percent, from $13,188 to $18,037.^1,2

These undergraduates³ relied on federal and state grants, student loans and institutional scholarships and fellowships to help pay for their education.⁴ The type and amount of financial aid often depended on the type of institution in which the student was enrolled.

• In 2013, 34 percent of all financial aid⁵ for psychology undergraduates attending a public institution came from student loans ($6,295), followed by 25 percent in scholarships and fellowships, 24 percent in federal grants, and 17 percent in state/local grants.
• For private not-for-profit institutions, 50 percent of financial aid came from scholarships and fellowships ($15,989), followed by student loans, federal grants, and state/local grants.
• For private for-profit institutions, 44 percent of all financial aid for psychology undergraduates came from student loans ($8,020), followed by federal grants (26 percent), scholarships/fellowships (17 percent) and state/local grants (13 percent).

— Peggy Christidis, PhD, Daniel Manjarrez, Karen Stamm, PhD, and Luona Lin, MPP

For more information, contact APA's Center for Workforce Studies.

¹ Collapsed across institution type and in-state/out-of-state tuition rates. 2004 dollars were adjusted for inflation to 2013 dollars, using the Consumer Price Index inflation calculator: www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htmopens in new window .

² U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). (2004-13). Pricing and Tuition Surveys [Data files and dictionaries]. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/DataFiles> .

³ Undergraduates include full-time, first-time degree students enrolled in 4- or 5-year bachelor's degree programs with a major in psychology.

⁴ Definitions for federal grants, state/local grants, student loans and institutional scholarships/fellowships can be found in IPEDS data dictionary for the 2013 Student Financial Aid and Net Price Survey at https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/DataFiles .

⁵ Includes all financial aid that falls under one of the four categories described in this Datapoint. Excludes loans made directly to or by parents or tuition payments made by parents and/or other family members or friends.