Higher earnings, lower unemployment rates, career advancement, and a genuine curiosity for learning all drive interest in graduate education, but high costs and rising student debt levels undermine the perceived value of graduate degrees. Without clear information about degree programs’ debt and earnings outcomes, prospective students are unable to make informed choices about their graduate education and future careers, and policymakers are unable to hold graduate programs accountable for leaving program completers in precarious financial positions.
A new report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce examines median earnings, costs, and debt across different types of graduate degrees in different fields of study, along with equity gaps in graduate degree attainment and earnings outcomes by race/ethnicity and gender.
The report also proposes improvements to transparency and accountability in graduate education through a new regulatory framework for Grad PLUS loan eligibility. This framework builds upon the US Department of Education’s 2023 Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency Regulations.