Is a master's degree in Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology worth it?
Compare cost, debt and earnings across 335 college programs with reportable data.
$65,278 in median year-4 earnings
A credible return for this credential must start with what the student would otherwise earn. The federal data does not provide that personal baseline.
What do you need to compare?
Outcomes at a glance
Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 104 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.
Four useful answers about Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology
How much do Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology master's degree graduates earn?
The national median is $65,278 four years after completion across reportable master's degree programs in this federal field.
How much federal debt do graduates have?
A national median federal-debt figure is not reportable for this degree in the current release.
Does the college matter for Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology?
Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $57,003 to $72,427 in observed year-4 earnings.
What careers are related to Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology?
DegreeVerdict links this field to 12 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.
More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.
Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma
- Year-4 earnings
- Not available
- Federal debt
- $13,500
- Programs in the comparison
- 1
Associate's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $41,767
- Federal debt
- $12,000
- Programs in the comparison
- 3
Bachelor's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $51,727
- Federal debt
- $27,000
- Programs in the comparison
- 77
Post-baccalaureate Certificate
- Year-4 earnings
- $72,081
- Federal debt
- $19,000
- Programs in the comparison
- 4
Master's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $65,278
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 335
Doctoral Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $100,222
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 97
First Professional Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $66,437
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 4
Graduate/Professional Certificate
- Year-4 earnings
- $75,818
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 26
Non-Credential Program (Preparatory Coursework/Teacher Certification)
- Year-4 earnings
- $66,974
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 1
Where the middle half of programs lands
Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.
Compare price, debt and earnings together
Three useful places to start
Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.
Where colleges sit for this exact degree
Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.
Choose colleges offering this exact degree
Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.
See the spread, not just the national number.
1Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach$109,2682Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide$109,2683Chapman University$107,8084CUNY Bernard M Baruch College$101,2975California State University, Long Beach$100,3156Loyola Marymount University$100,2647Minnesota State University-Mankato$99,9348Seattle Pacific University$99,2029Widener University$98,40210Elmhurst University$97,793Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking
Jobs this degree may lead to
Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.
Related careers do not share one outlook
Occupation wages describe workers in these jobs, not graduates of this degree. BLS projections are national estimates and do not guarantee hiring.
BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.
Where this degree has enough data to compare
State pages are published only when at least five operating colleges report year-4 earnings for this exact field and credential.
This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.