There’s no question that furthering your education can be an expensive endeavor. But depending on what you study, students in some majors can expect to pay a significantly higher price than others.
If your goal is to study law, medicine, or veterinary medicine, for example, and you plan to get a graduate degree, you could end up owing five or six times more than the average person with a bachelor’s degree.
Whether you choose your major out of passion or for the potential paycheck — or both — only time will tell if you’ll get the outcome you’re hoping for. In the meantime, it can be a good idea to look at how much you might have to borrow to finance the course of study you’re considering.
Student Loan Debt in America
How much do student loan borrowers in the United States owe after college?
According to the Federal Reserve’s most recent numbers, outstanding U.S. student loan debt reached $1.74 trillion in the second quarter of 2024. That’s nearly triple what the Fed says Americans owed in 2006.
Gen Xers have the most student loan debt out of any other generation, with an average balance of $44,290 per borrower. Baby boomers have the second-largest amount at $42,520 per borrower, and millennials average $32,800 per borrower.
And the United States isn’t the only country with a high amount of student debt. In England, the value of outstanding loans reached £236 billion (approximately $261 billion in U.S. dollars) at the end of March 2024. The government there forecasts the value of outstanding loans will be around £500 billion (approximately $553 billion in U.S. dollars) by late 2040s.
While student loan forgiveness and other reforms are often discussed here and abroad, little is happening so far.
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Average Student Loan Debt
According to the Education Data Initiative, the average federal student loan debt balance is $37,853 per borrower. And if you include private loan debt, the average balance may be as high as $40,681.
Of course, the amount you might borrow (or have borrowed) could vary significantly depending on your major and the degree required to pursue your chosen profession.
The average student loan debt for a borrower with a bachelor’s degree, for example, is about $30,500. But if your major moves you on to a graduate degree, the cost can move on, as well — to an average of $65,667 for the graduate degree only ($84,203 on average in total student loan debt). And if you’re thinking about a degree in law or medicine, your debt could be in the hundreds of thousands.
Federal student loan programs also allow graduate students to borrow more money than undergraduates. Though there’s a $31,000 cap on federal loans for undergraduate students who are dependents, graduate students may be eligible to borrow up to the full cost of attendance through the federal Grad Plus program.
Other factors that affect the amount students end up borrowing can include the cost of living in the state where the school is located, whether the school is public or private, and whether the student is paying in-state or out-of-state tuition.
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Student Loan Debt by Major
When you first start thinking about how to choose your college major, it’s likely you base your top choices on the academic subjects you’ve always been good at or things you’re interested in. Maybe you have a passion for a subject you feel destined to pursue.
If you’re a practical person, you also may have considered what career that degree might potentially lead to, and how much you’d earn if it became your profession.
What you may not have thought about — at least not at first — was how much it might cost you to major in one subject vs. another. Or if you might have to get an advanced degree in your major to actually get the job, or paycheck, of your dreams.
Here’s a look at the average student loan debt for some popular degrees:
Law Degree
$160,000 upon graduating
74% graduate in debt
Medical Degree
$243,483 upon graduating
73% have educational debt
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Dental School
$296,500 upon graduating
82% take out student loans
Nursing
Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN): $23,302
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN): $28,917
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN): $49,047
Almost 70% take out student loans.
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Business Administration
$41,000 to $170,000 for MBA students
54% of MBA graduates take out loans
Architecture
$40,000 in debt
(% who borrow not available)
Veterinary Medicine
$179,505 on average
82% graduate with debt
Pharmacy
$167,711
82.2% take out student loans
Education/Teaching
$55,800
45% take out loans
Communication/Journalism
Bachelor’s degree: $31,651
Master’s degree: $27,911
(% with loans not available)
Associate Degree Debt by Major
Below is the average debt of students graduating with an associate degree based on major, per Education Data Initiative:
• Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Medical Systems: $38,533
• Computer Systems Analysis: $27,924
• Behavior Sciences: $21,859
• Construction Management: $19,423
• Marketing: $16,628
• Animal Sciences: $12,705
• Education, General: $11,035
• Engineering, General: $10,299
• Biological and Physical Sciences: $7,591
Bachelor’s Degree Debt by Major
Below is the average debt of students graduating with a bachelor’s degree based on major, per Education Data Initiative:
• Behavioral Sciences: $42,822
• Computer Programming: $28,586
• Education, General: $28,001
• Music: $26,600
• Architecture: $26,468
• Construction Engineering: $26,025
• Social Work: $24,863
• Accounting and Related Services: $24,086
• Economics: $20,700
• Human Biology: $17,994
• Science Technologies/Technicians, General: $9,529
Master’s Degree Debt by Major
Below is the average debt of students graduating with a master’s degree based on major, per Education Data Initiative:
• Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences: $158,155
• General Sales: $104,650
• Real Estate Development: $97,023
• Landscape Architecture: $80,409
• International Business: $65,052
• Public Health: $48,726
• Engineering Science: $45,887
• Insurance: $43,408
• Construction Management: $37,620
• Engineering, General: $33,235
• Education, General: $29,434
Doctoral Degree Debt by Major
Below is the average debt of students graduating with a doctoral degree based on major, per Education Data Initiative:
• Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration: $310,330
• Psychology, Other: $187,804
• Public Administration: $146,194
• Health and Medical Administration Services: $101,589
• Education, General: $82,131
• Biology, General: $42,879
Federal vs Private Student Loan Debt
As these student loan debt statistics show, the rising cost of attending college can be a heavy financial burden for many Americans. And because there are limits on how much students can borrow in federal loans each year, many turn to private student loans to help cover their education bills.
The national private student loan balance now exceeds $128 billion, according to EducationData.org, which says 88.93% of that balance is in undergraduate loans and 11.07% is in graduate student loans.
Private student loans are a pretty small piece of the overall outstanding student loan debt in the United States — about 8.84%. But the number of students taking out private loans is growing. Student loan borrowers owe 71% more in private student loan debt than they did a decade ago, the Student Borrower Protection Center reports.
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The Takeaway
No matter what your major is, there’s a good chance you may have to take on some debt to get the education you need and want.
And the final bill could be substantial: The average federal loan debt balance is $37,843 per borrower, but if you choose a major that requires a graduate degree, it could be two or three times that amount, or more.
Most student borrowers use federal loans to help pay for their education. But a combination of federal and private loans may be necessary to cover all your costs.
If you’ve exhausted all federal student aid options, no-fee private student loans from SoFi can help you pay for school. The online application process is easy, and you can see rates and terms in just minutes. Repayment plans are flexible, so you can find an option that works for your financial plan and budget.
FAQ
How much student loan debt is there in the United States?
According to the Federal Reserve’s most recent numbers, outstanding U.S. student loan debt reached $1.74 trillion in the second quarter of 2024.
What is the average U.S. student loan debt per student?
According to Education Data, the average federal student loan debt balance is $37,843 per borrower. If you include private loan debt, the average balance may be as high as $40,681.
Who owns the most student debt?
The federal government — or, more specifically, the U.S. Department of Education — owns about 92.5% of all student loan debt in America.
Photo credit: iStock/FabrikaCr
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