Columbia University Experimental Psychology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Research and Experimental Psychology
- Private nonprofit university
- New York, NY
- About 166 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Columbia University experimental psychology graduates earn more than graduates of most experimental psychology programs nationally, $53,156 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $20,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $21,499. It is one of the higher-paying experimental psychology degrees in New York.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all experimental psychology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Columbia University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $25,703 more than the New York median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York experimental psychology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 51% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned more in their first year than other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $22,000 against $19,320.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $217 a month, or 4.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
59% of graduates (46 of 78) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $53,156 salary here buys what about $47,223 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to experimental psychology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Child, Family, and School Social Workers
$65,100Median pay in New York. 30,170 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 33,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$87,760Median pay in New York. 7,690 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
$114,400Median pay in New York. 8,420 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Social Science Research Assistants
$61,210Median pay in New York. 3,040 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Columbia University
Experimental Psychology ranks 16th of 26 bachelor's programs at Columbia University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($118,636), Operations Research ($110,457), and Computer Engineering ($102,083).
Other experimental psychology bachelor's programs near New York
Common questions
The median graduate earns $53,156 one year after graduating and $80,055 five years after. The median across experimental psychology bachelor's programs in New York is $38,622.
The median federal loan balance is $20,500, which ranks 5th lowest of 10 experimental psychology bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $217 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 39% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 63%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less.
Most do. 59% (46 of 78) were working in New York one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of New York comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the experimental psychology program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024