How much debt do Georgetown University psychology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $17,500, which ranks 2nd lowest of 6 psychology bachelor's programs in District of Columbia. That works out to about $186 a month over 10 years.

Is a psychology degree from Georgetown University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 34% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 78%.

Georgetown University Psychology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Psychology, General
Private nonprofit university
Washington, DC
About 100 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Georgetown University psychology graduates earn more than graduates of most psychology programs nationally, $51,959 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $17,500 in federal loans, less than at 93% of psychology programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying psychology degrees in District of Columbia.

First-year earnings$51,959Top 1% of 875 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$70,57436% more than year one

Median federal debt$17,5002nd lowest of 6 District of Columbia programs

Debt-to-earnings34%District of Columbia median 100%, national 78%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The District of Columbia and national columns are the medians across all psychology bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Georgetown University	District of Columbia	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$51,959	$24,940	$31,479
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$70,574	$61,999	$49,019
Median federal debt at graduation	$17,500	$25,000	$25,624
Debt as share of first-year pay	34%	100%	78%
Programs compared		6	875

Five years out, Georgetown University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $8,575 more than the District of Columbia median.

Debt and first-year pay at every District of Columbia psychology program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the District of Columbia medians.

Georgetown UniversityOther District of Columbia programs

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 36% between the first and fifth year.

Georgetown University grads, year 1$51,959

Georgetown University grads, year 5$70,574

All District of Columbia psychology grads, year 5$61,999

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. They also borrowed less. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$52,473Median debt $16,100

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$46,947Median debt $17,500

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $186 a month, or 4.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (44 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20–39%
Paying down the balance	40–59%

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. Separately, 19 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $102,540.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Washington area are about 9% above the national average, so a $51,959 salary here buys what about $47,720 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 psychology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

$107,000

Median pay in District of Columbia. 220 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $70,400Top 10%: $324,950

Social Science Research Assistants

$65,330

Median pay in District of Columbia. 1,560 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $50,810Top 10%: $112,030

Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

$193,950

Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 300 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

About Georgetown University

Tuition and fees	$68,017 / year
Average net price after aid	$40,815 / year
Admission rate	13%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	95%
Undergraduate students	7,569

Psychology ranks 16th of 27 bachelor's programs at Georgetown University by first-year earnings. The top three are Finance ($106,218), Computer Science ($92,974), and Management Science ($92,963).

Other psychology bachelor's programs near Washington

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Georgetown UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit		$51,959	$17,500
American UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	2 mi	$25,773	$23,799
Marymount UniversityArlington, VA · private nonprofit	3 mi	$33,277	$27,000
Howard UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	3 mi	$18,934	$25,000
Trinity Washington UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	4 mi	$26,065	$32,866
Gallaudet UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	4 mi	$20,185	$14,097
Catholic University of AmericaWashington, DC · private nonprofit	4 mi	$24,106	$26,000
University of MarylandCollege Park, MD · public	9 mi	$35,933	$20,500
UMGCAdelphi, MD · public	12 mi	$42,056	$23,465

Common questions

The median graduate earns $51,959 one year after graduating and $70,574 five years after. The median across psychology bachelor's programs in District of Columbia is $24,940.

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 District of Columbia 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 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

Psychology bachelor's programs in District of Columbia, ranked6 programs by pay and debt Psychology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked875 programs by pay and debt All Georgetown University programs, ranked27 programs by pay and debt