University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Psychology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Psychology, General
- Public university
- Fort Smith, AR
- About 33 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith psychology graduates earn about what psychology graduates earn nationally, $29,853 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $22,500 in federal loans, less than at 77% of psychology programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying psychology degrees in Arkansas.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Arkansas and national columns are the medians across all psychology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of Arkansas-Fort Smith graduates earn less than the national figure and about $7,694 less than the Arkansas median. Several Arkansas programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Arkansas psychology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Arkansas 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 24% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $239 a month, or 9.6% 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
75% of graduates (24 of 32) were working in Arkansas one year after graduating. Prices in the Fort Smith area are about 14% below the national average, so a $29,853 salary here buys what about $34,758 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
$77,520Median pay in Arkansas. 370 people work in this job in Arkansas. 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
$61,990Median pay nationwide. 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.
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
$193,950Median 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 University of Arkansas-Fort Smith
Psychology ranks 10th of 15 bachelor's programs at University of Arkansas-Fort Smith by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($69,618), Dental Hygiene and Assisting ($58,380), and Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($54,484).
Other psychology bachelor's programs near Fort Smith
Common questions
The median graduate earns $29,853 one year after graduating and $36,938 five years after. The median across psychology bachelor's programs in Arkansas is $29,325.
The median federal loan balance is $22,500, which ranks 4th lowest of 11 psychology bachelor's programs in Arkansas. That works out to about $239 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 75% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 78%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Arkansas programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 75% (24 of 32) were working in Arkansas 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 Arkansas 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