Vassar College Experimental Psychology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Research and Experimental Psychology
  • Private nonprofit college
  • Poughkeepsie, NY
  • About 45 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release ยท BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Vassar College experimental psychology graduates earn about what experimental psychology graduates earn nationally, $34,361 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $19,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $21,499. Several New York programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$34,36145th percentile of 85 programs nationally
Median federal debt$19,0004th lowest of 10 New York programs
Debt-to-earnings55%New York median 54%, national 63%

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.

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.

Vassar CollegeOther New York programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $13,893 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$24,311
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$38,204

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $201 a month, or 7.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Kiryas Joel area are about 9% above the national average, so a $34,361 salary here buys what about $31,402 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

$65,100

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $48,400Top 10%: $100,100

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$87,760

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $67,490Top 10%: $177,510

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

$114,400

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $64,980Top 10%: $204,540

Social Science Research Assistants

$61,210

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $35,520Top 10%: $103,080

About Vassar College

Experimental Psychology ranks 11th of 21 bachelor's programs at Vassar College by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($80,037), Economics ($79,845), and Mathematics ($52,085).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $34,361 one year after graduating. The median across experimental psychology bachelor's programs in New York is $38,622.

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

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Related pages