Which District of Columbia psychology program has the lowest debt?

Gallaudet University reports the lowest median federal debt, $14,097, with first-year pay of $20,185.

How much do psychology graduates earn in District of Columbia?

The median across 6 District of Columbia psychology bachelor's programs is $24,940 in the first year after graduating and $61,999 five years after.

How many psychology bachelor's programs are in District of Columbia?

6 District of Columbia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 6 of them also report federal debt.

Psychology (Bachelor's) Programs in District of Columbia, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

6 programs report first-year pay
6 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Psychology, General

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median District of Columbia psychology bachelor's program pays its graduates $24,940 in their first year, $6,540 less than the national median. Georgetown University reports the highest first-year pay ($51,959), and Gallaudet University the lowest median debt ($14,097).

Median first-year pay$24,940National $31,479

Median pay after 5 years$61,999National $49,019

Median federal debt$25,000National $25,624

Debt-to-earnings100%National 78%

All 6 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Georgetown UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$51,959	$70,574	$17,500	34%
2	Trinity Washington UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$26,065	Not reported	$32,866	126%
3	American UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$25,773	$62,657	$23,799	92%
4	Catholic University of AmericaWashington · private nonprofit	$24,106	$61,999	$26,000	108%
5	Gallaudet UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$20,185	$30,754	$14,097	70%
6	Howard UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$18,934	$55,395	$25,000	132%

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

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.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 6 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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.

Common questions

Georgetown University in Washington reports the highest median first-year pay, $51,959. Its median federal debt is $17,500.

Psychology (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked875 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the psychology bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024