Psychology (Bachelor's) Programs in Rhode Island, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt
- 5 programs report first-year pay
- 5 also report federal debt
- Bachelor's in Psychology, General
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
The median Rhode Island psychology bachelor's program pays its graduates $35,096 in their first year, $3,617 more than the national median. Providence College reports the highest first-year pay ($37,863), and Rhode Island College the lowest median debt ($22,723).
All 5 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.
Debt and first-year pay at every Rhode Island psychology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Rhode Island medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Quick picks
Highest first-year pay
- Providence College$37,863
- University of Rhode Island$37,414
- Salve Regina University$35,096
- Rhode Island College$33,694
- Roger Williams University$32,289
Lowest median debt
- Rhode Island College$22,723
- University of Rhode Island$23,880
- Providence College$27,000
- Salve Regina University$27,000
- Roger Williams University$27,000
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
$107,490Median pay in Rhode Island. 420 people work in this job in Rhode Island. 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
$51,420Median pay in Rhode Island. 220 people work in this job in Rhode Island. 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.
Common questions
Providence College in Providence reports the highest median first-year pay, $37,863. Its median federal debt is $27,000.
Rhode Island College reports the lowest median federal debt, $22,723, with first-year pay of $33,694.
The median across 5 Rhode Island psychology bachelor's programs is $35,096 in the first year after graduating and $53,575 five years after.
5 Rhode Island programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.
Related pages
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 Rhode Island 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