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6 May 2013
Report

The Price of a Science Ph.D.

Variations in Student Debt Levels Across Disciplines and Race/Ethnicity

Rita Kirshstein, Kristina Zeiser, and Courtney Tanenbaum

A recent report from AIR's Center for STEM Education & Innovation found that financing a Ph.D. in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field or in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences (SBE) results in high levels of debt. This was particularly true for SBE Ph.D. recipients and for underrepresented minorities. Among recipients in both the SBE and STEM fields, African American females were the subgroup that was most likely to accrue this extreme level of graduate student debt when examining the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender.

Graphic: The Price of a Science Ph.D.The findings emphasize the need to effectively communicate to students the various options for financing graduate school studies so they can make informed decisions when they receive offers from graduate programs. The authors conclude that if increasing the numbers of STEM and SBE PhDs, and particularly broadening participation among underrepresented minorities, is to remain a national priority, the policies and practices that aim to support students in financing their education need to be examined.


PDF icon The Price of a Science Ph.D.:Variations in Student Debt Levels Across Disciplines and Race/Ethnicity

Related Work

6 May 2013
News Release

African American and Hispanic Ph.D. Science Graduates Are More Likely to Accrue Debt than Their White and Asian Peers, Study Finds

African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to go into debt while earning a doctorate in the sciences than their white and Asian counterparts, according to a new issue brief by experts at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The disparity is largest for African Americans, who are twice as likely to accrue more than $30,000 in debt.

Further Reading

  • AIR Index: STEM Ph.D. Debt by Race
  • Who Pays for the Doctorate? A Tale of Two PhDs
  • African American and Hispanic Ph.D. Science Graduates Are More Likely to Accrue Debt than Their White and Asian Peers, Study Finds
  • Sixty-One Percent of STEM Ph.D.’s Pursue Nonacademic Careers, but Job Duties Differ Widely by Race and Gender
  • The Price and Cost of Science Degrees Series
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