Return on Investment or Ripoff? Examining the Returns to New Master's Degree Programs. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1132

Abstract

Universities have created more than 14,000 new master's degree programs in the last two decades, and much of this is likely driven by an effort to increase institutional revenues during challenging financial times. But this expansion in graduate education creates a risk that these new programs fail to generate a return on investment to students or taxpayers. We examined student debt and debt-to-earnings outcomes for students attending newer versus longstanding master's programs and found that new programs at private universities tend to graduate students with less debt than their more established counterparts. This is concentrated among programs with more Black and Hispanic graduates. There were no consistent relationships between program establishment and debt outcomes at public universities.