Debt: Professional and Other Doctoral Degree Recipients
Over three-quarters of students who earned professional and other doctoral degrees in 2019–20 borrowed money to fund their graduate education (77.6 percent). The average debt amount per borrower was $150,290. Hispanic or Latino professional and other degree recipients borrowed at the highest rate (92.5 percent) of any group, but their average amount per borrower was lower ($130,252) than that among other groups. The average debt per borrower among Asian professional and other doctoral degree recipients ($204,922) was the highest of any group, followed by Black or African American students ($150,300).
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Chapter Seven: How Students Finance Graduate Education
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Source
U.S. Department of Education, National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 2020
Notes:
The percentage of students with graduate debt reflects the total share of students who borrowed to finance graduate education. The average graduate debt per borrower reflects the average amount borrowed among only those who borrowed to pay for graduate education.
The percentage of students with any debt reflects the total share of students who borrowed to finance undergraduate and graduate education. The average total debt per borrower reflects the average amount borrowed among only those who borrowed to pay for undergraduate and graduate education.
Reporting standards not met for the following data:
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American Indian or Alaska Native, percent with graduate debt and average graduate debt per borrower, 2019-2020
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Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, percent with graduate debt and average graduate debt per borrower, 2019-2020
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More than one race, average graduate debt per borrower, 2019-2020
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International students, percent with graduate debt and average graduate debt per borrower, 2019-2020
