Indicator 5.3.2Professional degree student debt at graduation by discipline, Universitywide, 2001-02 to 2009-10
In general, graduates with the highest debt levels come from professional schools that charge higher supplemental tuition and lead to careers with higher potential earnings (e.g., law, medicine, dentistry and optometry).
The increases since 2001-02 in inflation-adjusted debt levels of graduating professional degree students range from $7200 in Education to $36,000 in Medicine. Increases in graduate debt result from a combination of factors, including steady growth in the level of supplemental tuition and greater student reliance on federal student loan programs.
On average, about two-thirds of the aid awarded to professional degree students is awarded as loans rather than as fellowships or grants. In 2009-10, more than 95 percent of graduate and professional degree student loan balances were for federal loans. By comparison, loans constitute only 9 percent of the aid awarded to graduate academic students. UC considers appropriate the greater reliance on loans made by professional degree students because their programs are of shorter duration and their incomes after graduation tend to be higher. Rates on federal loans can vary significantly and may impact their attractiveness to potential borrowers relative to other means that are not tracked here.