A Return on Investment Analysis of an Ed.S. degree in School Psychology: When Does a School Psychologist Degree Pay off? Influence of Population Density on a School Psychologist’s Ability to Recoup the Costs of Graduate School

The 2023 School Psychology Futures Conference examined the influences of oppressive systems on the profession’s workforce. This manuscript explores how salary and the cost of graduate training may influence the economic decisions of future school psychologists. A theoretical return on investment analysis was conducted on 435 people who had recently completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology. We estimated that, on average, it would take 9.5 years to pay off in-state tuition and 11.1 years to pay off out-of-state tuition with a school psychology Ed.S. degree. School psychologists can expect to earn a median total of $74,600 more than a bachelor’s ‘s-level psychology major 30 years post-graduation. Assuming the Ed.S. graduate begins working at age 25, their median total earnings would increase by $53,211 by the time they reach 45–a significantly lower increase than other master’s degree. The findings are discussed in the context of their implications for the school psychology workforce. Impact Statement Graduates of school psychology specialist programs typically earn more than those with only a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with the largest gains seen in urban areas. However, earnings growth from an Ed.S. tends to be lower than growth from many other master’s degrees.