With researchers at the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Consumer Finance Institute, we explored the historical creditworthiness of individuals pursuing graduate studies.

This brief from scholars Joseph G. Altonji and Zhengren Zhu finds that, while graduate degrees pay off on average, the returns to earnings vary widely across fields and when accounting for the costs of enrollment and foregone earnings.

Gainful employment regulations complement the protections for students and taxpayers newly created in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act