The Graduate Student Loan Borrowing Landscape

Graduate borrowing makes up a growing share of today’s student loans, with about half of all student loan debt borrowed for graduate programs. Average graduate borrowing has grown by about 7 percent for master’s degrees and 11 percent for professional degrees over the last 5 years. Borrowing varies widely by field of study and institution type, and understanding debt trends for graduate study is key to ensuring that students can access high-quality graduate programs and see a fair return on their investment. 

Our latest report is the first in a series on graduate student loan borrowing and is designed to help inform policymakers in developing equitable, multi-faceted solutions to alleviate the burden of student loan debt.  

This report was updated in February 2025 to account for institutions reporting identical debt data for multiple branches.