AI’s Rise Undermines Value of Some Graduate Degrees, Study Shows
AI’s Rise Undermines Value of Some Graduate Degrees, Study Shows
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Artificial intelligence is reshaping demand in the labor market, eroding the financial returns of certain master’s programs.
Research indicates that the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workforce is diminishing the economic value of some graduate degrees in the United States, particularly in fields like psychology and education where automation and shifting skill demands are reducing long‑term earnings prospects.
A new analysis by the Postsecondary Education and Economic Research Center, discussed in Fortune, found that when accounting for tuition, fees and the earnings students forego while in school, several advanced degree programs now show negative cost‑adjusted returns over a graduate’s working life. Degrees in psychology, for example, posted an estimated ‑8% return after costs, and related education degrees also lagged behind financially. In contrast, technically oriented fields like computer science still delivered modest positive outcomes.
Experts attribute part of this shift to AI’s impact on the labor market. As automation and machine learning increasingly take on tasks once performed by humans, demand for certain roles has weakened or changed. AI tools are now reshaping job requirements in psychology, education and other service sectors, contributing to slower wage growth and limited hiring in graduate‑level positions compared with past decades.
The study analyzed data across 121 advanced degree programs and emphasized that while a graduate degree still typically increases lifetime earnings on average, the payoff varies widely by field. In the age of AI, fields with strong technical integration tend to retain higher economic value, while areas more exposed to automation see returns diminish.
These findings add to ongoing debates about the future of higher education, student debt, and how academic pathways should adapt to a fast‑changing AI‑driven economy.
