Online Post-Baccalaureate Programs

Education Beyond a Bachelor's.

A post-baccalaureate degree is any degree that you earn after you earn your Bachelor’s degree.

Earning a post-baccalaureate degree could cost more in tuition and time out of the workforce than simply earning a Bachelor’s. But the pay-off can be worth it. According to a study by the US Census Bureau, those with a Masters degree earn $400,000 more over their lifetimes than someone with a Bachelor’s degree. A person with a PhD will earn $2.2 million more than those with a Bachelor’s, and someone with a professional doctorate such a medical degree or J.D. will earn $3.2 million more.

That’s not an insignificant amount of money—even if tuition for these programs is expensive. Tuition at some top schools may be as much as $50,000 per year or more. There is federal grant and subsidized loan aid available for graduate students, and while the number of grants and loans isn’t as high as those available for Bachelor’s degree students, the federal government generally doesn’t consider your parents’ earnings when assessing your financial eligibility for need-based aid—so you might be eligible for more.