What Is The Average Cost Of A PhD?

According to the R3ciprocity poll (n= 36, 2020 USD), when asked “How much was the total cost of your doctorate degree? (USD, 2020 dollars)”, the average expected cost of doing your PhD is around $60,000 USD.

However, you can see that there is a wide range of costs.
Up to $40,000: 44%
$40001-50000: 14%
$50001-60000: 6%
$60000-100000: 17%
Greater than $100000: 19%
Here is the link to the poll if you want to participate:
   • Запись  


I think that this number is likely representative of people around the world and between private and public programs, more so than other surveys, because it accounts for a global audience on the R3ciprocity channel. In addition, it focuses on the total cost of program. It does skew towards people that are doing a PhD in Business related fields though.

This seems quite inline with my experiences. A PhD program is likely to cost you around $15,000 for 5 years, which is about $75,000.

However, there are things you should consider with this average cost estimates:

It excludes the opportunity cost of forgoing wages and salaries from other careers. The 4-7 years that you spend doing a doctoral degree could be used towards making more money.

It excludes PhD stipends. Most reputable universities will pay for you a doctoral stipend to do research for the university. This might also look like teaching assistant opportunities or research assistant opportunities. You might also get a grant or scholarship, which reduces the costs of the doctoral program.

It excludes the option value of the degree. One thing I have learnt is that a PhD degree does not make you money, but it gives you opportunities to pursue many different careers that require a doctoral degree.

It excludes switching costs. The more that you go down the Rabbit Hole in a knowledge domain, the harder it is to switch to another domain. The investment that you have made will likely hinder you from choosing other career paths.

Check out:

Do College Degrees Matter?
   • Do College Degrees Matter?  

What Can You Do With A Finance PhD?
   • Unconventional Careers for Finance Ph...  

You Are Not Stuck With Your Problem!: Researchers With Difficult Problems And Finding New Solutions
   • You Are Not Stuck With Your Problem!:...  

What Is The Difference Between A Thesis And An Essay?
   • What Is The Difference Between A Thes...  

Feeling Unproductive As A Professor Or Researcher: How To Deal With The Feeling Of Being Unproductive
   • Feeling Unproductive As A Professor O...  

What Is An Associate Professor? Do Associate Professors Have Tenure? Do Associate Professors Take Graduate Students?
   • What Is An Associate Professor? Do Th...  

What Is The Difference Between A Professor And A Distinguished Professor?
   • What Is The Difference Between A Prof...  

Should You Be Nervous About Starting Your PhD? Answers To Common Questions.
   • Should You Be Nervous About Starting ...  



***

David Maslach is a research professor of entrepreneurship, innovation, and business strategy, I discuss topics, such as behavioral science, strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and apply these to my new peer proofreading and editing platform. Topics include the sharing economy, altruism, investing in technology, starting a business, and bounded rationality. My favorite videos pertain to incentives, goal setting, and learning from failure to drive behaviors such as weight loss, stopping telemarketers, creating novel technologies, and creating new movements.

https://r3ciprocity.com: Peer proofreading and editing platform

A new platform where you can earn credits by editing other people's documents. Use these credits to have your own work edited. If you do a good enough job, you can convert these credits to money.

The goal of the platform is to get people to 'pay it forward' and help other people out by creating incentives for people to give back.

Check out https://www.r3ciprocity.com

Please subscribe to the Youtube channel:
   / @r3ciprocityteam