Walden at the top of the list.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2023/08/03/graduate-degrees-that-leave-you-deeper-in-debt/?sh=2d2c26bfd41b
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A study by the HEA Group and the National Student Legal Defense Network found many graduate programs leave students with more debt than when they started.
Researchers analyzed federal loan data from 1,661 institutions and 6,371 graduate programs, tracking debt five years after repayment began.
528 institutions (32%) showed graduates owing more than they originally borrowed even after five years of repayment.
At 24 institutions, former graduate students accrued over $25 million in interest each, without reducing principal.
Seven institutions left graduate cohorts with over $100 million each in added debt, driven largely by interest.
All seven high-debt institutions were private nonprofit or for-profit schools, with cohorts borrowing $584M–$1.38B over two years.
Loan balances at these schools grew 10%–29% within five years after repayment started.
Walden University led the list, with graduates accumulating $289M in interest alone; others included University of Phoenix, Capella University, and Strayer University.
Some individual programs showed extreme debt-to-income gaps—for example, Walden psychology doctorates owed $175,633 while earning about $72,197 four years later.
While most graduate degrees increase earnings overall, the study warns that certain schools and programs consistently leave students worse off financially, with too few safeguards to prevent unsustainable debt.
https://www.aei.org/research-products/report/a-framework-for-reforming-federal-graduate-student-aid-policy/