Armstrong, K, Bruce, L, Guthrie, K, Ingram, D; University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Physical Therapy Department, Chattanooga, TN. debbie-ingram@utc.edu.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the financial burden incurred by students during their PT education, comparing the financial obligations of baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate students, and to ascertain if starting salaries offset this level of indebtedness. BACKGROUND: There is growing concern at the alarming levels of debt students encounter upon graduation and if the salaries will offset the debt. Suggested reasons for the increased debt incurred by PT students may be due to the lack of grants and scholarships available to graduate students, rising tuition costs, and the increased time in school since the minimum graduate program is now two years. Recently, PT programs have experienced a decline in the number of applicants. SUBJECTS: Alumni of the 1999-2000 baccalaureate classes and 2001-2002 master’s classes of an accredited PT program from a public university were surveyed for the study. METHODS: A survey instrument was designed to obtain graduation year, initial salary after graduation, total college loan amount, and total loan amount for PT education. ANALYSIS: Analysis was performed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics were generated for both the baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate PT degree students. Group coding variables were created and analyzed using linear regression to determine if there were any differences between graduates receiving a baccalaureate degree and those receiving a post-baccalaureate degree, in terms of loan amount incurred during PT school and initial salary upon graduation. RESULTS: The mean loan amount incurred by students receiving a baccalaureate degree was $6,262.36 and for students receiving a master’s degree was $21,611.49. Students receiving a master’s degree incurred a statistically significantly larger amount of debt from student loans than did students receiving a baccalaureate degree. The mean initial salary upon graduation for students with a baccalaureate degree was $43,753.91 and for students with a master’s degree was $41,975.00. However, there was no statistically significant difference between initial salaries of PT students who graduated with a baccalaureate degree versus master’s degree. CONCLUSIONS: While PT students incurred significantly larger amount of loans to receive a master’s degree than to receive a bachelor’s degree, there was no significant difference in initial salary. FUNDING SOURCE: None.

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