Graduate certificate · Cambridge, Massachusetts

Is Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences at Harvard University worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $221,870; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $213,024; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $239,536; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $254k (likely $254k – $254k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $141k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in MA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 3 years (likely 2.3–3.9); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $905k (likely $605k – $1.26M); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $2.27M (likely $1.68M – $2.98M); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.