Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions at University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

The earnings picture here tells a complicated story, but one that starts to make sense with local context. At $30,057, graduates earn below the national median for rehabilitation programs by about $6,000—placing this program in just the 22nd percentile nationally. However, among Arkansas's three programs in this field, UAPB actually performs above the state median, ranking at the 60th percentile. That's meaningful when you consider that two-thirds of students here receive Pell grants and likely plan to work locally where $30,000 represents a different buying power than in coastal markets.

The debt load of $22,750 is actually lighter than both national and state medians for this field, yielding a manageable 0.76 debt-to-earnings ratio. Graduates should be able to handle their monthly payments, even at this entry salary level. The real question is career trajectory—rehabilitation fields often require additional credentials or graduate degrees to reach higher earning potential, which could mean taking on more debt before seeing significant salary growth.

The major caveat: this data comes from fewer than 30 graduates, so one or two outliers could skew these numbers significantly. For families committed to staying in Arkansas and seeking an affordable entry point into therapeutic professions, this program offers reasonable debt for local market earnings. Just understand you're looking at a starting salary, not a career destination.