Arts graduates earn less by ‘doubling down’ on a masters

MEN who complete a master’s degree in English earn 30 per cent less by their mid-30s than if they had not done so, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found.

Some postgraduate courses, such as law, business and economics, generate a positive return within just over a decade, according to research for the Department for Education.

Men and women who studied these courses earn up to 25 per cent more by the time they are 35.

But a large number of arts and humanities postgraduate courses leave graduates worse off, including languages, creative arts and history, where earnings can be more than 20 per cent less among graduates.

Having done an arts degree, “doubling down” by going on to a masters in the same field seems to result in large negative returns, the report said.

The IFS analysis is based on the Longitudinal Education Outcomes data, which links the university and tax records of everyone in England who has completed a degree since 1995. More than 350,000 students start a postgraduate course each year, around double the number of two decades ago.

Overall, male and female postgraduates enjoy an earnings boost by the age of 35 compared with those with only an undergraduate degree. But the financial returns are negative for men when compared to those with similar prior attainment and background.

Male masters graduates earn an average of £55,800 by 35, £5,000 more than those with a first degree. But most of these differences can be accounted for by the cohort coming from “betteroff backgrounds” and having “higher prior attainment” than those who just do degrees, the researchers said.