Graduate certificate · Houston, Texas

Is Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston 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 1.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $217,110; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $238,250; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $103,075; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $109k (likely $109k – $109k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $175k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in TX; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 1.2 years (likely 0.9–1.5); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $1.53M (likely $1.19M – $1.94M); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $3.51M (likely $2.78M – $4.37M); Today's dollars

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