Much of the focus of research on the impact of financial aid (debt in particular) has focused on undergraduate students. It is equally important to understand the impact of financial aid on graduate students, particularly since graduate students incur much higher levels of debt due to their prolonged time in higher education and because the rate of increase in debt level is significantly higher for graduate than undergraduate students. This study seeks to examine factors that affect time to doctorate degree and to discern whether any significant differences exist among various fields of study, with a particular emphasis on the effect of debt level. The research questions in the study are: (1) What are the factors that affect time to doctoral degree? Are there significant disparities by race/ethnicity, field of study, and institution?; and (2) What are the impacts of undergraduate and graduate debt levels on time to doctorate degree? Are there significant disparities by race/ethnicity, field of study, and institution? The results generate significant implications for policy makers who need to be aware of the impact of increasing reliance on loans, particularly among doctoral students. (Contains 3 tables and 3 notes.)