Education debt owed by US holders of master's degrees in science is snowballing, says a report from the New America Foundation, a non-profit public-policy group in Washington DC. Half of the graduates owed at least US$36,000 in 2012, up 28% from 2008 levels. One-tenth owed $92,126 or more, up 36% from 2008. The proportion graduating with debt rose by almost 8%, to 53.6%, between those years. The Graduate Student Debt Review examined data that the US Department of Education collects every four years. Report author Jason Delisle speculates that the increasing indebtedness will eventually spur government-led loan-forgiveness programmes.