Audio & recording technology Bachelor’s degree
39 programs — 17 with federal cost data, the rest suppressed for small class sizes and listed after them, ordered by median debt against median earnings — lowest first.
Data last updated
Specific program
Schools file the same degree under different federal codes — Berklee’s music production sits under “Music, Other”, Academy of Art’s under “Recording Arts”. These groups gather every code a program is actually filed under.
Delivery
Hide for-profit colleges(3 programs)What our data shows about for-profit collegesAcross the creative fields on this site, students at private for-profit institutions borrow 27% more than students at public ones ($29,332 against $23,033) and earn 15% less four years after completing ($38,361 against $45,110).The combined effect is severe. Median debt at a for-profit equals 70% of a graduate’s annual earnings, against 47% at a public institution. And 10% of for-profit programs leave graduates owing more than they earn in a year — against 1% of public ones. Ten times the rate.This is a pattern across 212 for-profit programs, not a handful of outliers, and it holds in every creative field we cover. It does not mean no for-profit program is worth taking: some appear high in our best-value rankings, and this filter hides those too. It means the odds are materially worse, and the burden of proof sits with the school.Figures are medians computed from the College Scorecard and IPEDS data behind every table on this site.
| Institution | Programcredential and delivery | at completion | 4 yrs after | Median federal loan debt at completion, divided by median earnings four years later. It answers a single question: how much of one year’s income do you owe on the day you finish?Below 50% is generally considered manageable. Above 100% means graduates owe more than they earn in a year, and repayment on a standard ten-year plan starts to consume a serious share of income.Debt covers federal loans only, so real ratios are often worse. Both figures are medians — half of graduates fall on the wrong side of each. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Puerto Rico-AreciboPR · PublicRequest information → | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | $5,250 | $22,550 | 23% |
| American UniversityDC · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | $19,085 | $75,461 | 25% |
| Bowie State UniversityMD · PublicRequest information → | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | $22,750 | $56,818 | 40% |
| SUNY Buffalo State UniversityNY · PublicRequest information → | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | $18,375 | $45,120 | 41% |
| Rowan UniversityNJ · PublicRequest information → | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | $20,000 | $46,969 | 43% |
| Ferris State UniversityMI · PublicRequest information → | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | $21,997 | $43,507 | 51% |
| Belmont UniversityTN · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | $22,500 | $44,222 | 51% |
| Husson UniversityME · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Photographic and Film/Video Technology/TechnicianAudiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, OtherThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $27,000 | $48,777 | 55% |
| New England Institute of TechnologyRI · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | $27,083 | $46,996 | 58% |
| Columbia College ChicagoIL · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | $26,250 | $43,731 | 60% |
| Alabama A & M UniversityAL · PublicRequest information → | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | $33,500 | $42,272 | 79% |
| Savannah College of Art and DesignGA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campusOffers: Film and Television (BFA) · Animation (BFA) · Animation (MA/MFA) · Visual Effects (BFA) · Motion Media Design (BFA) · Illustration (BFA) · Illustration (MA/MFA) · Graphic Design (BA/BFA) | $25,666 | $26,064 | 98% |
| Elon UniversityNC · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | — | $53,185 | — |
| Ithaca CollegeNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | — | $48,412 | — |
| Johns Hopkins UniversityMD · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | — | $62,858 | — |
| Long Island UniversityNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | — | $44,659 | — |
| Webster UniversityMO · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, OtherThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | — | $50,359 | — |
| Adrian CollegeMI · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Ball State UniversityIN · PublicRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Bethel UniversityTN · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · Fully online | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| California State University-Dominguez HillsCA · PublicRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Evangel UniversityMO · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Greenville UniversityIL · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Indiana University-BloomingtonIN · PublicRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campusOffers: Audio Engineering and Sound Production (BS) · Music Production – Audio Engineering (BS) · Music Production – Creation and Production (BS) · Performance (BM) · Jazz Studies (BM) · Composition (BM) · Music Education (BME) · Music and an Outside Field (BS) | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Johnson UniversityTN · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Loyola Marymount UniversityCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Malone UniversityOH · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Michigan Technological UniversityMI · PublicRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Minnesota State University MoorheadMN · PublicRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| North Central UniversityMN · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Northwest UniversityWA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Photographic and Film/Video Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campusWhat this figure actually coversThe federal government reports debt and earnings for a whole program family rather than one degree. At this institution that family also includes:Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Portland State UniversityOR · PublicRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| SUNY at FredoniaNY · PublicRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Texas State UniversityTX · PublicRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Union UniversityTN · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo CampusPR · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Utah Valley UniversityUT · PublicRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Visible Music CollegeTN · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| York College of PennsylvaniaPA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianBachelor’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
Source: College Scorecard, Field of Study (retrieved September 2026)
How we are paid: StudyCreative earns revenue when readers ask to be connected with a school. No school pays to appear in these figures, to change them, or to be left out of them. Full disclosure.
One thing these figures cannot tell you
Earnings and debt are reported by the federal government at a four-digit program level, so a figure shown against “Audio & recording technology” covers every related program at that institution rather than one named degree. Full methodology.