Online Design & applied arts Master’s degree
5 programs — 2 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.
Field
Delivery
| 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savannah College of Art and DesignGA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | IllustrationMaster’s degree · Online or 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)What 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:Interior DesignFashion/Apparel DesignDesign and Visual Communications, GeneralThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $82,741 | $65,866 | 126% |
| Bowling Green State University-Main CampusOH · PublicRequest information → | Design and Visual Communications, GeneralMaster’s degree · Fully onlineWhat 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:Graphic DesignFashion/Apparel DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | — | $48,570 | — |
| Northeastern UniversityMA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Graphic DesignMaster’s degree · Fully onlineWhat 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:Design and Applied Arts, OtherThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of Central OklahomaOK · PublicRequest information → | Graphic DesignMaster’s degree · Fully onlineWhat 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:Interior DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Vermont College of Fine ArtsVT · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Graphic DesignMaster’s degree · Fully online | Not reported | Not reported | — |
Source: College Scorecard, Field of Study (retrieved September 2026)
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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 “Design & applied arts” covers every related program at that institution rather than one named degree. That pooling also spans delivery: where a school runs the same credential both online and on campus, the federal figures combine both sets of students. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. Full methodology.