Graphic communications Master’s degree
25 programs — 4 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
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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DePaul UniversityIL · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | $53,300 | $58,803 | 91% |
| Academy of Art UniversityCA · Private for-profitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · HybridOffers: Music Production and Sound Design for Visual Media (BFA) · Music Scoring and Composition (BFA) · Game Development (BFA) · Animation and Visual Effects (BFA) · Graphic Design (BFA) · Illustration (BFA) · Visual Development (BFA) | $83,224 | $64,026 | 130% |
| Savannah College of Art and DesignGA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · Fully onlineOffers: 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) | $99,295 | $51,962 | 191% |
| Atlantic UniversityPR · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | $15,475 | — | — |
| Arizona State University Campus ImmersionAZ · PublicRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| California College of the ArtsCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| California Institute of the ArtsCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoCA · PublicRequest information → | Graphic Communications, GeneralMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Carroll UniversityWI · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Graphic Communications, GeneralMaster’s degree · Not reported | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Clark UniversityMA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| CUNY Hunter CollegeNY · PublicRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| DigiPen Institute of TechnologyWA · Private for-profitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham CampusNJ · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| George Mason UniversityVA · PublicRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Lynn UniversityFL · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| New York Film AcademyCA · Private for-profitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campusOffers: Filmmaking (BFA) · Filmmaking (AFA) · Filmmaking (MFA) · Cinematography (MFA) · Producing (MFA) · Documentary (MFA) · Photography (MFA) · Game Design (MFA) | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Northeastern UniversityMA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · Fully online | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Ohio State University-Main CampusOH · PublicRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Pratt Institute-MainNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campusOffers: Game Arts (BFA) · Digital Arts – 2-D Animation (BFA) · Digital Arts – 3-D Animation and Motion Arts (BFA) · Digital Arts – Art and Technology (BFA) · Graphic Design (AOS) | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Rochester Institute of TechnologyNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · Not reportedOffers: Game Design and Development (BS) · Game Design and Development (MS) · Film and Animation (BFA) · Motion Picture Science (BS) · 3D Visualization (Digital Design) (BFA) · New Media Design (BFA) · Graphic Design (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:Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Southern California Institute of ArchitectureCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Southern Methodist UniversityTX · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| State University of New York at OswegoNY · PublicRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of Southern CaliforniaCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityVA · PublicRequest information → | Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special EffectsMaster’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 “Graphic communications” covers every related program at that institution rather than one named degree. Full methodology.