Design and Digital Art Associate degree
21 programs — 11 with federal cost data, the rest suppressed for small class sizes and listed after them, led by institutions where this is the main program rather than one of many. Federal figures cover the wider program family, so a row may share its numbers with related degrees.
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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware College of Art and DesignDE · Private nonprofitRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Graphic DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | — | $33,072 | — |
| Academy of Art UniversityCA · Private for-profitRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate degree · HybridOffers: Illustration (BFA) · Visual Development (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:Fashion/Apparel DesignCommercial and Advertising ArtThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $31,937 | $40,595 | 79% |
| Mohawk Valley Community CollegeNY · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Graphic DesignCommercial PhotographyThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $9,534 | $37,280 | 26% |
| Sessions College for Professional DesignAZ · Private for-profitRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate degree · HybridWhat 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 DesignCommercial PhotographyCommercial and Advertising ArtThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $19,854 | — | — |
| Salt Lake Community CollegeUT · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Interior DesignDesign and Visual Communications, GeneralCommercial PhotographyFashion/Apparel DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $10,088 | $40,740 | 25% |
| Pratt Institute-MainNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Graphic DesignInterior DesignIndustrial and Product DesignDesign and Visual Communications, GeneralFashion/Apparel DesignGame and Interactive Media DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $12,000 | $26,557 | 45% |
| Fashion Institute of TechnologyNY · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate degree · Online or on campusOffers: Illustration (BFA) · Illustration (AAS)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:Fashion/Apparel DesignCommercial and Advertising ArtInterior DesignCommercial PhotographyGraphic DesignDesign and Applied Arts, OtherIndustrial and Product DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $11,640 | $45,096 | 26% |
| The New SchoolNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate degree · On campusOffers: Illustration (Parsons) (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:Fashion/Apparel DesignIndustrial and Product DesignInterior DesignDesign and Applied Arts, OtherGraphic DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $14,750 | $66,896 | 22% |
| Collin County Community College DistrictTX · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Game and Interactive Media DesignCommercial and Advertising ArtInterior DesignCommercial PhotographyThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | — | $40,300 | — |
| Cuyahoga Community College DistrictOH · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate degree · HybridWhat 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 DesignDesign and Visual Communications, GeneralInterior DesignCommercial PhotographyGame and Interactive Media DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $6,000 | $30,936 | 19% |
| Connecticut State Community CollegeCT · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Commercial and Advertising ArtGraphic DesignInterior DesignGame and Interactive Media DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | — | $34,324 | — |
| Chandler-Gilbert Community CollegeAZ · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate degree · Fully online | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Lake Washington Institute of TechnologyWA · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Design and Visual Communications, GeneralFashion/Apparel DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Art Academy of CincinnatiOH · Private nonprofitRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Design and Visual Communications, GeneralGraphic DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Nossi College of Art and DesignTN · Private for-profitRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Graphic DesignCommercial PhotographyThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Ferris State UniversityMI · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Graphic DesignInterior DesignIndustrial and Product DesignDesign and Visual Communications, GeneralDesign and Applied Arts, OtherFashion/Apparel DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Kalamazoo Valley Community CollegeMI · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Graphic DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Rochester Institute of TechnologyNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Industrial and Product DesignGraphic DesignInterior DesignCommercial and Advertising ArtThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of New HavenCT · Private nonprofitRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate degree · Not reportedWhat 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 DesignGraphic DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Mesa Community CollegeAZ · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate degree · Online or 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:Graphic DesignFashion/Apparel DesignGame and Interactive Media DesignDesign and Visual Communications, GeneralThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Phoenix CollegeAZ · PublicRequest information → | IllustrationAssociate 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:Interior DesignGraphic DesignFashion/Apparel DesignCommercial PhotographyThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | 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 “Design and Digital Art” covers every related program at that institution rather than one named degree. Full methodology.