On-campus Design & applied arts Master’s degree
18 programs — 1 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
Delivery
Hide for-profit colleges(1 program)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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pratt Institute-MainNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Graphic DesignMaster’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)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 DesignIndustrial and Product DesignIllustrationDesign 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. | $123,755 | $82,883 | 149% |
| American UniversityDC · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Graphic DesignMaster’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:Game and Interactive Media DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Azusa Pacific UniversityCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Design and Visual Communications, GeneralMaster’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:Game and Interactive Media DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Boise State UniversityID · PublicRequest information → | Game and Interactive Media DesignMaster’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:Design and Visual Communications, GeneralCommercial 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 | — |
| Bradley UniversityIL · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Game and Interactive Media DesignMaster’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:Graphic DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Columbia College ChicagoIL · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Fashion/Apparel DesignMaster’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:Graphic DesignGame and Interactive Media DesignIllustrationInterior 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 | — |
| DePaul UniversityIL · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Game and Interactive Media DesignMaster’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:Graphic DesignDesign and Visual Communications, GeneralIndustrial and Product DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Eastern Michigan UniversityMI · PublicRequest information → | Game and Interactive Media DesignMaster’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:Interior DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Laguna College of Art and DesignCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | IllustrationMaster’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:Game and Interactive Media DesignGraphic DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| New England CollegeNH · Private nonprofitRequest information → | IllustrationMaster’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:Game and Interactive Media DesignGraphic DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Ohio University-Main CampusOH · PublicRequest information → | Graphic DesignMaster’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:Commercial PhotographyGame and Interactive Media DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Game and Interactive Media DesignMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of DenverCO · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Graphic DesignMaster’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:Game and Interactive Media DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of Southern CaliforniaCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Design and Visual Communications, GeneralMaster’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:Game and Interactive Media DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of the ArtsPA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Graphic DesignMaster’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:IllustrationGame and Interactive Media DesignIndustrial and Product DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of the Incarnate WordTX · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Graphic DesignMaster’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:Interior DesignFashion/Apparel DesignGame and Interactive Media DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of Wisconsin-StoutWI · PublicRequest information → | Graphic DesignMaster’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:Interior DesignIndustrial and Product DesignGame and Interactive Media DesignDesign 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 | — |
| Worcester Polytechnic InstituteMA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Game and Interactive Media DesignMaster’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 “Design & applied arts” covers every related program at that institution rather than one named degree. Full methodology.