On-campus Software & media applications Master’s degree
14 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.
Delivery
Hide for-profit colleges(2 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carnegie Mellon UniversityPA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Computer GraphicsMaster’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:Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | $111,064 | $113,586 | 98% |
| Texas A & M University-College StationTX · PublicRequest information → | Computer GraphicsMaster’s degree · On campus | — | $84,637 | — |
| California Institute of the ArtsCA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationMaster’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:Computer Software and Media Applications, OtherThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical CollegeLA · PublicRequest information → | Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| New York Institute of TechnologyNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Computer GraphicsMaster’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:Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources DesignThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Purdue University NorthwestIN · PublicRequest information → | Computer GraphicsMaster’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:Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Purdue University-Main CampusIN · PublicRequest information → | Computer GraphicsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Rhode Island School of DesignRI · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Computer GraphicsMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Rochester Institute of TechnologyNY · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationMaster’s degree · On campusOffers: 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:Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database AdministrationThe figures on this row describe all of them together. We cannot separate them, and we do not estimate. | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| Thomas Jefferson UniversityPA · Private nonprofitRequest information → | Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of California-IrvineCA · PublicRequest information → | Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of California-Santa CruzCA · PublicRequest information → | Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of Michigan-Ann ArborMI · PublicRequest information → | Modeling, Virtual Environments and SimulationMaster’s degree · On campus | Not reported | Not reported | — |
| University of North Carolina WilmingtonNC · PublicRequest information → | Computer GraphicsMaster’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:Data Modeling/Warehousing and Database AdministrationThe 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 “Software & media applications” covers every related program at that institution rather than one named degree. Full methodology.