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Program ranking · CIP 10.03 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Graphic Design

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Graphic Design (CIP 10.03) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

$79,432
Highest graphic design earnings
33
Colleges ranked
$23,042
#33 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $23,042 median earnings for Graphic Design bachelor's (CIP 10.03) completers. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo leads at $79,432.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$79,432
#1 - California Polytechnic State
$23,042
#33 - the cutoff to make this list
25+
completers required per school
133
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

Top 15 graphic design programs by median completer earnings

Graphic Design bachelor's (CIP 10.03) · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

What this shows Graphic-communications medians mix studio, production, and digital roles - compare debt and completer counts before treating pay as program quality.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full top 33

# School Name StateMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
1 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo CA $79,432 $17,961 83
2 Ringling College of Art and Design FL $75,213 $27,000 118
3 Brigham Young University UT $73,941 - 32
4 University of Minnesota-Duluth MN $61,062 $24,500 29
5 University of Maryland Global Campus MD $58,759 $22,971 75
6 Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ $57,618 $18,964 87
7 Rochester Institute of Technology NY $55,122 $27,000 33
8 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus OH $52,388 $26,338 58
9 Academy of Art University CA $50,833 $31,125 95
10 University of Silicon Valley CA $49,968 $31,000 35
11 George Mason University VA $47,440 $22,985 53
12 DigiPen Institute of Technology WA $45,571 $27,000 66
13 DePaul University IL $45,028 $25,000 52
14 Ferris State University MI $44,116 $27,000 71
15 Columbia College Chicago IL $43,970 $20,000 209
16 Minneapolis College of Art and Design MN $43,745 $27,000 27
17 Savannah College of Art and Design GA $43,058 $25,300 523
18 Sam Houston State University TX $42,579 $24,500 53
19 East Tennessee State University TN $41,074 $22,250 53
20 Pittsburg State University KS $39,946 $21,750 33
21 Laguna College of Art and Design CA $38,850 $27,000 29
22 Bradley University IL $37,657 $27,000 25
23 Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design CO $37,239 $28,115 36
24 University of Hawaii at Manoa HI $35,830 $21,125 64
25 Pratt Institute-Main NY $35,100 $26,000 66
26 Indian River State College FL $34,741 - 26
27 Los Angeles Film School CA $34,138 $33,250 67
28 College for Creative Studies MI $34,003 $27,000 72
29 New Mexico State University-Main Campus NM $33,612 $22,500 43
30 Columbus College of Art & Design OH $33,389 $27,000 44
31 California College of the Arts CA $31,068 $26,899 60
32 School of Visual Arts NY $30,125 $27,000 88
33 Atlantic University PR $23,042 $5,440 39

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Graphic Design (CIP 10.03) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Graphic Design (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. College Scorecard's closest dedicated CIP for "graphic design" search demand is Graphic Communications (CIP 10.03) - this list ranks that bachelor's CIP. Broader Design and Applied Arts (CIP 50.04), which mixes interior design and other studio majors, is ranked on its own interior-design page.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.