Design and Applied Arts at California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, California • Bachelor's
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Design and Applied Arts at California Institute of the Arts
This page combines two federal data products: IPEDS institutional characteristics for California Institute of the Arts and the College Scorecard field-of-study (FOS) file for Design and Applied Arts at the bachelor's credential level. The FOS file is keyed by CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) code, which means earnings and debt figures here reflect only graduates of this specific program – not the school as a whole. IPEDS reports 15 completers in the most recent cohort for this program at California Institute of the Arts, the denominator behind the median earnings figure.
Median graduate earnings are not published for this program-school combination, which can reflect source reporting or privacy treatment. Compared to the national mean of $53,186 across all institutions offering Design and Applied Arts, graduates here earn at a level the national comparison cannot yet quantify. Across all programs at California Institute of the Arts, the mean median-earnings figure is $37,988, providing internal context for whether this specific field out-earns other options at the same institution.
Debt signals complete the ROI picture. Median federal debt is not separately reported for this program at this school. Program-level debt and four-year post-completion earnings come from the Department of Education’s College Scorecard field-of-study snapshot retrieved in March 2026.
Earnings Comparison
Program Details
Debt & ROI
Design and Applied Arts at Other Schools
| School | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|
| Carnegie Mellon University | $138,588 | $24,500 |
| Lawrence Technological University | $99,444 | - |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | $95,697 | $26,354 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus | $89,193 | $12,250 |
| University of Southern California | $89,022 | $18,000 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | $87,358 | $25,000 |
| Northeastern University | $87,336 | $25,500 |
| University of Notre Dame | $83,414 | $19,250 |
| Chapman University | $78,121 | $23,823 |
| Art Center College of Design | $76,093 | $31,000 |
Other Programs at California Institute of the Arts
| Program | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | $57,920 | $109,180 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | $56,207 | $96,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | $41,192 | $27,000 |
| Music | $40,294 | $19,500 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | $34,026 | $61,000 |
| Music | $29,494 | $44,150 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | $29,426 | $27,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | $28,617 | $27,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | $24,720 | - |
| Dance | - | - |
Other Schools with Design and Applied Arts
Quick picks offering the same program – compare side by side
About the Data
Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field of Study file. Earnings are median earnings for graduates after completion, drawn from U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal financial aid applicants. Institutional characteristics come from IPEDS. Debt figures represent the median cumulative federal loan debt at graduation.
PlainCollege's Scorecard snapshots, retrieved March–July 2026, contain 6,243 postsecondary institutions and 70,827 school-and-program earnings records.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.