Design and Applied Arts graduates from California State University-Northridge earn $59,676 median salary, above the national average for this program.
Design and Applied Arts at California State University-Northridge
Northridge, California • Bachelor's
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Design and Applied Arts at California State University-Northridge
This page combines two federal data products: IPEDS institutional characteristics for California State University-Northridge 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. Completer counts for the most recent cohort are not currently reported for this program-school pairing.
Median graduate earnings of $59,676 represent Treasury-derived wages, deferred compensation, and positive self-employment earnings four years after program completion for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled. Compared to the national mean of $53,186 across all institutions offering Design and Applied Arts, graduates here earn above the national average for this program. Across all programs at California State University-Northridge, the mean median-earnings figure is $72,962, 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 State University-Northridge
| Program | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | $178,136 | - |
| Manufacturing Engineering | $129,151 | - |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | $116,613 | $15,041 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | $115,123 | $34,195 |
| Education, General | $113,493 | - |
| Educational Administration and Supervision | $112,522 | - |
| Taxation | $108,576 | $41,000 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | $105,747 | $18,875 |
| Civil Engineering | $104,388 | - |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | $104,065 | $16,382 |
View all 95 programs at California State University-Northridge →
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.