---
title: Academy of Art University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: San Francisco, CA
control: For-profit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Academy of Art University

San Francisco, CA · For-profit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $39,008 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $17,463 – $65,466 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $11,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 34% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $48,036 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 63% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.28× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $11,008 | derived |

**34% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $11,000 (≈ 28% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $18,335 to $58,262 across 22 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians. | Master's Degree | $58,262 | $84,794 |
| Computer Software and Media Applications. | Master's Degree | $55,653 | $71,352 |
| Specialized Sales, Merchandising and  Marketing Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,653 | not reported |
| Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,238 | $40,171 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Master's Degree | $43,701 | $93,267 |
| Computer Software and Media Applications. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,476 | $36,750 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Master's Degree | $41,783 | $113,213 |
| Journalism. | Master's Degree | $39,016 | not reported |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,022 | $29,910 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Associate's Degree | $32,904 | $32,187 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Master's Degree | $32,379 | $91,156 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,156 | $25,500 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,710 | $33,812 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General. | Master's Degree | $29,959 | not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,422 | $39,570 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,153 | $31,000 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,222 | $31,500 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,192 | $23,473 |
| Graphic Communications. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,837 | $31,125 |
| Computer Software and Media Applications. | Associate's Degree | $27,369 | $31,211 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Associate's Degree | $19,200 | $31,937 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $18,335 | $30,666 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Academy of Art University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?108232

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/academy-of-art-university-ca.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`