College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is an Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 38 colleges (38 of 38 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$26,957

Graduates only, early career.$26,739 two years out.

Median federal debt

$24,995

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.93×

93% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management report early-career pay between $22,593 and $30,978 — a spread of $8,385 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $22,593 median $26,957 75th pct $30,978

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 38 colleges $26,957 $24,995 0.93×

Master's 20 colleges $43,143 $48,856 1.34×

Where an Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

The New School NY $44,575 $24,500 debt

Wagner College NY $37,356 $27,000 debt

Pace University NY $37,135 $25,167 debt

Fashion Institute of Technology NY $35,936 —

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay WI $33,076 —

Trevecca Nazarene University TN $31,929 —

Indiana University-Bloomington IN $31,657 $21,908 debt

University of Southern California CA $31,628 $20,353 debt

University of Southern Mississippi MS $31,091 $24,990 debt

Belmont University TN $31,035 $20,500 debt

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point WI $30,805 —

Bay State College $29,271 —

SUNY at Purchase College NY $28,859 $19,500 debt

Champlain College VT $28,726 —

Ferris State University MI $28,211 $22,833 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard