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

Is a Visual and Performing Arts, General degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 55 colleges (55 of 55 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$25,314

Graduates only, early career.$26,508 two years out.

Median federal debt

$23,320

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.95×

95% 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 Visual and Performing Arts, General report early-career pay between $21,666 and $27,946 — a spread of $6,280 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $21,666 median $25,314 75th pct $27,946

By degree level

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

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Associate's 9 colleges $18,196 $7,000 0.39×

Bachelor's 55 colleges $25,314 $23,320 0.95×

Master's 4 colleges $38,684 $58,956 1.75×

Where a 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.

College of the Holy Cross MA $39,388 $22,375 debt

Otis College of Art and Design CA $36,531 $27,000 debt

Hamline University MN $32,798 —

The University of Texas at Austin TX $32,207 $21,250 debt

University of Florida FL $30,849 $18,657 debt

University of Florida-Online FL $30,849 $18,657 debt

The University of Texas at Dallas TX $30,784 $19,500 debt

Academy of Art University CA $29,153 $31,000 debt

SUNY Oneonta NY $29,019 $19,891 debt

University of Central Florida FL $28,892 $22,481 debt

Grand Canyon University AZ $28,672 $26,465 debt

State University of New York at New Paltz NY $28,650 $18,000 debt

Boston University MA $28,215 —

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater WI $28,110 $22,398 debt

The University of Tennessee-Martin TN $27,782 $19,401 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Visual and Performing Arts, General, 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