Which arts management bachelor's program pays the most?

Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts reports the highest first-year pay of the 43 programs ranked here, $40,324. Its median federal debt is $26,375.

How much debt do arts management bachelor's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $26,000 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 92% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Arts Management (Bachelor's) Programs in the US

43 programs report first-year pay
1 state ranking
Bachelor's in Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median arts management bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $28,357 in their first year and $42,388 five years after. New York is the only state with enough programs to rank, with a median of $28,730. The median program leaves its graduates with $26,000 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$28,357Across 43 programs

Median pay after 5 years$42,388Across 37 programs

Median federal debt$26,000Across 40 programs

Debt-to-earnings92%Across 39 programs

All 43 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Berklee College of MusicBoston, MA · private nonprofit	$40,324	Not adjusted	$54,487	$26,375	65%
2	Champlain CollegeBurlington, VT · private nonprofit	$37,872	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
3	The New SchoolNew York, NY · private nonprofit	$37,743	$34,973	$78,350	$25,000	66%
4	SUNY College at PotsdamPotsdam, NY · public	$36,899	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,000	73%
5	Elmhurst UniversityElmhurst, IL · private nonprofit	$36,432	$36,447	$41,639	$26,125	72%
6	Pace UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit	$35,948	$33,310	$45,477	$25,985	72%
7	Syracuse UniversitySyracuse, NY · private nonprofit	$35,389	$32,792	Not reported	$27,000	76%
8	Butler UniversityIndianapolis, IN · private nonprofit	$34,911	Not adjusted	$41,551	$25,000	72%
9	GCUPhoenix, AZ · private nonprofit	$34,904	$34,669	Not reported	$27,000	77%
10	IU BloomingtonBloomington, IN · public	$34,502	$36,968	$56,082	$21,908	63%
11	Dallas Baptist UniversityDallas, TX · private nonprofit	$34,291	$35,331	Not reported	$22,781	66%
12	Midland UniversityFremont, NE · private nonprofit	$33,216	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
13	Elon UniversityElon, NC · private nonprofit	$32,413	Not adjusted	Not reported	$26,544	82%
14	Belmont UniversityNashville, TN · private nonprofit	$30,666	$33,380	$50,279	$22,750	74%
15	UW-Stevens PointStevens Point, WI · public	$29,665	Not adjusted	$43,640	Not reported	Not reported
16	Baldwin Wallace UniversityBerea, OH · private nonprofit	$29,088	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,000	93%
17	UCFOrlando, FL · public	$29,025	$28,067	Not reported	$22,569	78%
18	Wagner CollegeStaten Island, NY · private nonprofit	$29,010	$26,881	$55,875	$27,000	93%
19	UNC GreensboroGreensboro, NC · public	$28,990	$30,734	Not reported	$22,976	79%
20	Full Sail UniversityWinter Park, FL · private for-profit	$28,947	Not adjusted	$38,113	$39,580	137%
21	SUNY OneontaOneonta, NY · public	$28,449	$26,361	$44,520	$23,250	82%
22	Appalachian StateBoone, NC · public	$28,357	$30,063	$46,033	$24,412	86%
23	Marymount Manhattan CollegeNew York, NY · private nonprofit	$28,160	Not adjusted	Not reported	$26,000	92%
24	Fashion Institute of TechnologyNew York, NY · public	$27,941	$25,890	$37,854	$24,734	89%
25	Ferris StateBig Rapids, MI · public	$27,565	$28,649	$39,220	$26,040	94%
26	University of KentuckyLexington, KY · public	$27,323	Not adjusted	$45,547	$27,000	99%
27	Anderson University (Indiana)Anderson, IN · private nonprofit	$27,285	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
28	Middle Tennessee StateMurfreesboro, TN · public	$27,172	$29,577	$40,061	$23,250	86%
29	USCLos Angeles, CA · private nonprofit	$26,975	$24,363	$42,388	$21,250	79%
30	University of Southern MississippiHattiesburg, MS · public	$26,619	Not adjusted	Not reported	$26,000	98%
31	SUNY FredoniaFredonia, NY · public	$26,216	$24,292	$36,972	$27,000	103%
32	University of North AlabamaFlorence, AL · public	$25,805	$29,052	$34,562	$24,937	97%
33	Delta StateCleveland, MS · public	$25,415	$29,228	Not reported	$28,196	111%
34	Drexel UniversityPhiladelphia, PA · private nonprofit	$24,205	$24,807	$50,618	$25,468	105%
35	Columbia College ChicagoChicago, IL · private nonprofit	$23,844	$23,854	$37,460	$26,000	109%
36	University of New HavenWest Haven, CT · private nonprofit	$23,782	Not adjusted	$57,174	$27,000	114%
37	College of CharlestonCharleston, SC · public	$23,713	$25,294	$46,169	$21,874	92%
38	Loyola University New OrleansNew Orleans, LA · private nonprofit	$20,257	Not adjusted	$45,348	$27,000	133%
39	Los Angeles Film SchoolHollywood, CA · private for-profit	$18,706	$16,895	$28,672	$44,250	237%
40	Massachusetts College of Liberal ArtsNorth Adams, MA · public	$18,675	Not adjusted	Not reported	$25,000	134%
41	SUNY Purchase CollegePurchase, NY · public	$18,079	$16,752	$41,761	$22,418	124%
42	Howard UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	$17,095	Not adjusted	$36,934	$27,000	158%
43	UTEPEl Paso, TX · public	$16,023	$16,509	$33,062	$24,000	150%

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 26 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 17, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

4 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked.

Arts Management (Bachelor's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's arts management bachelor's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
New York	10	$28,730	$25,993

Programs in 22 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Lowest median debt

SUNY Purchase College, NY$22,418
SUNY Oneonta, NY$23,250
Fashion Institute of Technology, NY$24,734
The New School, NY$25,000
Pace University, NY$25,985
Marymount Manhattan College, NY$26,000
SUNY College at Potsdam, NY$27,000
Syracuse University, NY$27,000
Wagner College, NY$27,000
SUNY Fredonia, NY$27,000

Lowest debt for the pay

Only the 10 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to arts management, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

Producers and Directors

$90,360

Median pay in the US. 143,120 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $45,780Top 10%: $198,540

Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes

$82,890

Median pay in the US. 12,620 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $48,010Top 10%: $284,570

Music Directors and Composers

$73,710

Median pay in the US. 12,540 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $39,880Top 10%: $165,760

Common questions

The median arts management bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $28,357 in their first year and $42,388 five years after.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024