Which Academy of Art University bachelor's program has the lowest debt?

Radio, TV, and Digital Media graduates leave with a median of $25,000 in federal loans, the lowest among 9 Academy of Art University bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does Academy of Art University cost?

Tuition and fees are $30,736 a year for all students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $40,613 a year.

How many Academy of Art University programs report graduate pay?

9 bachelor's programs and 3 associate's programs at Academy of Art University report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

Academy of Art University Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Private for-profit university
San Francisco, CA
3,587 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

9 Academy of Art University bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Drafting and Design Technology pays the most in the first year ($48,978), and Theatre the least ($20,798). The median program pays $27,481. Academy of Art University also has 3 associate's programs that report pay.

Tuition and fees$30,736Per year, for all students

Average net price after aid$40,613Per year

Graduation rate34%Within 6 years

All 9 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across California. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in California
1	Drafting and Design TechnologyAbout 73 graduates a year	$48,978	Not reported	$45,000	1st of 1
2	Software and Media ApplicationsAbout 112 graduates a year	$45,387	$78,524	$39,715	2nd of 3
3	Visual and Performing ArtsAbout 23 graduates a year	$28,494	$39,532	$31,000	1st of 3
4	Apparel and TextilesAbout 49 graduates a year	$27,630	Not reported	$31,000	3rd of 4
5	Graphic CommunicationsAbout 74 graduates a year	$27,481	$54,175	$36,717	4th of 8
6	Radio, TV, and Digital MediaAbout 20 graduates a year	$25,425	Not reported	$25,000	7th of 12
7	Film and PhotographyAbout 56 graduates a year	$23,354	$39,174	$36,500	17th of 25
8	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 63 graduates a year	$20,829	$57,948	$33,187	27th of 27
9	TheatreAbout 12 graduates a year	$20,798	$19,276	$31,000	11th of 23

Program names link to the program's own page, and California ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five California programs in the field do too.

2 more bachelor's programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

All 3 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across California. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in California
1	Software and Media ApplicationsAbout 16 graduates a year	$30,273	Not reported	$34,000	1st of 1
2	Film and PhotographyAbout 15 graduates a year	$30,178	$36,174	$32,641	1st of 3
3	Design and Applied ArtsAbout 15 graduates a year	$26,478	$43,707	$33,437	2nd of 2

One more associate's program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Quick picks: bachelor's programs

Highest first-year pay

Drafting and Design Technology$48,978
Software and Media Applications$45,387
Visual and Performing Arts$28,494
Apparel and Textiles$27,630
Graphic Communications$27,481

Lowest median debt

Radio, TV, and Digital Media$25,000
Visual and Performing Arts$31,000
Apparel and Textiles$31,000
Theatre$31,000
Design and Applied Arts$33,187

Largest programs

Software and Media ApplicationsAbout 112 graduates a year
Graphic CommunicationsAbout 74 graduates a year
Drafting and Design TechnologyAbout 73 graduates a year
Design and Applied ArtsAbout 63 graduates a year
Film and PhotographyAbout 56 graduates a year

Common questions

Drafting and Design Technology graduates earn a median of $48,978 in their first year, the most of 9 Academy of Art University bachelor's programs that report pay.

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.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels