Art Center College of Design Graphic Communications (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Graphic Communications
- Private nonprofit college
- Pasadena, CA
- About 79 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Art Center College of Design graphic communications graduates earn more than graduates of most graphic communications programs nationally, $67,010 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $35,593 in federal loans, more than at 94% of graphic communications programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying graphic communications degrees in California.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all graphic communications bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every California graphic communications program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $377 a month, or 6.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
96% of graduates (24 of 25) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Los Angeles area are about 14% above the national average, so a $67,010 salary here buys what about $59,005 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to graphic communications, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Printing Press Operators
$46,110Median pay in California. 12,320 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Data Entry Keyers
$47,010Median pay in California. 14,520 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 26% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Prepress Technicians and Workers
$53,860Median pay in California. 2,020 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 15% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Special Effects Artists and Animators
$130,540Median pay in California. 7,410 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Art Center College of Design
Graphic Communications ranks 1st of 5 bachelor's programs at Art Center College of Design by first-year earnings. The top three are Graphic Communications ($67,010), Engineering-Related Fields ($66,860), and Mechanical Engineering Technology ($59,384).
Other graphic communications bachelor's programs near Pasadena
Common questions
The median graduate earns $67,010 one year after graduating. The median across graphic communications bachelor's programs in California is $26,981.
The median federal loan balance is $35,593, which ranks 7th lowest of 8 graphic communications bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $377 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 53% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 106%.
Most do. 96% (24 of 25) were working in California one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- 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 comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the graphic communications program.
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
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024