Kennesaw State Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Design and Applied Arts
- Public university
- Kennesaw, GA
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Kennesaw State design and applied arts graduates earn less than graduates of most design and applied arts programs nationally, $25,839 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,500 in federal loans, less than at 86% of design and applied arts programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Georgia median of $26,331.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Georgia and national columns are the medians across all design and applied arts bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia design and applied arts program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Georgia 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 $217 a month, or 10.1% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
100% of graduates (18 of 18) were working in Georgia one year after graduating. Prices in the Atlanta area are about the same as the national average.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to design and applied arts, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Graphic Designers
$60,250Median pay in Georgia. 5,920 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Web and Digital Interface Designers
$103,810Median pay in Georgia. 2,800 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Interior Designers
$71,760Median pay in Georgia. 3,050 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Art Directors
$110,430Median pay in Georgia. 1,420 people work in this job in Georgia. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
About Kennesaw State
Design and Applied Arts ranks 54th of 56 bachelor's programs at Kennesaw State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($80,560), Computer Engineering ($77,455), and Electrical Engineering ($74,181).
Other design and applied arts bachelor's programs near Kennesaw
Common questions
The median graduate earns $25,839 one year after graduating. The median across design and applied arts bachelor's programs in Georgia is $26,331.
The median federal loan balance is $20,500, which ranks the lowest of 5 design and applied arts bachelor's programs in Georgia. That works out to about $217 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 79% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 77%. Compare the cost with other Georgia programs before deciding.
Most do. 100% (18 of 18) were working in Georgia 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 Georgia 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 design and applied arts 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