Kent State Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Fine and Studio Arts
- Public university
- Kent, OH
- About 51 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Kent State fine and studio arts graduates earn less than graduates of most fine and studio arts programs nationally, $19,138 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $28,501 in federal loans, more than at 88% of fine and studio arts programs in the country. Several Ohio programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Ohio and national columns are the medians across all fine and studio arts bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Kent State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $2,492 less than the Ohio median. Several Ohio programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Ohio fine and studio arts program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Ohio medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 77% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $302 a month, or 18.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
20 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $22,856.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
88% of graduates (46 of 52) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Akron area are about 7% below the national average, so a $19,138 salary here buys what about $20,497 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 fine and studio arts, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$78,800Median pay in Ohio. 49,540 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Property Appraisers and Assessors
$63,410Median pay in Ohio. 1,220 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Art Directors
$94,390Median pay in Ohio. 1,050 people work in this job in Ohio. 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.
Photographers
$38,470Median pay in Ohio. 1,540 people work in this job in Ohio. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
About Kent State
Fine and Studio Arts ranks 56th of 56 bachelor's programs at Kent State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($66,990), Construction Management ($64,652), and Computer Science ($60,051).
Other fine and studio arts bachelor's programs near Kent
Common questions
The median graduate earns $19,138 one year after graduating and $33,881 five years after. The median across fine and studio arts bachelor's programs in Ohio is $23,082.
The median federal loan balance is $28,501, which ranks 12th lowest of 16 fine and studio arts bachelor's programs in Ohio. That works out to about $302 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 149% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 97%. Compare the cost with other Ohio programs before deciding.
Most do. 88% (46 of 52) were working in Ohio 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 Ohio 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 fine and studio 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