Mohawk Valley Community College Design and Applied Arts (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Design and Applied Arts
- Public college
- Utica, NY
- About 28 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release ยท BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Mohawk Valley Community College design and applied arts graduates earn less than graduates of most design and applied arts programs nationally, $21,012 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $9,534 in federal loans, less than at 92% of design and applied arts programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying design and applied arts degrees in New York.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all design and applied arts associate's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York design and applied arts program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York 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 $101 a month, or 5.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
93% of graduates (25 of 27) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the Utica area are about 7% below the national average, so a $21,012 salary here buys what about $22,672 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 design and applied arts, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Graphic Designers
$77,340Median pay in New York. 14,530 people work in this job in New York. 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
$120,990Median pay in New York. 16,560 people work in this job in New York. 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
$75,580Median pay in New York. 5,340 people work in this job in New York. 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
$137,320Median pay in New York. 8,720 people work in this job in New York. 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 Mohawk Valley Community College
Design and Applied Arts ranks 9th of 9 associate's programs at Mohawk Valley Community College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($68,652), Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($52,722), and Electronics Repair ($37,415).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $21,012 one year after graduating. The median across design and applied arts associate's programs in New York is $20,079.
The median federal loan balance is $9,534, which ranks 2nd lowest of 7 design and applied arts associate's programs in New York. That works out to about $101 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 45% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 54%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several New York programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 93% (25 of 27) were working in New York 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 New York 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