Is a design and applied arts degree from Northeastern University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 57% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 77%.

Northeastern University Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Northeastern University design and applied arts graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $28,250, which ranks 13th lowest of 13 design and applied arts bachelor's programs in Massachusetts. That works out to about $299 a month over 10 years.

Bachelor's in Design and Applied Arts
Private nonprofit university
Boston, MA
About 40 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Northeastern University design and applied arts graduates earn more than graduates of most design and applied arts programs nationally, $49,727 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $28,250 in federal loans, more than at 83% of design and applied arts programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying design and applied arts degrees in Massachusetts.

First-year earnings$49,72796th percentile of 297 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$95,08891% more than year one

Median federal debt$28,25013th lowest of 13 Massachusetts programs

Debt-to-earnings57%Massachusetts median 83%, national 77%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Massachusetts and national columns are the medians across all design and applied arts bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Northeastern University	Massachusetts	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$49,727	$31,037	$33,536
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$95,088	$57,089	$50,431
Median federal debt at graduation	$28,250	$27,000	$27,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	57%	83%	77%
Programs compared		14	297

Five years out, Northeastern University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $38,000 more than the Massachusetts median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts design and applied arts program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Massachusetts medians.

Northeastern UniversityOther Massachusetts programs

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 91% between the first and fifth year.

Northeastern University grads, year 1$49,727

Northeastern University grads, year 5$95,088

All Massachusetts design and applied arts grads, year 5$57,089

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $4,093 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$46,822

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$50,915

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $299 a month, or 7.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (46 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	40–59%

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Boston area are about 8% above the national average, so a $49,727 salary here buys what about $45,930 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

$76,710

Median pay in Massachusetts. 4,450 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.

Bottom 10%: $47,830Top 10%: $108,970

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$113,540

Median pay in Massachusetts. 2,740 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.

Bottom 10%: $71,110Top 10%: $178,050

Interior Designers

$80,110

Median pay in Massachusetts. 1,580 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.

Bottom 10%: $52,230Top 10%: $123,100

Art Directors

$149,320

Median pay in Massachusetts. 1,850 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.

Bottom 10%: $78,470Top 10%: $218,270

About Northeastern University

Tuition and fees	$66,162 / year
Average net price after aid	$30,915 / year
Admission rate	5%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	91%
Undergraduate students	17,326

Design and Applied Arts ranks 21st of 32 bachelor's programs at Northeastern University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($115,587), Computer Engineering ($99,499), and Electrical Engineering ($92,222).

Other design and applied arts bachelor's programs near Boston

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA · private nonprofit		$49,727	$28,250
Wentworth Institute of TechnologyBoston, MA · private nonprofit	Under 1 mi	$50,599	$27,000
Massachusetts College of Art and DesignBoston, MA · public	Under 1 mi	$24,706	$26,000
Emmanuel CollegeBoston, MA · private nonprofit	Under 1 mi	$32,413	$27,000
Boston UniversityBoston, MA · private nonprofit	1 mi	$49,254	$21,250
Suffolk UniversityBoston, MA · private nonprofit	2 mi	$47,415	$27,000
Lesley UniversityCambridge, MA · private nonprofit	3 mi	$25,227	$26,500
Lasell UniversityNewton, MA · private nonprofit	8 mi	$29,661	$27,000
Montserrat College of ArtBeverly, MA · private nonprofit	18 mi	$19,865	$27,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $49,727 one year after graduating and $95,088 five years after. The median across design and applied arts bachelor's programs in Massachusetts is $31,037.

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 Massachusetts 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

Design and Applied Arts bachelor's programs in Massachusetts, ranked14 programs by pay and debt Design and Applied Arts bachelor's programs in the US, ranked297 programs by pay and debt All Northeastern University programs, ranked32 programs by pay and debt