Northern Kentucky University Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Fine and Studio Arts
- Public university
- Highland Heights, KY
- About 42 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Northern Kentucky University fine and studio arts graduates earn more than graduates of most fine and studio arts programs nationally, $31,448 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,724 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,402. It is one of the higher-paying fine and studio arts degrees in Kentucky.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Kentucky and national columns are the medians across all fine and studio arts bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Northern Kentucky University graduates earn less than the national figure and about the same as the Kentucky median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Kentucky fine and studio arts program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Kentucky 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 18% between the first and fifth year.
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 $7,018 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $273 a month, or 10.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
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. Separately, 25 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $25,200.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
63% of graduates (44 of 70) were working in Kentucky one year after graduating. Prices in the Cincinnati area are about 5% below the national average, so a $31,448 salary here buys what about $32,975 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
$61,560Median pay in Kentucky. 12,780 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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
$58,850Median pay in Kentucky. 140 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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
$76,160Median pay in Kentucky. 320 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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
$47,170Median pay in Kentucky. 380 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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 Northern Kentucky University
Fine and Studio Arts ranks 28th of 33 bachelor's programs at Northern Kentucky University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($68,649), Management Information Systems ($68,628), and Industrial Technology ($67,641).
Other fine and studio arts bachelor's programs near Highland Heights
Common questions
The median graduate earns $31,448 one year after graduating and $37,053 five years after. The median across fine and studio arts bachelor's programs in Kentucky is $23,656.
The median federal loan balance is $25,724, which ranks 4th lowest of 7 fine and studio arts bachelor's programs in Kentucky. That works out to about $273 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 82% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 97%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less.
Most do. 63% (44 of 70) were working in Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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