Pennsylvania College of Technology Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Design and Applied Arts
- Public college
- Williamsport, PA
- About 28 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Pennsylvania College of Technology design and applied arts graduates earn more than graduates of most design and applied arts programs nationally, $45,572 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $27,000. It is one of the higher-paying design and applied arts degrees in Pennsylvania.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania design and applied arts program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Pennsylvania 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 $286 a month, or 7.5% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
95% of graduates (18 of 19) were working in Pennsylvania one year after graduating. Prices in the Williamsport area are about 8% below the national average, so a $45,572 salary here buys what about $49,347 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
$60,730Median pay in Pennsylvania. 8,150 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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
$104,160Median pay in Pennsylvania. 2,820 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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
$62,400Median pay in Pennsylvania. 1,820 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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
$97,450Median pay in Pennsylvania. 1,250 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania College of Technology
Design and Applied Arts ranks 17th of 20 bachelor's programs at Pennsylvania College of Technology by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($78,080), Construction Management ($72,940), and Polymer and Plastics Engineering ($71,651).
Other design and applied arts bachelor's programs near Williamsport
Common questions
The median graduate earns $45,572 one year after graduating. The median across design and applied arts bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania is $35,707.
The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 4th lowest of 15 design and applied arts bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 59% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 77%.
Most do. 95% (18 of 19) were working in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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