UM-Flint Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Design and Applied Arts
- Public university
- Flint, MI
- About 6 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UM-Flint design and applied arts graduates earn less than graduates of most design and applied arts programs nationally, $18,339 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $30,695 in federal loans, more than at 89% of design and applied arts programs in the country. Several Michigan programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all design and applied arts bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, UM-Flint graduates earn less than the national figure and about $13,455 less than the Michigan median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan design and applied arts program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan 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 117% 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 $325 a month, or 21.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
95% of graduates (21 of 22) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the Flint area are about 7% below the national average, so a $18,339 salary here buys what about $19,712 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
$57,350Median pay in Michigan. 6,070 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$81,010Median pay in Michigan. 1,750 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$59,340Median pay in Michigan. 1,930 people work in this job in Michigan. 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
$86,660Median pay in Michigan. 1,080 people work in this job in Michigan. 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 UM-Flint
Design and Applied Arts ranks 26th of 26 bachelor's programs at UM-Flint by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($80,029), Mechanical Engineering ($74,974), and Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($64,434).
Other design and applied arts bachelor's programs near Flint
Common questions
The median graduate earns $18,339 one year after graduating and $39,767 five years after. The median across design and applied arts bachelor's programs in Michigan is $34,045.
The median federal loan balance is $30,695, which ranks 8th lowest of 8 design and applied arts bachelor's programs in Michigan. That works out to about $325 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 167% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 77%. Compare the cost with other Michigan programs before deciding.
Most do. 95% (21 of 22) were working in Michigan 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 Michigan 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