University of Puget Sound Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Fine and Studio Arts
- Private nonprofit university
- Tacoma, WA
- About 11 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
University of Puget Sound fine and studio arts graduates earn about what fine and studio arts graduates earn nationally, $28,469 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $26,345 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,402. One other Washington program reports higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Washington and national columns are the medians across all fine and studio arts bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, University of Puget Sound graduates earn more than the national figure and about $8,952 more than the Washington median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Washington fine and studio arts program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Washington 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 70% 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 $279 a month, or 11.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
47% of graduates (16 of 34) were working in Washington one year after graduating. Prices in the Seattle area are about 11% above the national average, so a $28,469 salary here buys what about $25,617 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
$102,670Median pay in Washington. 14,880 people work in this job in Washington. 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
$83,710Median pay in Washington. 1,150 people work in this job in Washington. 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
$121,170Median pay in Washington. 650 people work in this job in Washington. 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
$48,050Median pay in Washington. 960 people work in this job in Washington. 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 University of Puget Sound
Fine and Studio Arts ranks 12th of 27 bachelor's programs at University of Puget Sound by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($66,055), Business Administration ($49,106), and Economics ($48,153).
Other fine and studio arts bachelor's programs near Tacoma
Common questions
The median graduate earns $28,469 one year after graduating and $48,354 five years after. The median across fine and studio arts bachelor's programs in Washington is $26,035.
The median federal loan balance is $26,345, which ranks 5th lowest of 5 fine and studio arts bachelor's programs in Washington. That works out to about $279 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 93% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 97%.
Many leave. 47% (16 of 34) were working in Washington 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 Washington 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