VCU Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Fine and Studio Arts
- Public university
- Richmond, VA
- About 58 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
VCU fine and studio arts graduates earn about what fine and studio arts graduates earn nationally, $21,916 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $23,374 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,402. Several Virginia programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Virginia and national columns are the medians across all fine and studio arts bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, VCU graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,113 less than the Virginia median. Several Virginia programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia fine and studio arts program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Virginia 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 74% 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 $1,432 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 $248 a month, or 13.6% 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, 23 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $38,253.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
71% of graduates (62 of 87) were working in Virginia one year after graduating. Prices in the Richmond area are about 2% below the national average, so a $21,916 salary here buys what about $22,396 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
$72,170Median pay in Virginia. 31,100 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$76,080Median pay in Virginia. 1,540 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$101,150Median pay in Virginia. 670 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$46,550Median pay in Virginia. 1,580 people work in this job in Virginia. 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 VCU
Fine and Studio Arts ranks 45th of 47 bachelor's programs at VCU by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($84,338), Computer Engineering ($82,964), and Chemical Engineering ($79,721).
Other fine and studio arts bachelor's programs near Richmond
Common questions
The median graduate earns $21,916 one year after graduating and $38,214 five years after. The median across fine and studio arts bachelor's programs in Virginia is $25,774.
The median federal loan balance is $23,374, which ranks 4th lowest of 7 fine and studio arts bachelor's programs in Virginia. That works out to about $248 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 107% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 97%. Compare the cost with other Virginia programs before deciding.
Most do. 71% (62 of 87) were working in Virginia 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 Virginia 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