Which California fine and studio arts program has the lowest debt?

San Diego State reports the lowest median federal debt, $9,899, with first-year pay of $23,186.

How much do fine and studio arts graduates earn in California?

The median across 29 California fine and studio arts bachelor's programs is $22,129 in the first year after graduating and $44,754 five years after.

How many fine and studio arts bachelor's programs are in California?

29 California programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 29 of them also report federal debt.

Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's) Programs in California, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

29 programs report first-year pay
29 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Fine and Studio Arts

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median California fine and studio arts bachelor's program pays its graduates $22,129 in their first year, $2,419 less than the national median. USC reports the highest first-year pay ($50,161), and San Diego State the lowest median debt ($9,899).

Median first-year pay$22,129National $24,548

Median pay after 5 years$44,754National $40,835

Median federal debt$17,500National $25,402

Debt-to-earnings74%National 97%

All 29 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	USCLos Angeles · private nonprofit	$50,161	$61,391	$21,125	42%
2	Cal Poly SLOSan Luis Obispo · public	$36,006	$87,876	$19,198	53%
3	Cal State East BayHayward · public	$33,220	$54,563	$16,625	50%
4	Sonoma StateRohnert Park · public	$29,035	$39,954	$18,460	64%
5	Loyola Marymount UniversityLos Angeles · private nonprofit	$27,210	$65,224	$23,600	87%
6	Biola UniversityLa Mirada · private nonprofit	$25,372	$43,209	$27,000	106%
7	CSUNNorthridge · public	$25,359	$45,572	$15,000	59%
8	San Francisco StateSan Francisco · public	$24,606	$36,596	$18,511	75%
9	Cal State LALos Angeles · public	$24,538	$38,595	$19,087	78%
10	San Diego StateSan Diego · public	$23,186	$40,935	$9,899	43%
11	Cal State FullertonFullerton · public	$22,839	$46,226	$16,448	72%
12	UC DavisDavis · public	$22,700	$46,486	$15,061	66%
13	Chico StateChico · public	$22,628	$44,754	$14,990	66%
14	Fresno StateFresno · public	$22,167	$40,618	$14,937	67%
15	Cal State Channel IslandsCamarillo · public	$22,129	$46,275	$15,000	68%
16	UC RiversideRiverside · public	$21,792	$41,498	$17,500	80%
17	UC San DiegoLa Jolla · public	$21,777	$45,044	$15,218	70%
18	Cal State Long BeachLong Beach · public	$21,493	$42,341	$16,583	77%
19	Stanislaus StateTurlock · public	$21,288	$37,911	$15,750	74%
20	UCLALos Angeles · public	$21,220	$46,122	$14,000	66%
21	UC Santa CruzSanta Cruz · public	$21,106	$35,979	$19,500	92%
22	Cal Poly HumboldtArcata · public	$21,052	$35,523	$17,500	83%
23	UC BerkeleyBerkeley · public	$20,368	$58,001	$13,254	65%
24	Sacramento StateSacramento · public	$20,203	$43,739	$15,879	79%
25	California College of the ArtsSan Francisco · private nonprofit	$17,690	$34,104	$29,250	165%
26	UC IrvineIrvine · public	$16,989	$48,982	$17,635	104%
27	Cal State San BernardinoSan Bernardino · public	$14,447	$36,910	$18,750	130%
28	Otis College of Art and DesignLos Angeles · private nonprofit	$11,590	$24,402	$30,875	266%
29	Laguna College of Art and DesignLaguna Beach · private nonprofit	$8,482	Not reported	$27,625	326%

6 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every California fine and studio arts program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 29 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

San Diego State$9,899
UC Berkeley$13,254
UCLA$14,000
Fresno State$14,937
Chico State$14,990

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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

$101,370

Median pay in California. 99,230 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $64,600Top 10%: $132,600

Property Appraisers and Assessors

$88,900

Median pay in California. 6,380 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $56,750Top 10%: $141,610

Art Directors

$137,780

Median pay in California. 12,430 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $81,500Top 10%: $249,210

Photographers

$47,840

Median pay in California. 7,980 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $36,470Top 10%: $125,490

Common questions

USC in Los Angeles reports the highest median first-year pay, $50,161. Its median federal debt is $21,125.

Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked384 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 California rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the fine and studio arts bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024