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

Nicholls State reports the lowest median federal debt, $20,966, with first-year pay of $33,877.

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

The median across 5 Louisiana fine and studio arts bachelor's programs is $23,405 in the first year after graduating and $38,460 five years after.

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

5 Louisiana programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

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

5 programs report first-year pay
5 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 Louisiana fine and studio arts bachelor's program pays its graduates $23,405 in their first year, $1,143 less than the national median. Nicholls State reports the highest first-year pay ($33,877), and Nicholls State the lowest median debt ($20,966).

Median first-year pay$23,405National $24,548

Median pay after 5 years$38,460National $40,835

Median federal debt$23,615National $25,402

Debt-to-earnings92%National 97%

All 5 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	Nicholls StateThibodaux · public	$33,877	Not reported	$20,966	62%
2	McNeese StateLake Charles · public	$31,226	Not reported	$23,615	76%
3	Southeastern Louisiana UniversityHammond · public	$23,405	$35,458	$24,250	104%
4	LSUBaton Rouge · public	$23,348	$41,462	$21,500	92%
5	UL LafayetteLafayette · public	$23,150	$31,342	$26,000	112%

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Nicholls State$33,877
McNeese State$31,226
Southeastern Louisiana University$23,405
LSU$23,348
UL Lafayette$23,150

Lowest median debt

Nicholls State$20,966
LSU$21,500
McNeese State$23,615
Southeastern Louisiana University$24,250
UL Lafayette$26,000

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

$59,850

Median pay in Louisiana. 15,210 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $47,590Top 10%: $79,720

Property Appraisers and Assessors

$62,910

Median pay in Louisiana. 600 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $45,300Top 10%: $105,190

Art Directors

$83,640

Median pay in Louisiana. 160 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $56,780Top 10%: $187,000

Photographers

$36,830

Median pay in Louisiana. 510 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $19,180Top 10%: $70,310

Common questions

Nicholls State in Thibodaux reports the highest median first-year pay, $33,877. Its median federal debt is $20,966.

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 Louisiana 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