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

  • 6 programs report first-year pay
  • 6 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 Maryland fine and studio arts bachelor's program pays its graduates $24,264 in their first year, $284 less than the national median. University of Maryland reports the highest first-year pay ($32,031), and Towson University the lowest median debt ($17,978).

Median first-year pay$24,264National $24,548
Median pay after 5 years$45,341National $40,835
Median federal debt$24,432National $25,402
Debt-to-earnings102%National 97%

All 6 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.

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

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 6 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

"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

$78,670

Median pay in Maryland. 16,640 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $58,150Top 10%: $102,690

Property Appraisers and Assessors

$77,610

Median pay in Maryland. 660 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $47,280Top 10%: $128,990

Art Directors

$98,400

Median pay in Maryland. 570 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $61,160Top 10%: $175,690

Photographers

$46,450

Median pay in Maryland. 790 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $31,200Top 10%: $93,660

Common questions

University of Maryland in College Park reports the highest median first-year pay, $32,031. Its median federal debt is $20,000.

Related pages

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 Maryland 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

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024