Which Massachusetts design and applied arts program has the lowest debt?

Boston University reports the lowest median federal debt, $21,250, with first-year pay of $49,254.

How much do design and applied arts graduates earn in Massachusetts?

The median across 14 Massachusetts design and applied arts bachelor's programs is $31,037 in the first year after graduating and $57,089 five years after.

How many design and applied arts bachelor's programs are in Massachusetts?

14 Massachusetts programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 13 of them also report federal debt.

Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's) Programs in Massachusetts, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

14 programs report first-year pay
13 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Design and Applied Arts

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Massachusetts design and applied arts bachelor's program pays its graduates $31,037 in their first year, $2,499 less than the national median. Wentworth Institute of Technology reports the highest first-year pay ($50,599), and Boston University the lowest median debt ($21,250).

Median first-year pay$31,037National $33,536

Median pay after 5 years$57,089National $50,431

Median federal debt$27,000National $27,000

Debt-to-earnings83%National 77%

All 14 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	Wentworth Institute of TechnologyBoston · private nonprofit	$50,599	$67,547	$27,000	53%
2	Northeastern UniversityBoston · private nonprofit	$49,727	$95,088	$28,250	57%
3	Boston UniversityBoston · private nonprofit	$49,254	Not reported	$21,250	43%
4	Suffolk UniversityBoston · private nonprofit	$47,415	$62,088	$27,000	57%
5	UMass LowellLowell · public	$41,020	Not reported	$27,000	66%
6	Endicott CollegeBeverly · private nonprofit	$39,271	$65,413	$27,000	69%
7	Emmanuel CollegeBoston · private nonprofit	$32,413	Not reported	$27,000	83%
8	Lasell UniversityNewton · private nonprofit	$29,661	$43,722	$27,000	91%
9	UMass DartmouthNorth Dartmouth · public	$29,660	$49,179	$27,000	91%
10	Fitchburg StateFitchburg · public	$29,191	Not reported	$27,000	92%
11	Assumption UniversityWorcester · private nonprofit	$28,032	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
12	Lesley UniversityCambridge · private nonprofit	$25,227	$51,256	$26,500	105%
13	Massachusetts College of Art and DesignBoston · public	$24,706	$52,089	$26,000	105%
14	Montserrat College of ArtBeverly · private nonprofit	$19,865	$38,093	$27,000	136%

Assumption University reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts design and applied arts program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 13 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Wentworth Institute of Technology$50,599
Northeastern University$49,727
Boston University$49,254
Suffolk University$47,415
UMass Lowell$41,020

Lowest median debt

Boston University$21,250
Massachusetts College of Art and Design$26,000
Lesley University$26,500
Wentworth Institute of Technology$27,000
Suffolk University$27,000

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 design and applied arts, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Graphic Designers

$76,710

Median pay in Massachusetts. 4,450 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $47,830Top 10%: $108,970

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$113,540

Median pay in Massachusetts. 2,740 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 8,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $71,110Top 10%: $178,050

Interior Designers

$80,110

Median pay in Massachusetts. 1,580 people work in this job in Massachusetts. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $52,230Top 10%: $123,100

Art Directors

$149,320

Median pay in Massachusetts. 1,850 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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%: $78,470Top 10%: $218,270

Common questions

Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston reports the highest median first-year pay, $50,599. Its median federal debt is $27,000.

Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked297 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 Massachusetts rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the design and applied 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