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

WashU reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,089, with first-year pay of $33,615.

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

The median across 8 Missouri design and applied arts bachelor's programs is $33,808 in the first year after graduating and $44,662 five years after.

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

8 Missouri programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 7 of them also report federal debt.

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

8 programs report first-year pay
7 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 Missouri design and applied arts bachelor's program pays its graduates $33,808 in their first year, $272 more than the national median. Park University reports the highest first-year pay ($46,340), and WashU the lowest median debt ($19,089).

Median first-year pay$33,808National $33,536

Median pay after 5 years$44,662National $50,431

Median federal debt$25,550National $27,000

Debt-to-earnings75%National 77%

All 8 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	Park UniversityParkville · private nonprofit	$46,340	Not reported	$20,750	45%
2	Maryville University of Saint LouisSaint Louis · private nonprofit	$39,623	$49,414	$24,621	62%
3	Missouri Western StateSaint Joseph · public	$37,200	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
4	University of Central MissouriWarrensburg · public	$33,921	$42,852	$25,576	75%
5	Missouri StateSpringfield · public	$33,695	$37,505	$26,477	79%
6	WashUSt. Louis · private nonprofit	$33,615	Not reported	$19,089	57%
7	Kansas City Art InstituteKansas City · private nonprofit	$29,513	$46,472	$27,000	91%
8	Webster UniversitySaint Louis · private nonprofit	$20,257	Not reported	$25,550	126%

Missouri Western State reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 7 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Park University$46,340
Maryville University of Saint Louis$39,623
Missouri Western State$37,200
University of Central Missouri$33,921
Missouri State$33,695

Lowest median debt

WashU$19,089
Park University$20,750
Maryville University of Saint Louis$24,621
Webster University$25,550
University of Central Missouri$25,576

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

$56,750

Median pay in Missouri. 4,500 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $36,950Top 10%: $83,270

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$70,970

Median pay in Missouri. 1,210 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $43,680Top 10%: $132,550

Interior Designers

$59,610

Median pay in Missouri. 1,010 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $44,360Top 10%: $103,440

Art Directors

$100,940

Median pay in Missouri. 780 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $60,590Top 10%: $162,340

Common questions

Park University in Parkville reports the highest median first-year pay, $46,340. Its median federal debt is $20,750.

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 Missouri 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