Which New York graphic communications program has the lowest debt?

Fashion Institute of Technology reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,875, with first-year pay of $12,261.

How much do graphic communications graduates earn in New York?

The median across 6 New York graphic communications bachelor's programs is $20,711 in the first year after graduating and $45,184 five years after.

How many graphic communications bachelor's programs are in New York?

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

Graphic Communications (Bachelor's) Programs in New York, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

6 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Graphic Communications

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median New York graphic communications bachelor's program pays its graduates $20,711 in their first year, $4,619 less than the national median. RIT reports the highest first-year pay ($32,044), and Fashion Institute of Technology the lowest median debt ($19,875).

Median first-year pay$20,711National $25,330

Median pay after 5 years$45,184National $48,826

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

Debt-to-earnings126%National 106%

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.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	RITRochester · private nonprofit	$32,044	$77,838	$27,000	84%
2	School of Visual ArtsNew York · private for-profit	$22,478	$35,236	$27,000	120%
3	SUNY College of Technology at AlfredAlfred · public	$21,373	$36,674	$27,000	126%
4	Pratt InstituteBrooklyn · private nonprofit	$20,048	$53,693	$26,724	133%
5	SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at CobleskillCobleskill · public	$19,120	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
6	Fashion Institute of TechnologyNew York · public	$12,261	Not reported	$19,875	162%

SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York graphic communications program

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

RIT$32,044
School of Visual Arts$22,478
SUNY College of Technology at Alfred$21,373
Pratt Institute$20,048
SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill$19,120

Lowest median debt

Fashion Institute of Technology$19,875
Pratt Institute$26,724
RIT$27,000
School of Visual Arts$27,000
SUNY College of Technology at Alfred$27,000

Lowest debt for the pay

RIT84%
School of Visual Arts120%
SUNY College of Technology at Alfred126%
Pratt Institute133%
Fashion Institute of Technology162%

"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 graphic communications, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Printing Press Operators

$47,860

Median pay in New York. 6,700 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $34,910Top 10%: $69,880

Data Entry Keyers

$44,860

Median pay in New York. 9,470 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 26% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $34,130Top 10%: $61,200

Prepress Technicians and Workers

$52,420

Median pay in New York. 1,110 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 15% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.

Bottom 10%: $37,310Top 10%: $71,270

Special Effects Artists and Animators

$96,770

Median pay in New York. 1,540 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $60,190Top 10%: $176,190

Common questions

RIT in Rochester reports the highest median first-year pay, $32,044. Its median federal debt is $27,000.

Graphic Communications (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked56 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 New York rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the graphic communications 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