Which New York visual and performing arts program has the lowest debt?

SUNY New Paltz reports the lowest median federal debt, $21,324, with first-year pay of $19,893.

How much do visual and performing arts graduates earn in New York?

The median across 6 New York visual and performing arts bachelor's programs is $21,094 in the first year after graduating and $44,196 five years after.

How many visual and performing arts 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.

Visual and Performing Arts (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 Visual and Performing Arts, General

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median New York visual and performing arts bachelor's program pays its graduates $21,094 in their first year, $4,380 less than the national median. Fordham University reports the highest first-year pay ($41,165), and SUNY New Paltz the lowest median debt ($21,324).

Median first-year pay$21,094National $25,473

Median pay after 5 years$44,196National $40,203

Median federal debt$26,962National $26,333

Debt-to-earnings107%National 101%

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	Fordham UniversityBronx · private nonprofit	$41,165	Not reported	$27,000	66%
2	Siena UniversityLoudonville · private nonprofit	$34,017	Not reported	$26,924	79%
3	SUNY Purchase CollegePurchase · public	$22,024	Not reported	$27,000	123%
4	College of WestchesterWhite Plains · private for-profit	$20,163	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
5	SUNY New PaltzNew Paltz · public	$19,893	$36,940	$21,324	107%
6	SUNY OneontaOneonta · public	$19,135	$47,984	$24,250	127%

College of Westchester reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay. One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York visual and performing arts 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

Fordham University$41,165
Siena University$34,017
SUNY Purchase College$22,024
College of Westchester$20,163
SUNY New Paltz$19,893

Lowest median debt

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 visual and performing arts, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Graphic Designers

$77,340

Median pay in New York. 14,530 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $43,680Top 10%: $131,250

Art Directors

$137,320

Median pay in New York. 8,720 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $80,060Top 10%: $280,320

Photographers

$60,050

Median pay in New York. 3,650 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $37,890Top 10%: $109,470

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

Fordham University in Bronx reports the highest median first-year pay, $41,165. Its median federal debt is $27,000.

Visual and Performing Arts (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked58 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 visual and performing 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