US College Programs

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

  • 5 programs report first-year pay
  • 5 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 Oregon design and applied arts bachelor's program pays its graduates $28,844 in their first year, $4,692 less than the national median. Oregon State reports the highest first-year pay ($35,614), and Oregon State the lowest median debt ($23,419).

Median first-year pay$28,844National $33,536
Median pay after 5 years$58,618National $50,431
Median federal debt$26,899National $27,000
Debt-to-earnings101%National 77%

All 5 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.

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

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

  1. Oregon State$35,614
  2. Portland State$35,304
  3. University of Oregon$28,844
  4. Western Oregon University$23,583
  5. Pacific Northwest College of Art$19,501

Lowest median debt

  1. Oregon State$23,419
  2. Western Oregon University$24,625
  3. Pacific Northwest College of Art$26,899
  4. Portland State$26,995
  5. University of Oregon$29,050

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. Oregon State66%
  2. Portland State76%
  3. University of Oregon101%
  4. Western Oregon University104%
  5. Pacific Northwest College of Art138%

"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

$66,040

Median pay in Oregon. 4,140 people work in this job in Oregon. 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%: $45,260Top 10%: $170,680

Web and Digital Interface Designers

$102,220

Median pay in Oregon. 1,230 people work in this job in Oregon. 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%: $65,260Top 10%: $180,580

Interior Designers

$66,350

Median pay in Oregon. 1,030 people work in this job in Oregon. 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%: $48,570Top 10%: $104,040

Art Directors

$133,840

Median pay in Oregon. 1,040 people work in this job in Oregon. 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%: $89,390Top 10%: $216,700

Common questions

Oregon State in Corvallis reports the highest median first-year pay, $35,614. Its median federal debt is $23,419.

Related pages

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 Oregon 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

  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