Best Design and Applied Arts Degrees in the US by ROI
Top colleges ranked by estimated 20-year net return on investment across all active states. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Programs Analyzed
261
Colleges with salary data
Average 20-Yr Net ROI
-$199,433
Across all programs
Average Annual Cost
$39,302
Cost of attendance
| # | College | State | 20-Yr Net ROI | Median Salary | Annual Cost | Avg Debt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Carnegie Mellon University
Grad rate: 92.0% |
PA | +$926,589 | $106,086 | $80,514 | $24,500 | Full ROI → |
| 2 |
San Jose State University
Grad rate: 66.2% |
CA | +$649,280 | $79,603 | $25,695 | N/A | Full ROI → |
| 3 |
University of California-Irvine
Grad rate: 86.3% |
CA | +$343,936 | $66,421 | $36,121 | N/A | Full ROI → |
| 4 |
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
Grad rate: 92.4% |
GA | +$316,194 | $65,148 | $27,797 | $26,354 | Full ROI → |
| 5 |
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Grad rate: 84.0% |
WA | +$290,974 | $63,432 | $30,282 | $12,250 | Full ROI → |
| 6 |
The University of Texas at Austin
Grad rate: 87.7% |
TX | +$203,417 | $59,658 | $29,842 | $22,500 | Full ROI → |
| 7 |
University of Delaware
Grad rate: 79.2% |
DE | +$198,692 | $59,559 | $29,347 | $26,000 | Full ROI → |
| 8 |
Western Washington University
Grad rate: 65.5% |
WA | +$165,140 | $57,268 | $28,305 | $20,000 | Full ROI → |
| 9 |
University of Florida
Grad rate: 90.7% |
FL | +$156,861 | $55,526 | $21,719 | $19,839 | Full ROI → |
| 10 |
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
Grad rate: 71.8% |
OH | +$106,389 | $54,821 | $28,783 | $25,851 | Full ROI → |
| 11 |
Portland State University
Grad rate: 52.9% |
OR | +$99,700 | $53,297 | $22,449 | $26,995 | Full ROI → |
| 12 |
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Grad rate: 86.3% |
VA | +$86,927 | $54,496 | $32,040 | $25,802 | Full ROI → |
| 13 |
Chapman University
Grad rate: 81.9% |
CA | +$74,162 | $63,526 | $81,327 | $23,000 | Full ROI → |
| 14 |
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Grad rate: 68.7% |
MA | +$71,670 | $58,412 | $55,030 | $27,000 | Full ROI → |
| 15 |
San Francisco State University
Grad rate: 52.2% |
CA | +$56,808 | $51,107 | $25,258 | $18,000 | Full ROI → |
| 16 |
Florida State University
Grad rate: 83.9% |
FL | +$51,730 | $50,825 | $23,683 | $22,250 | Full ROI → |
| 17 |
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Grad rate: 89.3% |
WI | +$28,578 | $50,392 | $27,770 | $20,875 | Full ROI → |
| 18 |
California State University-Long Beach
Grad rate: 71.3% |
CA | +$24,079 | $48,428 | $20,310 | $17,215 | Full ROI → |
| 19 |
University of California-Los Angeles
Grad rate: 92.6% |
CA | +$17,628 | $51,560 | $36,643 | $20,000 | Full ROI → |
| 20 |
Seattle Pacific University
Grad rate: 63.8% |
WA | +$15,036 | $55,304 | $53,986 | $26,000 | Full ROI → |
| 21 |
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Grad rate: 84.6% |
MN | +$12,828 | $50,064 | $29,013 | $24,000 | Full ROI → |
| 22 |
Lake Washington Institute of Technology
Grad rate: 41.9% |
WA | +$9,716 | $45,556 | $15,351 | N/A | Full ROI → |
| 23 |
Western Michigan University
Grad rate: 56.5% |
MI | +$7,350 | $49,921 | $28,655 | $27,000 | Full ROI → |
| 24 |
Ohio State University-Main Campus
Grad rate: 87.9% |
OH | +$7,195 | $49,918 | $29,320 | $25,100 | Full ROI → |
| 25 |
Lawrence Technological University
Grad rate: 64.2% |
MI | +$6,156 | $53,161 | $54,266 | N/A | Full ROI → |
| 26 |
Endicott College
Grad rate: 76.7% |
MA | +$998 | $55,379 | $57,533 | $27,000 | Full ROI → |
| 27 |
Northeastern University
Grad rate: 90.8% |
MA | -$3,229 | $60,016 | $81,353 | $28,250 | Full ROI → |
| 28 |
West Virginia University
Grad rate: 61.7% |
WV | -$5,717 | $48,171 | $23,678 | $25,500 | Full ROI → |
| 29 |
University of Houston
Grad rate: 64.0% |
TX | -$7,714 | $48,448 | $25,056 | $27,000 | Full ROI → |
| 30 |
Arizona State University Campus Immersion
Grad rate: 67.4% |
AZ | -$10,253 | $48,548 | $28,047 | $21,500 | Full ROI → |
| 31 |
Washington State University
Grad rate: 62.0% |
WA | -$12,566 | $48,346 | $27,176 | $22,802 | Full ROI → |
| 32 |
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Grad rate: 84.6% |
NC | -$13,027 | $47,855 | $25,613 | $20,500 | Full ROI → |
| 33 |
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Grad rate: 29.5% |
CO | -$15,438 | $47,759 | $22,825 | $29,125 | Full ROI → |
| 34 |
Art Center College of Design
Grad rate: 79.2% |
CA | -$18,265 | $57,513 | $71,652 | $31,050 | Full ROI → |
| 35 |
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Grad rate: 73.4% |
NJ | -$26,362 | $48,950 | $32,228 | $27,000 | Full ROI → |
| 36 |
State University of New York at New Paltz
Grad rate: 71.0% |
NY | -$29,502 | $47,476 | $27,034 | $22,879 | Full ROI → |
| 37 |
Stonehill College
Grad rate: 79.9% |
MA | -$30,888 | $54,138 | $68,412 | N/A | Full ROI → |
| 38 |
LIM College
Grad rate: 52.4% |
NY | -$31,674 | $52,333 | $50,471 | $27,000 | Full ROI → |
| 39 |
University of Kansas
Grad rate: 68.0% |
KS | -$33,480 | $47,124 | $25,215 | $26,000 | Full ROI → |
| 40 |
Bowie State University
Grad rate: 39.1% |
MD | -$34,828 | $45,119 | $24,302 | N/A | Full ROI → |
| 41 |
Fashion Institute of Technology
Grad rate: 83.3% |
NY | -$37,678 | $47,750 | $29,732 | $25,000 | Full ROI → |
| 42 |
Marist University
Grad rate: 80.6% |
NY | -$40,126 | $54,591 | $63,898 | $26,929 | Full ROI → |
| 43 |
Temple University
Grad rate: 76.3% |
PA | -$40,497 | $49,749 | $39,799 | $26,875 | Full ROI → |
| 44 |
Southern Methodist University
Grad rate: 82.8% |
TX | -$45,128 | $56,250 | $82,532 | N/A | Full ROI → |
| 45 |
Indiana University-Bloomington
Grad rate: 81.2% |
IN | -$45,300 | $46,629 | $27,361 | $21,064 | Full ROI → |
| 46 |
University of California-Davis
Grad rate: 85.7% |
CA | -$45,538 | $48,349 | $38,067 | $15,000 | Full ROI → |
| 47 |
Texas State University
Grad rate: 56.0% |
TX | -$46,868 | $46,570 | $26,348 | $24,353 | Full ROI → |
| 48 |
Miami University-Oxford
Grad rate: 81.3% |
OH | -$53,372 | $48,530 | $37,218 | $26,000 | Full ROI → |
| 49 |
Purdue University-Main Campus
Grad rate: 83.1% |
IN | -$59,285 | $44,916 | $22,567 | $20,250 | Full ROI → |
| 50 |
York College of Pennsylvania
Grad rate: 62.2% |
PA | -$64,144 | $45,954 | $35,806 | N/A | Full ROI → |
How ROI is calculated
20-Year Net ROI = Gross Earnings (salary × 20) − Total Degree Cost − Debt Payoff (×1.35) − Baseline Opportunity Cost ($42,000 × 20). Data from the U.S. College Scorecard.
Find Best Design and Applied Arts Degrees by State
Browse Design and Applied Arts programs ranked by 20-year ROI in every state that offers this degree.