Design and Applied Arts at Bellevue College

Bellevue College's Design and Applied Arts program charges significantly more in debt than typical design programs—$33,660 versus a $26,000 state median—yet graduates earn $45,947 within a year, placing them comfortably above Washington's median of $39,248. The 0.73 debt-to-earnings ratio is manageable, particularly given that first-year earnings substantially outpace the national median of $33,563. Within Washington, this program sits at the 60th percentile, trailing only UW-Seattle and WSU among major state programs, which suggests solid regional employment connections despite being at a community college.

The caveat here matters: fewer than 30 graduates means one exceptional cohort or a few high earners can skew the picture considerably. That said, the earnings advantage over both state and national benchmarks is substantial enough—roughly $6,700 above the state median—that even with normal statistical variation, this appears to be a program with genuine traction in the Seattle metro market. The higher debt load is a real concern, but it's offset by notably better earnings outcomes than most Washington design programs.

For a student planning to work in the Seattle area's tech-adjacent creative industries, this represents a credible path with better earning potential than most design degrees. The small sample size means you'd want to verify these results hold across multiple cohorts before committing, but the earnings-to-debt fundamentals work.