Arts, Entertainment,and Media Management at Fashion Institute of Technology

Fashion Institute of Technology's Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management program starts graduates at $27,941—below both the New York state median ($28,730) and the national average ($28,357) for this field. More concerning, this places FIT in just the 40th percentile among New York programs, meaning 60% of similar in-state programs deliver better first-year outcomes. Top New York programs like The New School and SUNY Potsdam launch graduates earning $37,000-$38,000, suggesting that within the same state and credential, significantly better starting salaries are achievable.

The debt load of $24,734 is manageable in absolute terms—roughly equivalent to 11 months of first-year earnings—but the combination of below-average earnings with average debt creates a weaker value proposition than you'd want. For a creative field where earnings typically start modest, you'd hope to see either higher pay or notably lower debt to offset career trajectory uncertainty.

The critical caveat: this data reflects fewer than 30 graduates, making these numbers less reliable as predictors. Still, when New York offers 18 programs in this field and FIT ranks in the bottom half, that's worth examining closely. If your student has creative ambitions tied to fashion specifically, FIT's industry connections might matter more than these first-year figures. But purely as a media management credential, stronger-earning alternatives exist in-state.