Fine and Studio Arts at Georgia State University

Georgia State's studio arts program struggles with what's common in this field—painfully low starting salaries—but shows an unusually strong earnings trajectory that middle-of-the-pack programs rarely deliver. That $21,226 first-year figure sits below both national and Georgia medians, ranking in just the 23rd percentile nationally. Yet by year four, graduates reach $36,324, outpacing the top-ranked programs in Georgia except Kennesaw State and UGA.

The debt load of $27,349 is actually reasonable for fine arts (lower than 80% of programs nationally), creating a manageable 1.29 debt-to-earnings ratio. The real question is whether your student can weather those first few years. With half of Georgia State students receiving Pell grants, many graduates won't have family financial cushions during the low-earning early career phase. That 71% earnings growth suggests graduates find their footing—perhaps through building client bases, gallery representation, or pivoting into adjacent creative fields—but it takes time.

For a family willing to provide runway during the lean early years, this program offers better long-term prospects than most Georgia alternatives. For students who need immediate financial independence after graduation, that $21,000 starting salary will be hard to live on, even in Atlanta.