Design and Applied Arts at Rochester Institute of Technology

RIT's Design and Applied Arts program starts modestly but shows something important: real momentum. That $34,709 first-year salary—essentially matching the national median—jumps 40% by year four to nearly $49,000. Among New York's 40 programs in this field, RIT lands at the 60th percentile, outperforming the state median by over $2,800 despite trailing Syracuse and smaller private competitors initially.

The financial structure here is notably favorable. At $27,000 in debt—below both national and state medians—graduates face a manageable debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.78. That first-year figure may feel tight for recent graduates, but by year four, many will be earning nearly twice their debt load. For a creative field where early-career underpayment is common, this trajectory matters more than the starting point.

The real question is whether RIT's strong technical reputation translates into sustainable creative careers beyond that four-year mark. The relatively low debt and solid mid-career earnings suggest graduates are finding their footing, but families should understand this isn't the immediate payoff you'd see in engineering or computer science. If your child is serious about design and willing to weather lower early earnings, RIT offers a financially viable path without the debt burden that often crushes creative careers before they start.