Design and Applied Arts at University of Silicon Valley

At $22,656 in first-year earnings, University of Silicon Valley's Design and Applied Arts program delivers returns far below what most California students see—roughly $9,000 less than the state median and trailing even the national average by $11,000. That 25th percentile ranking within California tells you this program sits in the bottom quarter of the state's design schools, and the national 5th percentile is even more concerning. Meanwhile, students carry above-average debt at $31,000, creating a 1.37 debt-to-earnings ratio that would take significant belt-tightening to manage on these starting salaries.

The small sample size here is critical—we're looking at under 30 graduates, which means one or two outliers could be skewing the picture considerably. That said, the gap between this program and California's top design schools is stark: USC and UCLA graduates earn nearly three times as much in their first year. Even if these numbers shift somewhat with a larger cohort, it's difficult to see how this program justifies its cost when state schools and more established art programs offer substantially better outcomes at comparable or lower debt levels.

For anxious parents, this comes down to risk: you'd be gambling that your child beats these odds significantly, because the typical graduate here faces a challenging financial start. Unless there are compelling non-financial reasons to choose this program, the combination of bottom-tier earnings and above-average debt makes it hard to recommend as a sound investment.