Bachelor's · earnings grade

Is a Fine Arts degree worth it?

Graduates earn a median $25,467 two years after finishing, more than 2% of bachelor's majors. Measured across 1,085 US programmes by the Department of Education — real graduate pay, not survey answers.

F

The verdict on the money

On earnings alone this is among the lowest-paying majors at this level. That does not make it a bad subject, but it does make the debt you take on for it matter more.

Median earnings $25,467 2 years after finishing
Typical range $22,192–$28,960 middle half of US programmes
Over no degree — vs $39,520 high-school median
Graduates a year 23,904 1,085 programmes

Where a Fine Arts degree pays best US programmes ranked on their own graduates' median earnings two years out.

#University1 yr out2 yrs out3 yrs outGraduates/yr
1 Cornell University cost & debt at this university → not published $45,696 $49,325 36
2 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo cost & debt at this university → $39,354 $45,082 not published 58
3 Wake Forest University cost & debt at this university → not published $44,170 not published 30
4 Thomas Jefferson University cost & debt at this university → not published $43,798 $42,198 —
5 Vanderbilt University cost & debt at this university → not published $42,682 $51,032 22
6 Barnard College cost & debt at this university → not published $41,789 not published 26
7 Marist University $25,920 $40,697 $45,409 35
8 University of Virginia-Main Campus cost & debt at this university → $24,937 $40,312 $39,441 46
9 Fordham University cost & debt at this university → $28,927 $39,369 $41,365 49
10 University of Pennsylvania cost & debt at this university → $27,689 $38,289 $50,211 22
11 Avila University not published $38,289 not published 6
12 Williams College cost & debt at this university → $25,993 $38,289 $43,402 40

What this figure does and does not tell you

It is the median of what real graduates of this exact major earned, taken from tax records two years after they completed. It is not a starting salary, not an average of job adverts, and not a projection. The median bachelor's major in this dataset reports $37,705, so Fine Arts sits below the middle by $12,238.

Two years is early in a career. Fields with long training pipelines — medicine, law, research — look weaker at this point than they will at ten, while trades and applied technical fields peak sooner. Read a low figure in a long-pipeline subject as "slow start", not "bad degree".

There is no debt figure here on purpose. The Department of Education publishes earnings by field of study but not borrowing, so nobody can honestly tell you the debt of a specific major. Debt is published per institution — that is where our university cost pages carry it.

Fine Arts at other levels

Master's — $29,616 (F)

Scholarships for Fine Arts students

Whatever the subject pays, the money you do not borrow is the money you keep.

The Chelsea International Fine Art Competition, 2017 UK University of Surrey Newtons for EU/UK Undergraduate Schola... DAAD Study Scholarships for Foreign Graduates, Germany, 2019 Limerick Institute of Technology, GRO Research Scholarships in... Cecil Lewis Sculpture Scholarships at University of the Arts L... York University - International Entrance Scholarship of Distin...
See all Fine Arts scholarships →

Study Fine Arts Programmes listed on ScholarshipsAds.

Fine Arts — Lund University Fine Arts in Artistic Research — Lund University Fine Arts & Performing Arts (Undergraduate) — Lund University Fine Arts — Bilkent University BFA in Indian Fine Arts — University of Regina Indigenous Fine Arts — University of Regina

Majors that pay more at this level Closest first — useful if you are still choosing.

Music — $25,658 Biology — $28,443 English — $28,598 Philosophy — $28,598 Psychology — $29,141 History — $29,685

Funding the degree Lenders that fund US and international students — compare the rate before you sign.

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We may earn a commission if you take a loan through a provider here. It never changes the earnings figures on this page — those come from the US Department of Education.

Fine Arts: the questions people ask

How much do Fine Arts graduates earn?
The median bachelor's graduate earns $25,467 two years after finishing, across 503 US programmes that publish the figure. One year out it is $24,496.
Is a Fine Arts degree worth it?
On earnings alone this is among the lowest-paying majors at this level. That does not make it a bad subject, but it does make the debt you take on for it matter more.
What is the salary range for Fine Arts?
Half of US programmes report medians between $22,192 and $28,960. Where you study moves this figure more than most applicants expect.
How many people graduate in Fine Arts each year?
About 23,904 students complete a bachelor's in this field each year across 1,085 US programmes.
Does this include student debt?
No — and deliberately. The Department of Education publishes earnings by field of study but not debt, so any "debt by major" figure you see elsewhere is an estimate. Debt is published per institution, which is why our university pages carry it and this page does not.
All degree grades Highest paying majors Most popular majors University costs & payback

Classified by the Department of Education as Fine and Studio Arts (CIP 5007). Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings (median earnings of graduates who received federal financial aid, measured 1–3 years after completion). Figures are per major and credential level, pooled across US programmes. Information only, not financial advice.