Design and Applied Arts at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Blacksburg, VA · Bachelor's Degree · about 72 graduates a year

$46,761
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$72,213
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$51,490
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#14 of 299
Rank by pay
#40 of 299
Rank, wage-adjusted
$23,900
Median federal debt

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University graduates in design and applied arts earn 40% more than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 33% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Compares for Design and Applied Arts

All 299 colleges reporting design and applied arts earnings at this degree level, ranked by median pay four years after graduation. “Wage-adjusted” divides pay by the square root of the state’s wage index so colleges in low-wage states aren’t penalized for local pay.

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjustedAdj. rank1 yr after
1Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA$138,588$140,945#1$66,274
2Lawrence Technological University Southfield, MI$99,444$104,852#2—
3Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA$95,697$99,066#3$52,694
4University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA$89,193$82,038#6$63,449
5University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA$89,022$81,004#7$64,846
6Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY$87,358$83,147#5$36,191
7Northeastern University Boston, MA$87,336$76,908#10$49,727
8University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN$83,414$89,488#4$46,825
9Chapman University Orange, CA$78,121$71,085#21$46,519
10Art Center College of Design Pasadena, CA$76,093$69,240#26$47,053
11University of Redlands Redlands, CA$75,374$68,585#28—
12Florida State University Tallahassee, FL$73,888$78,644#8$49,144
13Boston University Boston, MA$72,809$64,116#46$49,254
14Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA$72,213$65,757#40$46,761
15University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH$71,605$76,413#11$52,526
16Syracuse University Syracuse, NY$71,527$68,079#30$46,181
17The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX$69,846$71,013#22$44,506

Other Majors at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer and Information Sciences$144,103$96,432#19 of 459
Computer Engineering$122,026$86,636#33 of 189
Applied Mathematics$117,990$82,275#8 of 45
Industrial Engineering$116,641$82,437#5 of 94
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods$108,726$77,877#16 of 126
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering$106,633$76,856#9 of 59
Chemical Engineering$106,011$82,382#25 of 158
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$104,839$83,364#63 of 258
Finance and Financial Management Services$102,902$66,601#38 of 452
Construction Engineering$102,699$82,627#5 of 13
Engineering Mechanics$101,509$81,735—
Accounting and Related Services$99,528$70,303#54 of 796
Mechanical Engineering$96,376$78,280#70 of 318
Real Estate$95,576$68,078#7 of 25
Business/Managerial Economics$95,271—#13 of 84
Construction Management$95,165$76,246#23 of 57
Mining and Mineral Engineering$94,397$74,793#5 of 7
Statistics$94,300$62,598#20 of 50
Physics$92,746$58,061#18 of 107
Economics$92,653$56,261#92 of 368
Materials Engineering$90,828$66,888#20 of 34
Agricultural Engineering$88,315$75,434#8 of 26
Civil Engineering$88,142$74,285#73 of 233
Marketing$86,338$56,417#43 of 516
Engineering-Related Fields$81,618$56,513#30 of 33
Food Science and Technology$80,161$56,274#5 of 29
Business Administration, Management and Operations$80,023$60,678#140 of 1176
Political Science and Government$75,687$42,114#59 of 565
Architecture$75,074$56,708#12 of 78
Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services$74,005$25,414#1 of 50

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University design and applied arts graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $46,761 one year after graduating and $72,213 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University rank for design and applied arts?

Among 299 colleges reporting earnings for design and applied arts graduates, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ranks #14 by median pay four years after graduation, and #40 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is design and applied arts at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University worth it?

Its graduates earn 40% more than the national median for design and applied arts ($51,490), and the median federal debt at graduation is $23,900.

← All data for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · Methodology

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study data. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled; programs with few graduates are not reported. Wage adjustment uses Census ACS state median household income.