Best Schools For Art Majors by Salary Potential
Want to make a career out of your passion for art, but afraid of being a starving artist once you graduate? Check out design college rankings by graduate salary.
| Rank | School Name | Early Career Pay | Mid-Career Pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank:1 | School Name: Stanford University | Early Career Pay:$85,200 | Mid-Career Pay:$138,700 |
| Rank:2 | School Name: Dartmouth College | Early Career Pay:$65,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$125,700 |
| Rank:3 | School Name: The New School | Early Career Pay:$61,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$120,000 |
| Rank:4 | School Name: Cornell University | Early Career Pay:$62,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$119,200 |
| Rank:5 | School Name: Colgate University | Early Career Pay:$65,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$117,400 |
| Rank:6 | School Name: University of Notre Dame | Early Career Pay:$63,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$116,300 |
| Rank:7 | School Name: Brown University | Early Career Pay:$60,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$113,700 |
| Rank:8 | School Name: Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | Early Career Pay:$63,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$113,100 |
| Rank:9 | School Name: University of Pennsylvania | Early Career Pay:$60,500 | Mid-Career Pay:$111,800 |
| Rank:9 | School Name: Art Center College of Design | Early Career Pay:$67,400 | Mid-Career Pay:$111,800 |
| Rank:11 | School Name:_50px.png) Rhode Island School of Design | Early Career Pay:$61,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$111,700 |
| Rank:12 | School Name:_50px.jpg) University of California-Davis | Early Career Pay:$61,200 | Mid-Career Pay:$111,300 |
| Rank:13 | School Name:_50px.png) University of California-Santa Cruz | Early Career Pay:$56,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$110,100 |
| Rank:14 | School Name:_50px.png) New York University | Early Career Pay:$57,700 | Mid-Career Pay:$109,500 |
| Rank:15 | School Name: Occidental College | Early Career Pay:$59,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$109,200 |
| Rank:16 | School Name: Yale University | Early Career Pay:$65,200 | Mid-Career Pay:$108,900 |
| Rank:16 | School Name: California College of the Arts | Early Career Pay:$67,000 | Mid-Career Pay:$108,900 |
| Rank:18 | School Name: Fashion Institute of Technology | Early Career Pay:$56,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$108,700 |
| Rank:19 | School Name:_50px.png) University of Southern California | Early Career Pay:$60,100 | Mid-Career Pay:$108,200 |
| Rank:20 | School Name:_50px.png) Carnegie Mellon University | Early Career Pay:$66,600 | Mid-Career Pay:$107,200 |
| Rank:21 | School Name: - Main Campus_50px.jpg) University of Virginia-Main Campus | Early Career Pay:$57,300 | Mid-Career Pay:$107,000 |
| Rank:22 | School Name: Ithaca College | Early Career Pay:$54,000 | Mid-Career Pay:$106,700 |
| Rank:23 | School Name: Boston University | Early Career Pay:$53,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$106,200 |
| Rank:24 | School Name: University of California-Berkeley | Early Career Pay:$62,900 | Mid-Career Pay:$106,000 |
| Rank:25 | School Name:_50px.png) Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Early Career Pay:$56,800 | Mid-Career Pay:$105,900 |
If you have a passion for the arts but don’t want to live as a starving artist for the rest of your life, make a smart decision about where you earn your bachelor’s degree in art. You don’t have to go to an art school to embark on a successful career in art.
Art school has a bad reputation for leaving heavily indebted grads with low-paying jobs, but some art and design school alumni fare pretty well in terms of post-grad salaries. There are more than 100 colleges and universities included in Payscale’s list of highest-earning colleges for art majors, and many of the schools on this list prove that art majors can earn high salaries – you just have to be smart about which school you choose and what you study.