Bachelor's+22% vs national median873 grads tracked
Design and Applied Arts at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Ranked 8th of 135 bachelor's programs in Design and Applied Arts by 5-year earnings.
Median · 1 year out
$50,197
middle 50%: $37,327 – $62,279
Median · 5 years out
$71,408
middle 50%: $54,812 – $87,164
Median · 10 years out
$89,264
middle 50%: $66,937 – $117,073
Salary trajectory
Median earnings vs the national median for Design and Applied Arts (bachelor's) graduates.
This program (median)National median, same major & degreeMiddle 50% of graduates
Virginia Tech Design and Applied Arts graduates start with $50k median salaries. Compensation reaches $71k by year five and $89k by year ten.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau PSEO, release V4.13.0 2025Q4. Earnings are for graduates working in covered states; figures are medians in nominal dollars.
Will the degree pay for itself?
Drag the sliders — payback uses this program's actual salary curve.
Assumes a 6.5% APR loan and this program's median salary trajectory (interpolated between years 1, 5 and 10).
Paid off in
5.8 yrs
≈ $6,633 total interest
Same major at other universities
Georgia Institute of Technology
$77,671 · 5 yrs out
University of Texas at Austin
$75,893 · 5 yrs out
University of Cincinnati
$75,335 · 5 yrs out
Quinnipiac University
$73,546 · 5 yrs out
Pennsylvania State University (The)
$73,157 · 5 yrs out
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
$71,422 · 5 yrs out
Fashion Institute of Technology
$70,659 · 5 yrs out
Ohio State University (The)
$70,561 · 5 yrs out
University of Oklahoma
$69,498 · 5 yrs out
Miami University
$68,857 · 5 yrs out
University of Oregon
$68,723 · 5 yrs out
SUNY College at Purchase
$66,986 · 5 yrs out
Other majors at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services (Doctorate)
$160,426 · 5 yrs out
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services (Doctorate)
$155,674 · 5 yrs out
Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services (Master's)
$148,193 · 5 yrs out
Engineering (Doctorate)
$132,072 · 5 yrs out
Mathematics and Statistics (Doctorate)
$130,533 · 5 yrs out
Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's)
$129,123 · 5 yrs out
Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services (Bachelor's)
$125,251 · 5 yrs out
Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's)
$125,251 · 5 yrs out
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services (Master's)
$121,443 · 5 yrs out
Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)
$119,838 · 5 yrs out
Engineering (Master's)
$116,512 · 5 yrs out
Education (Doctorate)
$109,749 · 5 yrs out