Master's · San Francisco, California

Is Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians at Academy of Art University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 12.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $68,301; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $76,921; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $63,897; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $68k (likely $68k – $68k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $8k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 12.9 years (likely 8.2–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$188k (likely −$264k – −$107k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$55k (likely −$221k – $145k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.