Undergraduate certificate · Boston, Massachusetts

Is Design and Applied Arts at Massachusetts College of Art and Design worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.

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

Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.3 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $54,842; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $77,230; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: Not enough borrowers to report; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $28k (likely $28k – $36k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $34k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.3 years (likely 1.5–3.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $232k (likely $108k – $382k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $655k (likely $368k – $986k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 59%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26