Bachelor's · Queens, New York
Is Design and Applied Arts at CUNY Queens College worth it?
High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.8 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $36,819
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $48,158
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $8,390
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $5k (likely $5k – $7k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $10k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in NY
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 2.8 years (likely 1.7–4.4)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- −$72k (likely −$128k – −$20k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $72k (likely −$38k – $196k)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 53%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Change income, residency or loans Compare Design and Applied Arts at other schools
Other majors at CUNY Queens College
- Computer Science (Bachelor's)$112,903
- Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's)$111,721
- Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education (Graduate certificate)$109,328
- Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's)$94,526
- Accounting and Related Services (Master's)$93,857
- Urban Studies/Affairs (Master's)$89,294
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's)$87,964
- Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language (Master's)$87,317
- Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's)$86,240
- Special Education and Teaching (Master's)$85,359
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Graduate certificate)$84,899
- Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's)$83,444
Design and Applied Arts at other schools in New York
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute$87,358
- Syracuse University$71,527
- Marist University$66,010
- St. John's University-New York$63,659
- Fashion Institute of Technology$60,882
- Pratt Institute-Main$59,792
- LIM College$58,061
- The New School$56,838
- Mercy University$54,725
- Farmingdale State College$53,896