Master's · Providence, Rhode Island

Is Architectural Sciences and Technology at Rhode Island School of 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 slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 8.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $72,287; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $86,166; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $61,500; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $65k (likely $65k – $65k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $15k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in RI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 8.5 years (likely 4.9–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$125k (likely −$247k – $22k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $105k (likely −$184k – $406k); Today's dollars

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