Master's · Commerce, Texas

Is Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft at East Texas A&M University 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 11.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $57,144; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $67,588; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $33,890; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $36k (likely $36k – $36k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $5k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in TX; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 11.5 years (likely 4.7–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$149k (likely −$267k – −$17k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$50k (likely −$295k – $255k); Today's dollars

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