Bachelor's · Blacksburg, Virginia
Is Fine and Studio Arts at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State 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 7.3 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $45,649
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $62,999
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $22,500
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $109k (likely $109k – $134k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $24k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in VA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 7.3 years (likely 5.8–9.9)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- −$85k (likely −$170k – −$3k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $210k (likely $42k – $402k)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 86%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Change income, residency or loans Compare Fine and Studio Arts at other schools
Other majors at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$154,688
- Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services, Other (Master's)$148,000
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's)$144,103
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Master's)$130,029
- Veterinary Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (Doctoral)$123,078
- Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)$122,026
- Mechanical Engineering (Master's)$119,843
- Applied Mathematics (Bachelor's)$117,990
- Industrial Engineering (Master's)$117,338
- Industrial Engineering (Bachelor's)$116,641
- Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering (Master's)$115,736
- Veterinary Medicine (Doctoral)$111,973
Fine and Studio Arts at other schools in Virginia
- Bridgewater College$54,910
- University of Virginia-Main Campus$54,579
- James Madison University$54,093
- Old Dominion University$46,308
- University of Mary Washington$44,357
- Virginia Commonwealth University$43,690
- Radford University$40,679
- Hollins University$27,014