10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$442,960at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
California Institute of the Arts
⌖ Valencia, CA · 9 reportable field-and-credential outcomes
10-year estimate · Negative payoff
−$442,960 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
With these assumptions, the added earnings do not recover the cost within ten years.
—Modeled economic break-even
−122%Modeled 10-year ROI
$37,136Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedMaximum annual price for positive 10-year payoff
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE
Institution details
Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.
- Accreditor
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
- Main award level
- Bachelor’s degrees
- Campus setting
- Suburban
- Admissions
- Selective admission
- Delivery
- Campus or mixed delivery
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
Cost, debt, completion and earnings context
$46,080Average net price / year
$77,560Cost of attendance
$25,000Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$265/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$37,136Median earnings · year 5 after completion
66.7%Completion rate
32.3%Admission rate
860Student size
Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
WHAT STANDS OUT
A faster read on this college
These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.
EARNINGS PATH
Reported earnings over time
$22,659Year 1
$35,256Year 4
$37,136Year 5
Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.
The college average is not the whole story.
Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.
1Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft · Master's Degree$57,9202Film/Video and Photographic Arts · Master's Degree$56,2073Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft · Bachelor's Degree$41,1924Music · Bachelor's Degree$40,2945Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies · Master's Degree$34,0266Music · Master's Degree$29,4947Film/Video and Photographic Arts · Bachelor's Degree$29,4268Fine and Studio Arts · Bachelor's Degree$28,617Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding
Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark
This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential—not simply majors that pay more everywhere.
1Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftMaster's Degree · $57,920 reported+16%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt2Film/Video and Photographic ArtsMaster's Degree · $56,207 reported+9%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt3Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftBachelor's Degree · $41,192 reported+4%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt4MusicBachelor's Degree · $40,294 reported-6%vs same-degree national median$23,125federal debt5Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's Degree · $28,617 reported-31%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt6Film/Video and Photographic ArtsBachelor's Degree · $29,426 reported-33%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt
Comparable colleges in CA
Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.
Whittier, CA
Southern California University of Health Sciences
- Annual net price
- $45,848
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $32,024
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -136%
Hypnosis Motivation Institute
- Annual net price
- $48,328
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $28,236
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -145%
San Francisco Conservatory of Music
- Annual net price
- $42,607
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $27,850
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -149%
Laguna College of Art and Design
- Annual net price
- $42,505
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $46,587
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -95%
Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes
| Federal field | Credential | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2023–24 awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | Master's Degree | $57,920 | Not available | Not reported |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | Master's Degree | $56,207 | Not available | Not reported |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | Bachelor's Degree | $41,192 | $27,000 | Not reported |
| Music | Bachelor's Degree | $40,294 | $23,125 | Not reported |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Master's Degree | $34,026 | Not available | Not reported |
| Music | Master's Degree | $29,494 | Not available | Not reported |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | Bachelor's Degree | $29,426 | $27,000 | Not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Bachelor's Degree | $28,617 | $27,000 | Not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Master's Degree | $24,720 | Not available | Not reported |
Awards use first-major IPEDS completions aggregated to the same four-digit field and credential.
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.