Massachusetts · Public · Predominantly bachelor's

Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Boston, Massachusetts. 1,812 undergraduate students. 21 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.

ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS

What the data flags at Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.

PEER OUTLIER · WARNING-26%

Public bachelor's-predominant peer

10-year earnings at Massachusetts College of Art and Design are 26% below the public bachelor's-predominant peer median ($43.6k vs $59.0k).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%

3-year cohort default rate

3-year cohort default rate at Massachusetts College of Art and Design fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.3% → 0.0%).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE-17%

100%-time completion

100%-time completion at Massachusetts College of Art and Design fell 17% between 2021 and 2024 (58.6% → 48.5%).

EARNINGS TREND · TRENDING BETTER+61%

Earnings trend · post-entry horizons

Earnings 10 years post-entry at Massachusetts College of Art and Design are 61% above 6-year earnings ($27.1k → $43.6k).

SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT

The numbers, vs. Massachusetts

Each tile compares this institution to the Massachusetts median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.

MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$43,582+61% · 6→10y
Massachusetts median $56,022
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$27,090
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
69.2%+61% · '97→'24
Massachusetts median 66.5%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$19,500+103% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
1,812+35% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
84.0%+4% · '04→'09
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
77.5%+65% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$14,960+297% · '00→'24
out-of-state $42,180
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS

How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry

Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).

ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS

What loans cost relative to earnings

Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.

Institution-wide

6.0%
0%8% · GE20%+

Median federal debt $19,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $43,582 (10y after entry).

SECTION 04 · LONG ARC

Ten-plus year arc

Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.

UNDERGRAD · 199620241,831
1,8611,35919962024
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997202468.9%
74%41%19972024
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 19972020$25,755
$26,000$11,62519972020
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 150% · 19972024+61%

Massachusetts College of Art and Design · completion · 150% rose

42.8% → 68.9%

COMPLETION · 100% · 19972024+283%

Massachusetts College of Art and Design · completion · 100% rose

12.7% → 48.5%

UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT · 19962024+35%

Massachusetts College of Art and Design · undergrad enrollment rose

1,359 → 1,831

IN-STATE TUITION · 20002024+297%

Massachusetts College of Art and Design · in-state tuition rose

$3,878 → $15,400

OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 20002024+268%

Massachusetts College of Art and Design · out-of-state tuition rose

$11,788 → $43,400

MEDIAN DEBT · 19972020+103%

Massachusetts College of Art and Design · median debt rose

$12,659 → $25,755

COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 20112024-100%

Massachusetts College of Art and Design · cohort default rate fell

4.8% → 0.0%

FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION

Estimate the financial outcome at Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.

Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.

NET PRESENT VALUE
$13,316
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 34
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
graduationbreakeven · year 34year 0year 39
Cost per year
$21,708
HS-only baseline · MA
$42,600
Years to complete
4
CIP family
50

Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.

CAUSAL DISCIPLINE

Massachusetts College of Art and Design graduates earn $X” — not “Massachusetts College of Art and Design makes you earn $X”

Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Massachusetts College of Art and Design caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.

Methodology →