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Design and Applied Arts at Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS · Public · Bachelor's Degree
61 /100
DegreeWorth Score (Base Case)
61
Optimistic
61
Base Case
60
Pessimistic
Earnings $43,992/yr (30% vs median)
AI Risk High (38% exposed)
Job Market Very Large (101,000 openings/yr)

How AI Changes the Outlook

Three scenarios based on how aggressively AI disrupts the career paths available to Design and Applied Arts graduates.

Optimistic
No Disruption		 Base Case
Gradual AI		 Pessimistic
Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings $504K $432K $354K
Earnings Multiple (In-State) 11.5x 9.9x 8.1x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State) 4.5x 3.9x 3.2x
Viable Career Paths 14 of 14 14 of 14 14 of 14
DegreeWorth Score 61 61 60

10-Year Earnings Projection

*Year 1 uses actual reported earnings. Scenarios diverge as AI impact compounds over time.

4-Year Tuition (In-State)
$43,768
Out-of-state: $111,264

Career Paths

Where Design and Applied Arts graduates typically work. Raw data — no blending. The scenarios above model how these factors interact. This field has roughly 101,000 combined openings per year.

Career Path Wage Openings/yr Growth AI Risk
Art directors $111,040 12,300 +4.2% 50%
Architecture teachers, postsecondary $101,480 900 +2.0% 49%
Special effects artists and animators $99,800 5,000 +1.6% 52%
Web and digital interface designers $98,090 9,100 +7.0% 67%
Fashion designers $80,690 2,300 +2.0% 39%
Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary $80,190 9,000 +1.7% 44%
Commercial and industrial designers $79,450 2,500 +3.2% 47%
Postsecondary teachers, all other $78,490 13,500 +1.8% 0%

Compare & Explore

Design and Applied Arts at Other Schools

Carnegie Mellon University ($66,274) University of Southern California ($64,846) University of Washington-Seattle Campus ($63,449) University of California-Los Angeles ($57,615) Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus ($52,694) University of Cincinnati-Main Campus ($52,526) Utah State University ($52,431) Interior Designers Institute ($51,188)

Other Majors at Kansas State University

Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering ($78,758) Computer Engineering ($77,938) Industrial Engineering ($77,724) Chemical Engineering ($77,492) Computer and Information Sciences, General ($76,385) Agricultural and Food Products Processing ($76,052) Construction Engineering Technologies ($74,253) Architectural Engineering ($74,091)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the DegreeWorth Score for Design and Applied Arts at Kansas State University?
This program scores 61/100 in the Base Case scenario, factoring in earnings, AI disruption risk, job market size, and earnings multiple. The score ranges from 61 (optimistic) to 60 (pessimistic) depending on AI's impact.
How does AI affect Design and Applied Arts career prospects?
We model three scenarios: Optimistic (no disruption), Base Case (gradual AI adoption), and Pessimistic (aggressive AI displacement). In the base case, Design and Applied Arts graduates retain 14 of 14 viable career paths. 10-year earnings range from $354,468 (pessimistic) to $504,320 (optimistic).
How many job openings are there for Design and Applied Arts graduates?
The career paths mapped to Design and Applied Arts have roughly 101,000 combined job openings per year nationally, making this a very large job market.
Is Design and Applied Arts at Kansas State University worth it?
In the Base Case, this degree earns 9.9x its in-state tuition over 10 years. Even in the Pessimistic scenario, the multiple is 8.1x. The spread between scenarios tells you how sensitive this degree is to AI disruption.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024-2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Scenarios use a continuous weighting function combining AI exposure and BLS job growth projections. "Earnings Multiple" is total 10-year projected earnings divided by tuition — not a discounted financial ROI. Last updated 2025.