Master's · Valencia, California

Is Music at California Institute of the Arts worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Graduates typically don't earn back the cost within 20 years, compared with the no-degree baseline.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $33,644; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $31,680; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $90,624; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $96k (likely $96k – $96k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: −$37k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: Not within 20 years in most scenarios; Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$689k (likely −$740k – −$639k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$1.11M (likely −$1.18M – −$1.02M); Today's dollars

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