Master's · Valencia, California

Is Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies at California Institute of the Arts worth it?

Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 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: Not enough graduates to report; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $36,548; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $115,588; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $123k (likely $123k – $123k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: −$33k 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: −$687k (likely −$760k – −$602k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$1.02M (likely −$1.15M – −$860k); Today's dollars

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