[Media Arts](/majors/communication-journalism-media/radio-television-digital-communication/media-arts/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 14 schools to find the best return on investment for media arts students.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in media arts, balancing cost against outcomes.
For return on investment in media arts, no school beat Arizona State University this year. Set in the city of Tempe, Arizona State University is a very large public institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $12,223, while out-of-state students pay about $33,139. Typical student debt for media arts graduates is $27,000. Media Arts graduates of Arizona State University earn a median of $47,160 early in their careers. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Arizona State University admits about 90% of applicants.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 14 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
