Public · College
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Boston, Massachusetts · Large city
- 76.3%
- Admit rate
- $24,100
- Avg net price
- 69%
- Graduation rate
- $43,582
- Median earnings
Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Boston, Massachusetts (large city setting), enrolling 1,831 undergraduates.
About Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. In 1630, settlers led by John Winthrop arrived, and found Shawmut Peninsula nearly empty of Native people. Most had died of European diseases borne by earlier settlers and traders. Boston shares many cultural roots with greater New England, including a dialect of the non-rhotic Eastern New England accent known as the Boston accent and a regional cuisine with a large emphasis on seafood, salt, and dairy products. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 3 miles to Boston, MA
- To the ocean
- 3 miles
- Nearest airport
- 5 miles to Boston Logan (BOS) · major hub
How Massachusetts College of Art and Design compares
More selective than 52% · #38 most selective of 63 in Massachusetts
Higher than 76% · #32 of 66 in Massachusetts
Higher than 85%
Higher than 21% · #61 of 67 in Massachusetts
Cheaper than 32% · #23 cheapest of 65 in Massachusetts
Lower than 27%
Lower than 83%
Larger than 55%
Percentiles compare Massachusetts College of Art and Design with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Massachusetts.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate1,83194%
- Graduate1186%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women1,31672%
- Men51528%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White55%
- Black4.5%
- Hispanic16%
- Asian5.9%
- Other or multiracial20%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 1,831
- Graduate enrollment
- 118
- Student–faculty ratio
- 9 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 30%
- First-generation students
- 23%
- Students over 25
- 11%
- Median family income
- $68,352
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $96,210
- Endowment
- $20,309,653
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 432 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Massachusetts72%
- Other U.S. states25%
- International3.2%
Most first-years stay in state — Massachusetts College of Art and Design draws overwhelmingly from Massachusetts.
3% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 76.3%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $15,400
- Out-of-state tuition
- $43,400
- Room & board
- $19,412
- Books & supplies
- $2,000
- Total cost of attendance
- $34,239
- Average net price
- $24,100
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 69%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 48%
- First-year retention
- 89%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $27,090
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $43,582
- Median debt at graduation
- $25,755
- Students with federal loans
- 51%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 64%
About 20% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 940
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 51%
- Application fee
- $70
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 1.7 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 6
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 4
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,989 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$18,513/year × about 4.4 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
Modest institutional aid: 70% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $7,408. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 406 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $43,582
- Typical debt at graduation
- $25,755
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 59%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 52%
Typical debt would take roughly 5.9 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $12,368 (34%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 85°F
- Winter low
- 19°F
- Annual rain
- 49.4″
- Annual snow
- 49.2″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Jamaica Plain, MA US station (2.7 mi from campus).
What Massachusetts College of Art and Design graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Massachusetts College of Art and Design side by side →
SUNY at Purchase College
Purchase, New York · Large suburb · 28 mi to New York
- Students
- 3,197
- Admission
- 74%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1312
- GPA
- 3.6
- Earnings
- $45k
SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill
Cobleskill, New York · Distant town · 38 mi to Albany
- Students
- 1,904
- Admission
- 84%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $45k
Fort Lewis College
Durango, Colorado · Distant town · 166 mi to Albuquerque
- Students
- 3,079
- Admission
- 77%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- 1111
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $46k
South Carolina State University
Orangeburg, South Carolina · Distant town · 36 mi to Columbia
- Students
- 2,934
- Admission
- 83%
- Net price
- $18k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $38k
Dakota State University
Madison, South Dakota · Distant town · 37 mi to Sioux Falls
- Students
- 2,071
- Admission
- 88%
- Net price
- $21k
- SAT
- 1215
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $51k
Lander University
Greenwood, South Carolina · Distant town · 47 mi to Greenville
- Students
- 3,397
- Admission
- 81%
- Net price
- $15k
- SAT
- 1057
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $42k
Colleges near Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 3,451 students
Simmons University
Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,670 students
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 3,747 students
Emmanuel College
Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,854 students
Roxbury Community College
Roxbury Crossing, MA · Public · Associate · 1,977 students
Northeastern University
Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 17,326 students
Northeastern University Professional Programs
Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,802 students
The New England Conservatory of Music
Boston, MA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 393 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.














