New Federal Guidelines Threaten Almost Half of Graduate Arts Programs

The Education Department is in the process of finalizing an earnings assessment that could adversely affect nearly 50% of graduate programs in visual arts, music, and performance due to the low earnings of their recent graduates. These guidelines will be applicable to all university programs; institutions whose alumni do not meet the criteria twice within three years risk losing access to federal student loans, potentially leading to student transfers or dropouts. Experts warn of significant enrollment drops and possible closures of schools. For master's programs, alumni earnings will be evaluated four years post-graduation against the median salary of working adults aged 25–34 with a bachelor's degree, which is a stricter benchmark than prior assessments. Tom Eccles, director of the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, criticized this method as a "DOGE approach to education," highlighting that many universities are just becoming aware of these guidelines. A preliminary analysis indicates that several prestigious arts programs, including those at Yale University in visual arts and music, as well as Harvard University's museum studies master's program, would not meet the requirements.