Graphic design is the process of creating visual communication in which a designer combines words, images, graphic symbols, and layouts to communicate information to viewers.
The best online graphic design schools should possess either regional or national accreditation from an accrediting body that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
In addition, you can often recognize top online graphic design schools based on:
The following levels of graphic design degree online programs are available:
The amount of time it takes a student to earn an accredited online graphic design degree depends on the level of graphic design degree being pursued and the pace of the student.
Typically, the breakdown is as follows:
Popular online graphic design programs combine the practical skills of how to create a message with the process of utilizing multimedia formats to showcase that message. Typical coursework in the best graphic design schools online includes classes such as:
Top online graphic design degrees allow students to specialize in various multimedia aspects of graphic design such as:
Positions in graphic design range from freelance to corporate to entertainment industry jobs. The top graphic designer jobs for accredited online graphic design school graduates include:
A graphic designer is an artist who utilizes multimedia tools, visual art, symbols, and words to create and communicate a message through visual media. Graphic designers may be working in print, web-based, computer, or audio-visual media to complete their designs.
A career as a graphic designer will be shaped by the field in which one works. As a corporate communications graphic designer, jobs may include sketching and presenting marketing campaign logos or graphics and then overseeing the production of graphics on certain products. Graphic designers working in animation may be responsible for background landscape designs or character costume design, and use digital graphics software to create each layer of the animation.
Graphic designers earn between $47,820 and $55,600 per year, depending on the focus of their work. In digital media, web design and animation for example, the average annual salary is $62,810. Job growth is expected to continue at an average pace of 13% until 2018. More openings in digital communications, web design, and multimedia graphic design will be off-set by fewer openings in print media graphic design careers.
The steps of how to become a graphic designer begin with completing a program at a top graphic design online school. While generally graphic design positions have no requirements but relevant training and experience, some official certifications may be available which can improve candidates’ employment prospects.
| School | Certificate | Associates | Bachelors | Masters | PhD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Arizona State University
1151 S Forest Ave
Tempe, AZ, 85287 http://www.asu.edu/
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X | ||||
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Ohio State University-Main Campus
190 N. Oval Mall
Columbus, OH, 43210 http://www.osu.edu
|
X | ||||
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University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
100 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN, 55455 http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.php
|
X | ||||
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The University of Texas at Austin
2608 Whitis Ave
Austin, TX, 78712 http://www.utexas.edu
|
X | X | |||
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University of Florida
355 Tigert Hall
Gainesville, FL, 32611 http://www.ufl.edu/
|
X | ||||
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Texas A & M University
112 M T Harrington Ctr
College Station, TX, 77843 http://www.tamu.edu
|
X | ||||
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Ashford University
400 N Bluff Blvd
Clinton, IA, 52733 http://www.ashford.edu
|
X | ||||
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Northern Virginia Community College
4001 Wakefield Chapel Rd
Annandale, VA, 22003 http://www.nvcc.edu
|
X | X | |||
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Liberty University
1971 University Blvd
Lynchburg, VA, 24502 http://www.liberty.edu
|
X | ||||
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University of Washington-Seattle Campus
1400 NE Campus Parkway
Seattle, WA, 98195 http://www.washington.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
201 Old Main
State College, PA, 16802 http://www.psu.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
601 E John Street
Champaign, IL, 61820 http://www.illinois.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
College of Southern Nevada
6375 W. Charleston Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV, 89146 http://www.csn.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
440 Church Street
Ann Arbor, MI, 48109 http://www.umich.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Purdue University-Main Campus
Hovde Hall of Administration
West Lafayette, IN, 47907 http://www.purdue.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Florida State University
211 Westcott Bldg
Tallahassee, FL, 32306 http://www.fsu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of California-Los Angeles
405 Hilgard Ave
Los Angeles, CA, 90095 http://www.ucla.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
University of Houston
212 E. Cullen Building
Houston, TX, 77204 http://www.uh.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Riverside Community College
4800 Magnolia Avenue
Riverside, CA, 92506 http://www.rcc.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
Temple University
1801 North Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19122 http://WWW.TEMPLE.EDU
|
X | X | |||
|
Pima Community College
401 North Bonita Avenue
Tucson, AZ, 85709 http://www.pima.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
East Los Angeles College
1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez
Monterey Park, CA, 91754 http://www.elac.edu/index.htm
|
X | X | |||
|
American River College
4700 College Oak Dr
Sacramento, CA, 95841 http://www.arc.losrios.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
University of North Texas
Chestnut Ave.
Denton, TX, 76203 http://www.unt.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Salt Lake Community College
4600 S Redwood Rd
Salt Lake City, UT, 84123 http://www.slcc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Brigham Young University
Main Campus
Provo, UT, 84602 http://www.byu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
2101 Hillsborough Street
Raleigh, NC, 27695 http://www.ncsu.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
City College of San Francisco
50 Phelan Ave
San Francisco, CA, 94112 http://www.ccsf.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Santa Monica College
1900 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA, 90405 http://www.smc.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Virginia Commonwealth University
910 W Franklin St
Richmond, VA, 23284 http://www.vcu.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
Capella University
225 South 6th Street 9th Floor
Minneapolis, MN, 55402 http://www.capella.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Boston University
One Silber Way
Boston, MA, 2215 http://www.bu.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
San Jose State University
1 Washington Sq
San Jose, CA, 95192 http://www.sjsu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of California-Davis
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA, 95616 http://www.ucdavis.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Santa Ana College
1530 W. 17th Street
Santa Ana, CA, 92706 http://www.sac.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Texas State University-San Marcos
601 University Dr
San Marcos, TX, 78666 http://www.txstate.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA, 94132 http://www.sfsu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Tidewater Community College
121 College Place
Norfolk, VA, 23510 http://www.tcc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
425 University Blvd
Indianapolis, IN, 46202 http://www.iupui.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Portland Community College
12000 SW 49th Avenue
Portland, OR, 97219 http://www.pcc.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Texas Tech University
Broadway and University Avenue
Lubbock, TX, 79409 http://www.ttu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Mt San Antonio College
1100 N Grand Ave
Walnut, CA, 91789 http://www.mtsac.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Cuyahoga Community College District
700 Carnegie Ave
Cleveland, OH, 44115 http://www.tri-c.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of Utah
201 Presidents Circle
Salt Lake City, UT, 84112 http://www.utah.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of Kansas
Jayhawk Dr
Lawrence, KS, 66045 http://www.ku.edu
|
X | ||||
|
California State University-Sacramento
6000 J St
Sacramento, CA, 95819 http://www.csus.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
4505 S Maryland Pky
Las Vegas, NV, 89154 http://www.unlv.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Utah Valley University
800 W University Parkway
Orem, UT, 84058 http://www.uvu.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Oakland Community College
2480 Opdyke Rd
Bloomfield Hills, MI, 48304 http://www.oaklandcc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Iowa State University
137 Lynn Ave
Ames, IA, 50011 http://www.iastate.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Portland State University
724 SW Harrison
Portland, OR, 97201 http://www.pdx.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Long Beach City College
4901 E. Carson St.
Long Beach, CA, 90808 http://www.lbcc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Northeastern University
360 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA, 2115 http://www.northeastern.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Palomar College
1140 W. Mission
San Marcos, CA, 92069 http://WWW.PALOMAR.EDU
|
X | X | |||
|
Central Michigan University
1200 S Franklin St # 121
Mount Pleasant, MI, 48859 http://www.cmich.edu
|
X | ||||
|
El Camino Community College District
16007 Crenshaw Blvd
Torrance, CA, 90506 http://www.elcamino.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Sacramento City College
3835 Freeport Blvd
Sacramento, CA, 95822 http://www.scc.losrios.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
University of California-Irvine
204 Administration
Irvine, CA, 92697 http://www.uci.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
College of DuPage
425 Fawell Blvd.
Glen Ellyn, IL, 60137 http://www.cod.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of Illinois at Chicago
601 S Morgan
Chicago, IL, 60607 http://www.uic.edu/index.html/
|
X | X | |||
|
American InterContinental University-Online
5550 Prairie Stone Pky-Ste 400
Hoffman Estates, IL, 60192 http://www.aiuonline.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Pasadena City College
1570 E Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA, 91106 http://www.pasadena.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Mesa Community College
1833 W Southern Ave
Mesa, AZ, 85202 http://www.mc.maricopa.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
University of Akron Main Campus
302 Buchtel Common
Akron, OH, 44325 http://www.uakron.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Santa Rosa Junior College
1501 Mendocino Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA, 95401 http://www.santarosa.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Fresno City College
1101 E. University Ave
Fresno, CA, 93741 http://www.fresnocitycollege.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Orange Coast College
2701 Fairview Road
Costa Mesa, CA, 92626 http://www.orangecoastcollege.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
De Anza College
21250 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Cupertino, CA, 95014 http://www.deanza.edu/
|
X | X | |||
|
DePaul University
55 E Jackson
Chicago, IL, 60604 http://www.depaul.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Gallaudet University
800 Florida Ave NE
Washington, DC, 20002 http://www.gwu.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Auburn University Main Campus
Auburn Alabama
Auburn, AL, 36849 http://www.auburn.edu
|
X | ||||
|
University of Pennsylvania
1 College Hall 34th and Spruce Sts
Philadelphia, PA, 19104 http://www.upenn.edu
|
X | X | X | ||
|
Western Michigan University
1903 West Michigan Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI, 49008 http://www.wmich.edu
|
X | ||||
|
San Antonio College
1300 San Pedro Ave
San Antonio, TX, 78212 http://www.alamo.edu/sac/sacmain/sac.htm
|
X | X | |||
|
Northern Arizona University
Knoles Drive Babbitt Administrative Center
Flagstaff, AZ, 86011 http://home.nau.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
The Community College of Baltimore County
7201 Rossville Blvd.
Baltimore, MD, 21237 http://www.ccbcmd.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Saddleback College
28000 Marguerite Pky
Mission Viejo, CA, 92692 http://www.saddleback.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
San Diego Mesa College
7250 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA, 92111 http://www.sdmesa.edu/
|
X | ||||
|
Weber State University
3848 Harrison Blvd
Ogden, UT, 84408 http://www.weber.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Ohio University-Main Campus
E Mulberry
Athens, OH, 45701 http://www.ohio.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Harrisburg Area Community College-Harrisburg
One HACC Dr
Harrisburg, PA, 17110 http://www.hacc.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Drexel University
3141 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA, 19104 http://www.drexel.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Fullerton College
321 E Chapman Avenue
Fullerton, CA, 92832 http://www.fullcoll.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
3801 W Temple Ave
Pomona, CA, 91768 http://www.csupomona.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Los Angeles Pierce College
6201 Winnetka Ave
Los Angeles, CA, 91371 http://www.piercecollege.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Cerritos College
11110 Alondra Blvd
Norwalk, CA, 90650 http://WWW.CERRITOS.EDU
|
X | ||||
|
Southwestern College
900 Otay Lakes Rd
Chula Vista, CA, 91910 http://www.swccd.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
College of the Canyons
26455 Rockwell Canyon Rd
Santa Clarita, CA, 91355 http://www.canyons.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Chaffey College
5885 Haven Ave
Rancho Cucamonga, CA, 91737 http://www.chaffey.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Lansing Community College
419 N Capitol Ave
Lansing, MI, 48901 http://www.lansing.cc.mi.us
|
X | X | |||
|
The University of Texas at El Paso
500 W. University Ave
El Paso, TX, 79968 http://www.utep.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Rio Salado College
2323 W 14th St
Tempe, AZ, 85281 http://www.rio.maricopa.edu
|
X | ||||
|
CUNY Queens College
65-30 Kissena Blvd
New York, NY, 11367 http://www.qc.cuny.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Sierra College
5000 Rocklin Road
Rocklin, CA, 95677 http://www.sierracollege.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Community College of Allegheny County
800 Allegheny Ave
Pittsburgh, PA, 15233 http://www.ccac.edu
|
X | X | |||
|
Johnson County Community College
12345 College Blvd
Overland Park, KS, 66210 http://www.jccc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Missouri State University
901 S National
Springfield, MO, 65897 http://www.missouristate.edu
|
X | ||||
|
St. John's University-New York
8000 Utopia Pky
New York, NY, 11439 http://www.stjohns.edu
|
X | ||||
|
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
900 S Illinois Ave
Carbondale, IL, 62901 http://www.siuc.edu
|
X | ||||
|
San Joaquin Delta College
5151 Pacific Ave
Stockton, CA, 95207 http://www.deltacollege.edu
|
X |
Students need to understand that it is worth putting in the effort to develop professional connections and gain relevant career experience, even as an undergraduate. Do everything you can while you are in school to build your resume because graduating with professional experience is valuable.Read Full Interview
