Best Online Associate in Graphic Design
Find top-ranked online associate in graphic design degree programs for students taking their first steps toward a career in a fast-growing industry.
Top 10 Online Associate in Graphic Design Degrees
- Blinn College
- Wake Technical Community College
- Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
- Hodges University
- Arizona Western College
- Southwestern Illinois College
- Grand Rapids Community College
- Western Nevada College
- Bluegrass Community and Technical College
- Great Basin College
- Blinn College
- Southwestern Illinois College
- Wake Technical Community College
- Bluegrass Community and Technical College
- Hodges University
- Great Basin College
- Western Nevada College
- Grand Rapids Community College
- Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
- Arizona Western College
- Blinn College 36 to 1
- Elizabethtown Community and Technical College 22 to 1
- Great Basin College 18 to 1
- Western Nevada College 18 to 1
- Wake Technical Community College 18 to 1
- Bluegrass Community and Technical College 18 to 1
- Arizona Western College 17 to 1
- Southwestern Illinois College 17 to 1
- Grand Rapids Community College 17 to 1
- Hodges University 12 to 1
- Hodges University $14,780
- Grand Rapids Community College $7,410
- Southwestern Illinois College $6,120
- Elizabethtown Community and Technical College $4,296
- Bluegrass Community and Technical College $4,296
- Great Basin College $3,518
- Blinn College $3,510
- Western Nevada College $3,293
- Arizona Western College $2,700
- Wake Technical Community College $2,432
- Hodges University $14,940
- Great Basin College
- Bluegrass Community and Technical College
- Western Nevada College
- Grand Rapids Community College
- Southwestern Illinois College
- Arizona Western College
- Hodges University
- Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
- Wake Technical Community College
- Blinn College
- Arizona Western College
- Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
- Grand Rapids Community College
- Western Nevada College
- Great Basin College
- Hodges University
- Bluegrass Community and Technical College
- Wake Technical Community College
- Southwestern Illinois College
- Blinn College
- Hodges University 12 to 1
- Arizona Western College 17 to 1
- Southwestern Illinois College 17 to 1
- Grand Rapids Community College 17 to 1
- Great Basin College 18 to 1
- Western Nevada College 18 to 1
- Wake Technical Community College 18 to 1
- Bluegrass Community and Technical College 18 to 1
- Elizabethtown Community and Technical College 22 to 1
- Blinn College 36 to 1
- Wake Technical Community College $2,432
- Arizona Western College $2,700
- Western Nevada College $3,293
- Blinn College $3,510
- Great Basin College $3,518
- Elizabethtown Community and Technical College $4,296
- Bluegrass Community and Technical College $4,296
- Southwestern Illinois College $6,120
- Grand Rapids Community College $7,410
- Hodges University $14,780
- Hodges University $14,940
Featured Programs
Frequently Asked Questions About Graphic Design Degrees
Why get an associate degree in graphic design?
An associate degree in graphic design is an excellent first step toward a career as a graphic designer in a fast-growing industry.
How long does it take to get an online graphic design degree?
An online associate degree in graphic design requires roughly 60-credits and can be completed in about two years.
What will I learn while getting an online associate degree in graphic design?
Students working towards an online graphic design degree will gain the foundational knowledge necessary to become a graphic designer. Graphic design programs develop skills in web design, digital art, motion graphics for video, graphic design, and typography.
What can I do with an associate degree in graphic design?
Graphic designers create visual communications in a variety of industries, including healthcare, social media, government, and commercial marketing.
Graphic design programs will allow students to use their skills in entry- and junior-level design jobs or take their associate degree and apply it toward a bachelor’s degree in graphic design.
Note that many community colleges have transfer agreements with nearby public colleges and universities. Transfer agreements can make it easier to transfer your credits from your current graphic design program and apply them to a bachelor’s degree program.
According to projections from the BLS, there will be nearly 24,000 job openings for graphic designers each year through the decade.
Best Online Associate Degree Programs in Graphic Design
- #14 50 Best Community Colleges Ranked for Students in 2024 #4 Best Community Colleges in Texas 2024 #1 Best Online Associate in American Sign Language (ASL) Degree Programs #2 Best Online Associate in History Degrees
Other Rankings
- #2 Best Online Associate in Small Business Management
- #2 Best Online Associate in Business Management
- #2 Best Online Associate in Computer Science Degree Programs
- #3 Best Online Associate in Criminal Justice
- #4 Best Online Associate Degrees in Texas 2024
- #5 Best Online Associate in Sociology
- #5 Best Online Associate in Education
- #6 Best Online Associate in Business Management
- #7 Best Online Associate in Health Information Technology & Informatics
- #9 Best Online Associate in Accounting
- #10 Best Online Associate in Anthropology
- #10 Best Online Associate in Philosophy
- #15 Best Online Associate in Economics
- #15 Best Online Associate in Mathematics
- #22 Best Online Associate in Business Administration
- #23 Best Online Associate in English
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
11%
Student body
29K
Career Outlook for Graphic Design degree at Blinn College
Cost of Degree: $6,230Expenses: $15,032Starting Salary: $25,761Salary after 4 years: $34,798Cost Recoup Time: 7 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryOnline Degrees
AAS in Graphic Design
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion time: 2-3 years
- Format: Online
- #3 Best Accredited Online Trade Schools for Vocational Skills #3 Best Community Colleges in North Carolina 2024 #3 Best Online Associate in Building and Construction Degree Programs #5 Best Online Associate in Web Design
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
28%
Student body
30K
Career Outlook for Graphic Design degree at Wake Technical Community College
Cost of Degree: $2,768Starting Salary: $20,261Salary after 4 years: $27,369Online Degrees
AAS in Advertising & Graphic Design
- Required Credits: 71
- Completion time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #5 Best Community Colleges in Kentucky 2024 #4 Best Online Associate in Hospitality and Tourism #5 Best Online Associate in Health Information Technology & Informatics #5 Best Online Associate in Game Development
Other Rankings
- #8 Best Online Associate in Software Development
- #12 Best Online Associate Degrees in Kentucky 2024
- #12 Best Online Associate in Finance
- #12 Best Online Associate in Human Resources
- #19 Best Online Associate in General Science
- #21 Best Online Associate in Marketing
- #22 Best Online Associate in Human Services
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
41%
Student body
8K
Career Outlook for Graphic Design degree at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Cost of Degree: $4,560Starting Salary: $18,177Salary after 4 years: $24,554Online Degrees
AAS in Graphic Design and Library Technology
Concentrations
- Library Information Technology
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #5 Best Online Bachelor's in Cybersecurity in Florida #10 Best Online Associate Degrees in Florida 2024 #17 Best Online Associate in Paralegal Studies #17 Best Online Bachelor's in Network Administration Degree Programs for 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$15K
Graduation
15%
Student body
<1K
Online Degrees
AA in Digital Design And Graphics
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #3 Best Online Associate's in Physics #4 Best Online Associate in Agribusiness Degree Programs #5 Best Online Associate in Mathematics #6 Best Online Associate in Biology
Other Rankings
- #7 Best Online Associate Degrees in Arizona 2024
- #8 Best Online Associate in Building and Construction Degree Programs
- #11 Best Online Associate in Political Science
- #13 Best Online Associate in Sociology
- #18 Best Online Associate in History Degrees
- #18 Best Online Associate in Fire Science Degree Programs
- #25 Best Online Associate in Emergency Management
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
23%
Student body
10K
Career Outlook for Graphic Design degree at Arizona Western College
Cost of Degree: $2,760Expenses: $15,949Starting Salary: $18,524Salary after 4 years: $25,024Cost Recoup Time: 8 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryOnline Degrees
AAS in Computer Graphics
- Required Credits: 64
- Completion time: None Reported
- Format: Online
Associate in Arts
Concentrations
- Graphics
- Studio Art
- Required Credits: 64
- Completion time: None Reported
- Format: Online
Tuition + fees
$6K
Graduation
29%
Student body
13K
Career Outlook for Graphic Design degree at Southwestern Illinois College
Cost of Degree: $6,390Starting Salary: $17,772Salary after 4 years: $24,007Online Degrees
AAS in Graphic Communications
- Required Credits: 63-65
- Completion time: 2 Years
- Format: Online
- #6 Best Community Colleges in Michigan 2024 #7 Best Online Associate in Economics #9 Best Online Associate in Web Design #13 Best Online Associate Degrees in Michigan 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$8K
Graduation
20%
Student body
18K
Career Outlook for Graphic Design degree at Grand Rapids Community College
Cost of Degree: $7,929Starting Salary: $19,914Salary after 4 years: $26,900Online Degrees
AAAS in Graphics/Web Development
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion time: 2 years
- Format: Online
- #2 Best Small Colleges in Nevada 2024 #3 Best Community Colleges in Nevada 2024 #3 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Nevada 2024 #5 Most Affordable Colleges in Nevada 2024
Other Rankings
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
29%
Student body
5K
Career Outlook for Graphic Design degree at Western Nevada College
Cost of Degree: $3,838Starting Salary: $20,724Salary after 4 years: $27,995Online Degrees
AAS in Graphic Design
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion time: 2 years
- Format: Online
- #2 Best Community Colleges in Kentucky 2024 #3 Best Online Associate in Health Information Technology & Informatics #5 Best Online Associate in Hospitality and Tourism #8 Best Online Associate in Game Development
Other Rankings
- #9 Best Online Associate Degrees in Kentucky 2024
- #11 Best Online Associate in Human Services
- #13 Best Online Associate in Software Development
- #15 Best Online Associate in Human Resources
- #16 Best Online Associate in Finance
- #17 Best Online Associate in General Science
- #17 Best Online Associate in Education
- #23 Best Online Associate in Early Childhood Education
- #25 Best Online Associate in Marketing
Tuition + fees
$5K
Graduation
35%
Student body
14K
Career Outlook for Graphic Design degree at Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Cost of Degree: $4,640Starting Salary: $17,251Salary after 4 years: $23,303Online Degrees
AAS in Graphic Design and Library Technology
Concentrations
- Graphic Design
- Library Information Technology
- Video Game Design
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion time: None Reported
- Format: Online
- #4 Best Small Colleges in Nevada 2024 #5 Best Community Colleges in Nevada 2024 #5 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Nevada 2024 #6 Most Affordable Colleges in Nevada 2024
Other Rankings
- #6 Best Public Colleges in Nevada 2024
- #7 Best Colleges in Nevada 2024
- #3 Best Online Bachelor's in Cybersecurity Degree Programs in Nevada
- #4 Best Online Associate Degrees in Nevada 2024
- #5 Best Online Colleges in Nevada 2024
- #9 Most Affordable Online Associate Degree Programs Ranked for 2024
- #12 Most Affordable Online Bachelor's Degree Programs Ranked for 2024
- #14 Best Online Associate in Early Childhood Education
- #19 Best Online Associate in Entrepreneurship
- #24 Best Online Associate in Small Business Management
- #24 Best Online Associate in Business Management
Tuition + fees
$4K
Graduation
44%
Student body
5K
Career Outlook for Graphic Design degree at Great Basin College
Cost of Degree: $3,772Expenses: $11,570Starting Salary: $21,593Salary after 4 years: $29,168Cost Recoup Time: 6 yearsPaid back at 15% of annual salaryOnline Degrees
AA in Graphic Communication
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion time: 2 years
- Format: Online
AAS in Graphic Communication
- Required Credits: 60
- Completion time: 2 years
- Format: Online
Career Outlook for Students with Graphic Design Degree
Go to Degree Finder toolGraphic Communications
Degree Level: Associate's
- Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
- Avg. Cost of Degree*: $5,799
- Avg. Expenses*: $13,194
- Avg. Starting Salary*: $21,820
- Avg. Salary after 4 Years*: $29,475
- Avg. Cost Recoup Time**: 7 years
- Job Growth: -17.12%
- Number of Jobs: 25,700
- * denotes ‘annually’
- ** denotes ‘at 15% of annual salary’
Career Salaries
Career | Job Growth | Avg. Salary |
---|---|---|
Special Effects Artists and Animators | 8.17% | $78,763 |
Desktop Publishers | -12.94% | $51,546 |
Prepress Technicians and Workers | -17.12% | $42,962 |
Printing Press Operators | -8.49% | $39,361 |
Data Entry Keyers | -26.03% | $35,665 |
Average Career Salaries
Bottom 10% | Median | Top 10% |
---|---|---|
$31,349 | $43,820 | $62,898 |
Promising Job Markets
State | Cost of Living | Avg. Salary |
---|---|---|
#2 District of Columbia | 49% higher than average | $87,993 |
#3 Arkansas | 16% higher than average | $46,276 |
#4 Michigan | 15% higher than average | $45,183 |
#5 Mississippi | 18% higher than average | $43,505 |
#6 North Carolina | 11% higher than average | $46,268 |
Top Industries
Industry | Avg. Salary |
---|---|
Special Effects Artists and Animators | $78,763 |
Desktop Publishers | $51,546 |
Prepress Technicians and Workers | $42,962 |
Online Graphic Design Programs Looking for You
Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions
If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.
No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?
If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.
In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.
Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.
Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.
As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.
In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.
Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.
If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).
While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.
The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.
Resources for Online College-Bound Students
Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.