Find top-ranked online bachelor’s in digital media degree programs to prepare students to become video editors, multimedia artists, videographers, copywriters, web designers, and graphic designers.
If you are passionate about multimedia or digital arts, then a career in animation and multimedia arts is a great career choice. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a 23% job growth rate over the next decade for web developers and digital designers.
In this modern day and age, people are constantly craving realistic films with amazing special effects, or video games with high-end graphics. That is why there is a constant demand for additional computer hardware experts and multimedia artists.
Digital media degree holders can find jobs in marketing, infographics, web-based design, and advertising, depending on their field of expertise. Digital media careers usually need graduates who have very creative skills in a way that will appeal to different clients.
Undergraduates who wish to earn their online bachelor’s in digital media will be qualified for careers in industries like media, product design, marketing, and technology. This online program trains students in valuable skills, such as solving design issues, and defining, developing, discovering, and delivering interesting designs.
Bachelor’s degree holders in digital media can also advance their skills in executing, creating, and evaluating different communication strategies. You can use these skills to create a portfolio of your design projects for employment considerations in the future.
Today, most digital media programs allow students to choose a specific concentration within the degree. Thus, you get to focus your education on topics that you’re passionate about, including:
You can find so many schools that offer their specific digital media degree. Additionally, some programs will require final projects, a thesis, or capstones.
Students who earn a bachelor’s degree in digital media will gain a variety of in-demand technical and practical skills. Nearly all vocations rely on digital media to communicate, advertise, and engage.
Back to TopWith courses covering topics such as web design, electronic publishing and graphics, virtual reality, and game design, graduates with this degree will qualify to work in many fields.
Back to TopMost programs require 120 credits to complete and are available both online and on campus. Though some programs offer accelerated options, most undergraduate digital media programs take about four years to finish.
Back to TopUpon graduation, students can gain employment as video editors, multimedia artists, videographers, copywriters, web designers, and graphic designers.
Back to TopLearn more about how to major in computer science.
An online bachelor’s in digital media program isn’t for everyone, as it attracts students with a knack for all things computers, artistry, and mass communication. An excellent undergraduate degree program is the key to truly obtaining the right digital media skills that qualify students for this career path!
What makes a digital media online program stand out? The coursework, even at the bachelor’s level, must be comprehensive enough to cover the scope of the discipline.
Even as digital media is geared toward visual media, digital marketing, journalism, and mass communication are also often part of the coursework. This way, each student becomes graduate level-ready or workplace-ready as a multimedia artist after completing the program.
Professors who are considered industry authorities also make up the faculty and teaching personnel of the online digital media undergraduate programs on our list.
Regional accreditation is also expected of an outstanding program in digital media. It is a demonstration of the school’s capability to deliver an online degree that produces the most talented and skilled professionals.
The following graph depicts the average salaries of Web and Digital Interface Designers for each percentile in the U.S.
Source: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
SVG Attribution: Wikipedia
Tuition + fees
$58K
Acceptance
18%
Graduation
91%
Student body
24K
Median SAT/ACT
1475/34
Tuition + fees
$6K
Acceptance
30%
Graduation
91%
Student body
48K
Median SAT/ACT
1375/31
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
64%
Student body
40K
Median SAT/ACT
1220/25
Tuition + fees
$16K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
84%
Student body
30K
Median SAT/ACT
1295/29
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
68%
Graduation
63%
Student body
36K
Median SAT/ACT
1155/24
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
48%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/23
Tuition + fees
$26K
Graduation
46%
Student body
1K
Tuition + fees
$39K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
60%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1115/24
Tuition + fees
$7K
Acceptance
63%
Graduation
54%
Student body
12K
Median SAT/ACT
1110/23
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
41%
Graduation
62%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/25
Tuition + fees
$15K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
39%
Student body
102K
Tuition + fees
$41K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
50%
Student body
3K
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
53%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1085/22
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
48%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1050/22
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
55%
Graduation
47%
Student body
25K
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
53%
Student body
8K
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
36%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
940/16
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
65%
Graduation
39%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
953/20
Tuition + fees
$12K
Graduation
24%
Student body
7K
Tuition + fees
$28K
Acceptance
45%
Graduation
51%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1065/21
Tuition + fees
$27K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
73%
Student body
9K
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
47%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1045/20
Tuition + fees
$23K
Graduation
29%
Student body
<1K
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
57%
Student body
11K
Median SAT/ACT
1055/21
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
37%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1030/18
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.
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.