Interested in a graphic design career? Choosing the right college or university is a crucial first step for students who want to build a successful career in the field. With over 150 colleges and universities in Virginia, choosing which school is the best fit for your life can be challenging to say the least.

Best Graphic Design Programs in Virginia for 2019

Top 10 Graphic Design Programs in Virginia

School rankings are based on data published by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), a system of surveys conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education. Key factors include a commitment to high academic standards, return on investment, faculty ratings, and long-term employment statistics that track graduate success.
  • Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  • George Mason University
  • James Madison University
  • Virginia State University
  • Old Dominion University
  • Norfolk State University
  • Hampton University
  • Marymount University
  • Liberty University

Our Rankings

Graphic design is the field of combining images, space, color, and typography to communicate a message to a commercial audience. Designers work in every industry, including manufacturing, entertainment, non-profit, and advertising. Working in-house or via contract, graphic designers strive to understand a company’s vision and translate it into a visual message. Because graphic designers use both artistic and technical skills to do their jobs effectively, the best post-secondary courses for graphic design teach students to conceptualize and create materials that communicate ideas that will translate into print and digital formats. Below, we’ve listed colleges in Virginia that have a proven history of academic success and that continue to provide the very best in art and design courses.

Virginia Employment & Jobs Outlook

A graphic design degree is the key that allows graduates to enter the workforce with a skillset that makes them very valuable to potential employers. Quite often however, these individuals face stiff competition for available jobs in the industry due to the number of skilled artists attracted to careers as graphic designers. According to employment data aggregated by Careerinfonet.org, the employment forecast for graphic designers in Virginia is very promising. Job prospects in the state for graphic designers is expected to increase by 12% annually from now until 2020, which equates to approximately 260 new jobs per year and consists primarily of new job growth.