Online Art and Design Degrees
The design field includes many creative explorations. This educational experience can help you develop your talent and turn your passion into a degree. Design programs include, culinary arts, graphic design, fashion design, interior design, visual fine art, and architecture. Already talented individuals who seek out an online degree are best suited for employment in the design world. Refining your skill and developing your talent will be part of your online education program.
Online Art & Design Degree Programs
Art and design degree programs feature a unique fusion of creative, technology, and business sense that prepares budding careerists for success in the industry. Degrees in this field are available on-campus or online, perfect for students juggling personal and professional commitments. This is high-impact career training designed for multiple learning styles and progressive employment tracks.
Available Art & Design Career Options
Two key art and design degrees – Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) – are among the most sought after by employers. While the four-year program is fast becoming the benchmark for entry-level positions, the graduate degree emphasizes your commitment to academic preparation.
In the art and design field, diversity is the name of the game. Save for natural talent, graduates can continually refine and customize their abilities to take advantage of new opportunities. Career training through a formal program or mentor is the surest way to reduce the learning curve and become established in a field. A few of the top career options for professionals with degrees in art and design include:
- Art directors
- Craft artists
- Fine artists
- Multimedia artists
- Printmakers
- Painting restorers
Employment Outlook for Art & Design
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, artists and related workers held about 218,000 jobs in 2006; nearly 62 percent of these professionals were self-employed. The technology field, and multimedia art and animation specifically, employ the largest segment at over 87,000 workers. Art directors and fine artists also represent a significant portion of art and design graduates annually. Employment of artists and related workers is projected to increase by 16 percent over the decade through 2016, which is faster than the national average for all occupations.
With respect to salary, professionals with career training in art and design find a mixed bag, depending largely on talent, professional niche, and geographical location. For example, the mean annual wages for salaried art directors was $83,230 in 2007. Salaried multimedia artists and animators had mean annual wages of $61,010 for the same period.
Typical Art & Design Coursework and Online Study Options
Art and design degrees are typically liberal arts-based programs with an opportunity to specialize in a particular industry or field. Core curriculum courses include basic math, history, and natural sciences. As students move into their desired majors, courses such as programming languages, art and music theory, and drama are academic staples.
Online degree options allow art and design students to choose their own method of study. On-campus, online, and hybrid programs are available to address a variety of learning styles. The biggest benefit to earning your degree online is the inherent technological component that employers crave.
The Arts
Study of the arts encompasses the following subject areas:
The Game Art and Design program concentrates on the artistic side of games – not computer programming. You will strengthen your basic art and design skills, and then you’ll learn how to design game play and background, create characters and their environments, and apply your knowledge of video and computer games to evaluate game products. You will also learn to plan the game environment and determine choices for characters.
Media Arts & Animation. This program begins with a foundation in drawing, color, character design, and computer applications. Under the guidance of an industry-experienced faculty, you’ll examine advanced 2-D and 3-D animation principles as well as story development, background design, scenic layout, and special effects. You will work with program-specific software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, and Discreet’s 3D Studio Max.
Computer Animation. In this program, you will be trained in creative problem-solving and learn to offer solutions that are effective in the business world. Emphasis is placed on learning skills and techniques of computer graphics, electronic imaging, and production. By graduation, you will have acquired the training and portfolio necessary to interview for an entry-level position as a production artist, graphic designer, computer animator, corporate communications coordinator, or assistant art director.
Graphic Design. In this program, you will learn the skills and techniques of computer graphics, electronic imaging, and production through the use of scanners, digital cameras, and computer-based hardware and software (such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator). You will be trained in creative problem-solving and learn to offer solutions that are effective in the business world. Emphasis is placed on learning skills and techniques of computer graphics, electronic imaging, and production.
