Florida·Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations·SOC 27-1011

Best Art Director programs in Florida, ranked by enrollment

Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film.

30 schools in Florida run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,248 people a year. The job pays a median of $99,660 in Florida across about 2,520 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledArt DirectorDesign DirectorCreative Services DirectorCreative Director (CD Director)Art ManagerArt SupervisorDesign ManagerArt Coordinator
Graduates / yr
2,248
in Florida
Median pay · Florida
$99,660
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
2,520
people employed
Schools
30
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
59%
across those schools
Median net price
$29,915
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Florida that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in Florida that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Florida (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Florida page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 50.0102In Florida
1,406
62.5%
17$24,752$25,963
2
CIP 50.0409In Florida
467
20.8%
14$31,611$26,000
3
CIP 50.0706In Florida
375
16.7%
2$24,447$25,294

Top 25 schools in Florida

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 30 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Full Sail University
Winter Park, FL Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
889Digital Arts$22,43944%$32,163
2University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
506Digital Arts$28,87878%40%
3Ana G. Mendez University
Orlando, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
176Graphic Design
4University of Florida
Gainesville, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
125Digital Arts$30,62991%24%
5Florida International University
Miami, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
111Digital Arts74%55%
6Florida Gulf Coast University
Fort Myers, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
75Digital Arts57%63%
7PENSACOLA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
Pensacola, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
41Graphic Design
8University of North Florida
Jacksonville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
31Graphic Design69%53%
9Flagler College
Saint Augustine, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
30Graphic Design$34,23656%$28,07081%
10University of South Florida
Tampa, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
30Graphic Design$38,93877%43%
11Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Tallahassee, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
28Graphic Design$23,50453%21%
12University of Florida - Online
Gainesville, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
28Digital Arts$30,62985%61%
13The University of Tampa
Tampa, FL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
23Graphic Design64%$33,07040%
14Southeastern University
Lakeland, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
16Graphic Design43%$29,91553%
15Hillsborough College
Tampa, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
14Digital Arts34%
16St Petersburg College
St. Petersburg, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
14Digital Arts38%
17Daytona State College
Daytona Beach, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
13Digital Arts43%
18Florida Southern College
Lakeland, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Digital Arts71%$28,32564%
19Rasmussen University - Florida
Ocala, FL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Graphic Design$32,24642%$20,261
20Stetson University
DeLand, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Digital Arts$26,91362%$21,94872%
21Miami Dade College
Miami, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
11Digital Arts46%
22Ringling College of Art and Design
Sarasota, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
11Graphic Design$28,13772%$54,69370%
23Lynn University
Boca Raton, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Graphic Design52%$38,34373%
24University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Graphic Design84%$26,58919%
25College of Central Florida
Ocala, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
6Digital Arts44%

All 30 schools in Florida

Every school in Florida with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Florida that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Full Sail UniversityWinter ParkPrivate for-profit8892
University of Central FloridaOrlandoPublic5061
Ana G. Mendez UniversityOrlandoPrivate not-for-profit1761
University of FloridaGainesvillePublic1252
Florida International UniversityMiamiPublic1111
Florida Gulf Coast UniversityFort MyersPublic751
PENSACOLA CHRISTIAN COLLEGEPensacolaPrivate not-for-profit411
University of North FloridaJacksonvillePublic311
Flagler CollegeSaint AugustinePrivate not-for-profit301
University of South FloridaTampaPublic301
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical UniversityTallahasseePublic281
University of Florida - OnlineGainesvillePublic281
The University of TampaTampaPrivate not-for-profit232
Southeastern UniversityLakelandPrivate not-for-profit161
Hillsborough CollegeTampaPublic141

What art directors earn in Florida

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Florida
$99,660
Mean annual
$105,200
Jobs in state
2,520
What the range looks like
10th pct$56,780Median$99,66090th pct$163,450
Versus the national median
-13.2%

U.S. median $114,850. Florida pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.74×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Florida

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
$102,490median
450 jobs
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
$103,150median
1,090 jobs
Jacksonville, FL
$99,670median
110 jobs
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
$90,360median
310 jobs
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
$79,740median
40 jobs
Tallahassee, FL
$84,990median
70 jobs
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL
avg
50 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+4.2%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
12,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
5,700
135,000 → 140,700
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Art Directors page.

How to become a Art Director

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Work experience needed
5 years or more

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Active ListeningSpeakingReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingWritingMonitoring

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Florida

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 3 majors mapped to Art Directors3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 50.0102Digital Arts
  • 50.0409Graphic Design
  • 50.0706Intermedia/Multimedia

Common questions

Answers for people weighing art directors programs in Florida.

What degree do you need to become an Art Director?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Digital Arts, which awarded 1,406 degrees in Florida in 2024-25, 62.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Art Director?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Visual and Performing Arts, Design and Applied Arts, Fine and Studio Arts. Together they graduate about 2,248 people a year in Florida.

How much do art directors earn in Florida?+

The median is $99,660 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 13.2% below the U.S. median of $114,850. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for art directors growing?+

BLS projects a +4.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 12,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Florida?+

30 institutions in Florida reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do art directors work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Art Director, Design Director, Creative Services Director, Creative Director (CD Director) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-1011.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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