Best Art Director programs in Missouri, ranked by enrollment
Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film.
17 schools in Missouri run programs that feed this job, graduating 218 people a year. The job pays a median of $100,940 in Missouri across about 780 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Missouri that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
3 programs in Missouri that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Missouri (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 Missouri page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0409In Missouri → | 137 | 62.8% | 14 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0102In Missouri → | 55 | 25.2% | 4 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 3 | CIP 50.0706In Missouri → | 26 | 11.9% | 2 | $24,447 | $25,294 |
Top 17 schools in Missouri
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 8 of the 17 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 56 | Digital Arts | $29,775 | 75% | — | 78% |
| 2 | Saint Louis Community College Bridgeton, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Graphic Design | $25,929 | 21% | — | — |
| 3 | Webster University Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 26 | Graphic Design | $20,257 | 64% | $25,090 | 86% |
| 4 | Missouri State University - Springfield Springfield, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 21 | Intermedia/Multimedia | $24,024 | 58% | — | 91% |
| 5 | Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Graphic Design | $39,623 | 66% | $24,921 | 95% |
| 6 | Drury University Springfield, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Graphic Design | — | 62% | $20,482 | 58% |
| 7 | Kansas City Art Institute Kansas City, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Graphic Design | $29,513 | 58% | $29,039 | 55% |
| 8 | Lindenwood University Saint Charles, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Intermedia/Multimedia | — | 49% | $17,436 | 57% |
| 9 | Park University Parkville, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Graphic Design | $46,340 | 38% | $16,013 | — |
| 10 | Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Graphic Design | — | 54% | — | 86% |
| 11 | Columbia College Columbia, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Graphic Design | — | 42% | $23,247 | — |
| 12 | Missouri Western State University Saint Joseph, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Graphic Design | $37,200 | 39% | — | — |
| 13 | College of the Ozarks Point Lookout, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Graphic Design | — | 64% | $8,360 | 12% |
| 14 | Stevens - The Institute of Business & Arts Saint Louis, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Graphic Design | — | 14% | $20,095 | 100% |
| 15 | Drury University - College of Continuing Professional Studies Springfield, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Graphic Design | — | 43% | $14,825 | — |
| 16 | Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Kansas City, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Graphic Design | — | 48% | $26,572 | 96% |
| 17 | Missouri Southern State University Joplin, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Digital Arts | — | 42% | — | 97% |
All 17 schools in Missouri
Every school in Missouri 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Missouri - Columbia | Columbia | Public | 56 | 2 |
| Saint Louis Community College | Bridgeton | Public | 32 | 1 |
| Webster University | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 26 | 2 |
| Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield | Public | 21 | 2 |
| Maryville University of Saint Louis | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 1 |
| Drury University | Springfield | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| Kansas City Art Institute | Kansas City | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 1 |
| Lindenwood University | Saint Charles | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 1 |
| Park University | Parkville | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| Northwest Missouri State University | Maryville | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Columbia College | Columbia | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| Missouri Western State University | Saint Joseph | Public | 5 | 1 |
| College of the Ozarks | Point Lookout | Private not-for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Stevens - The Institute of Business & Arts | Saint Louis | Private for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Drury University - College of Continuing Professional Studies | Springfield | Private not-for-profit | 3 | 1 |
What art directors earn in Missouri
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $114,850. Missouri pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Missouri
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Missouri
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 Missouri.
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 Graphic Design, which awarded 137 degrees in Missouri in 2024-25, 62.8% 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 Design and Applied Arts, Visual and Performing Arts, Fine and Studio Arts. Together they graduate about 218 people a year in Missouri.
How much do art directors earn in Missouri?+
The median is $100,940 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 12.1% 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 Missouri?+
17 institutions in Missouri 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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card