Best Art Director programs in North Carolina, ranked by enrollment
Formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual productions and media, such as print, broadcasting, video, and film.
25 schools in North Carolina run programs that feed this job, graduating 470 people a year. The job pays a median of $90,000 in North Carolina across about — jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in North Carolina that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in North Carolina that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in North Carolina (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 North Carolina page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 50.0409In North Carolina → | 429 | 91.3% | 24 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0102In North Carolina → | 41 | 8.7% | 2 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
Top 25 schools in North Carolina
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 25 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 73 | Graphic Design | $32,153 | 33% | — | — |
| 2 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Graphic Design | — | 69% | — | 80% |
| 3 | Wilkes Community College Wilkesboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 40 | Graphic Design | — | 55% | — | — |
| 4 | Fayetteville Technical Community College Fayetteville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Graphic Design | — | 24% | — | — |
| 5 | Appalachian State University Boone, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Graphic Design | $34,722 | 75% | — | 90% |
| 6 | University of North Carolina Asheville Asheville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 33 | Digital Arts | $23,023 | 54% | — | 92% |
| 7 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Graphic Design | $44,930 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 8 | Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Graphic Design | $24,827 | 31% | — | — |
| 9 | Alamance Community College Graham, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Graphic Design | — | 39% | — | — |
| 10 | Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Graphic Design | $30,979 | 31% | — | — |
| 11 | Pitt Community College Winterville, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Graphic Design | — | 35% | — | — |
| 12 | Elizabeth City State University Elizabeth City, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Graphic Design | — | 44% | — | 64% |
| 13 | High Point University High Point, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Graphic Design | — | 74% | $37,072 | 75% |
| 14 | Lenoir Community College Kinston, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Graphic Design | — | 36% | — | — |
| 15 | Methodist University Fayetteville, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Graphic Design | — | 44% | $24,551 | 75% |
| 16 | Forsyth Technical Community College Winston-Salem, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Graphic Design | $29,715 | 34% | — | — |
| 17 | Meredith College Raleigh, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Graphic Design | $36,357 | 70% | $19,552 | 74% |
| 18 | University of Mount Olive Mount Olive, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Graphic Design | — | 52% | $16,473 | 76% |
| 19 | Chowan University Murfreesboro, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Graphic Design | — | 30% | $17,195 | 69% |
| 20 | Randolph Community College Asheboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Graphic Design | — | 58% | — | — |
| 21 | Campbell University Buies Creek, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Graphic Design | — | 61% | $23,331 | 87% |
| 22 | Queens University of Charlotte Charlotte, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Graphic Design | $31,611 | 61% | $24,872 | 62% |
| 23 | Gardner - Webb University Boiling Springs, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Graphic Design | — | 55% | $22,863 | 77% |
| 24 | North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Graphic Design | $30,470 | 57% | — | 50% |
| 25 | Pfeiffer University Misenheimer, NC Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Graphic Design | — | 35% | $22,351 | 96% |
All 25 schools in North Carolina
Every school in North Carolina 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Technical Community College | Raleigh | Public | 73 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte | Public | 40 | 1 |
| Wilkes Community College | Wilkesboro | Public | 40 | 1 |
| Fayetteville Technical Community College | Fayetteville | Public | 36 | 1 |
| Appalachian State University | Boone | Public | 35 | 1 |
| University of North Carolina Asheville | Asheville | Public | 33 | 1 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | Raleigh | Public | 28 | 1 |
| Guilford Technical Community College | Jamestown | Public | 23 | 1 |
| Alamance Community College | Graham | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Central Piedmont Community College | Charlotte | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Pitt Community College | Winterville | Public | 20 | 1 |
| Elizabeth City State University | Elizabeth City | Public | 19 | 2 |
| High Point University | High Point | Private not-for-profit | 17 | 1 |
| Lenoir Community College | Kinston | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Methodist University | Fayetteville | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 1 |
What art directors earn in North Carolina
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $114,850. North Carolina pays below the national figure.
Metro areas in North Carolina
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 North Carolina
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 North Carolina.
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 429 degrees in North Carolina in 2024-25, 91.3% 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 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Design and Applied Arts, Visual and Performing Arts. Together they graduate about 470 people a year in North Carolina.
How much do art directors earn in North Carolina?+
The median is $90,000 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 21.6% 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 North Carolina?+
25 institutions in North Carolina reported graduates from at least one of the 2 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
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