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

Best Art Director programs in Oklahoma, ranked by enrollment

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

22 schools in Oklahoma run programs that feed this job, graduating 261 people a year. The job pays a median of $80,680 in Oklahoma across about 290 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledArt DirectorDesign DirectorCreative Services DirectorCreative Director (CD Director)Art ManagerArt SupervisorDesign ManagerArt Coordinator
Graduates / yr
261
in Oklahoma
Median pay · Oklahoma
$80,680
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
290
people employed
Schools
22
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
61%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,214
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Oklahoma that lead to this job

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

3 programs in Oklahoma that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Oklahoma (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 Oklahoma page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 50.0409In Oklahoma
242
92.7%
20$31,611$26,000
2
CIP 50.0102In Oklahoma
10
3.8%
3$24,752$25,963
3
CIP 50.0706In Oklahoma
9
3.4%
1$24,447$25,294

Top 22 schools in Oklahoma

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 22 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Kiamichi Technology Center - McAlester
McAlester, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
29Graphic Design45%
2Tulsa Technology Center
Tulsa, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
25Graphic Design81%
3Gordon Cooper Technology Center
Shawnee, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
24Graphic Design90%
4Metro Technology Centers
Oklahoma City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
20Graphic Design35%
5University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
20Graphic Design$42,61937%78%
6Southern Oklahoma Technology Center
Ardmore, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
18Graphic Design83%
7Mid - America Technology Center
Wayne, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
16Graphic Design100%
8Oklahoma Baptist University
Shawnee, OK Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
14Graphic Design52%$23,21449%
9Francis Tuttle Technology Center
Oklahoma City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
13Graphic Design52%
10Autry Technology Center
Enid, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
12Graphic Design75%71%
11Meridian Technology Center
Stillwater, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
9Graphic Design48%
12Rose State College
Midwest City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
9Intermedia/Multimedia20%
13Red River Technology Center
Duncan, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
8Graphic Design53%
14Southwest Technology Center
Altus, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
8Graphic Design78%
15Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Weatherford, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
7Graphic Design40%
16Northern Oklahoma College
Tonkawa, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
6Digital Arts48%
17Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology
Okmulgee, OK Public · 2 feeder programs
6Graphic Design$28,43842%
18Pioneer Technology Center
Ponca City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
5Graphic Design73%
19Pontotoc Technology Center
Ada, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
5Graphic Design83%
20Chisholm Trail Technology Center
Omega, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
4Graphic Design71%
21Oklahoma State University - Main Campus
Stillwater, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
2Graphic Design68%75%
22Northwest Technology Center - Alva
Alva, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
1Graphic Design77%

All 22 schools in Oklahoma

Every school in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Kiamichi Technology Center - McAlesterMcAlesterPublic291
Tulsa Technology CenterTulsaPublic251
Gordon Cooper Technology CenterShawneePublic241
Metro Technology CentersOklahoma CityPublic201
University of Central OklahomaEdmondPublic201
Southern Oklahoma Technology CenterArdmorePublic181
Mid - America Technology CenterWaynePublic161
Oklahoma Baptist UniversityShawneePrivate not-for-profit142
Francis Tuttle Technology CenterOklahoma CityPublic131
Autry Technology CenterEnidPublic121
Meridian Technology CenterStillwaterPublic91
Rose State CollegeMidwest CityPublic91
Red River Technology CenterDuncanPublic81
Southwest Technology CenterAltusPublic81
Southwestern Oklahoma State UniversityWeatherfordPublic71

What art directors earn in Oklahoma

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

Median annual in Oklahoma
$80,680
Mean annual
$92,600
Jobs in state
290
What the range looks like
10th pct$62,960Median$80,68090th pct$143,260
Versus the national median
-29.8%

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

Job concentration
0.49×

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

Metro areas in Oklahoma

Tulsa, OK
$81,500median
90 jobs
Oklahoma City, OK
$80,680median
150 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 Oklahoma

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 Oklahoma.

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 242 degrees in Oklahoma in 2024-25, 92.7% 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 261 people a year in Oklahoma.

How much do art directors earn in Oklahoma?+

The median is $80,680 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 29.8% 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 Oklahoma?+

22 institutions in Oklahoma 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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