Best Graphic Designer programs in Texas, ranked by enrollment
Design or create graphics to meet specific commercial or promotional needs, such as packaging, displays, or logos.
54 schools in Texas run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,490 people a year. The job pays a median of $60,150 in Texas across about 13,670 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Texas that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
7 programs in Texas that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Texas (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 Texas page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Design and Visual Communications, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0401In Texas → | 628 | 25.2% | 14 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | Digital Artsmain feeder CIP 50.0102In Texas → | 599 | 24.1% | 7 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 3 | Graphic Designmain feeder CIP 50.0409In Texas → | 355 | 14.3% | 23 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 4 | Commercial and Advertising Artmain feeder CIP 50.0402In Texas → | 325 | 13.1% | 8 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 5 | CIP 11.0801In Texas → | 324 | 13.0% | 12 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
| 6 | CIP 11.0803In Texas → | 240 | 9.6% | 3 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
| 7 | Industrial and Product Designmain feeder CIP 50.0404In Texas → | 19 | 0.8% | 1 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
Top 25 schools in Texas
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 15 of the 54 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 383 | Digital Arts | $28,494 | 76% | — | 65% |
| 2 | Dallas College Dallas, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 254 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $31,478 | 32% | — | — |
| 3 | Austin Community College District Austin, TX Public · 3 feeder programs | 245 | Digital Arts | $29,669 | 20% | — | — |
| 4 | University of Houston Houston, TX Public · 3 feeder programs | 166 | Computer Graphics | $33,997 | 65% | — | 74% |
| 5 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 147 | Digital Arts | $29,707 | 89% | — | 27% |
| 6 | Collin County Community College District McKinney, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 130 | Commercial and Advertising Art | $33,456 | 20% | — | — |
| 7 | Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 116 | Computer Graphics | $35,991 | 84% | — | 57% |
| 8 | Texas State University San Marcos, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 98 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $44,396 | 55% | — | 89% |
| 9 | University of North Texas Denton, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 74 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $33,867 | 61% | — | 72% |
| 10 | Texas State Technical College Waco, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 64 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $23,345 | 46% | — | — |
| 11 | San Antonio College San Antonio, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 55 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 26% | — | — |
| 12 | San Jacinto Community College Pasadena, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 52 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 30% | — | — |
| 13 | Northwest Vista College San Antonio, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 51 | Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design | — | 32% | — | — |
| 14 | El Paso Community College El Paso, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 24% | — | — |
| 15 | South Plains College Levelland, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 29% | — | — |
| 16 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Graphic Design | — | 51% | — | 94% |
| 17 | Blinn College District Brenham, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Commercial and Advertising Art | — | 11% | — | — |
| 18 | Tyler Junior College Tyler, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Graphic Design | — | 27% | — | — |
| 19 | South Texas College McAllen, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 39 | Graphic Design | — | 27% | — | — |
| 20 | College of the Mainland Texas City, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design | — | 31% | — | — |
| 21 | Lamar Institute of Technology Beaumont, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Graphic Design | — | 31% | — | — |
| 22 | Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 29 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 86% | $25,823 | 44% |
| 23 | Amarillo College Amarillo, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Graphic Design | — | 32% | — | — |
| 24 | Saint Edward's University Austin, TX Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Graphic Design | $30,589 | 63% | $24,630 | 81% |
| 25 | Tarleton State University Stephenville, TX Public · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Digital Arts | — | 48% | — | 90% |
All 54 schools in Texas
Every school in Texas 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The University of Texas at Dallas | Richardson | Public | 383 | 1 |
| Dallas College | Dallas | Public | 254 | 2 |
| Austin Community College District | Austin | Public | 245 | 3 |
| University of Houston | Houston | Public | 166 | 3 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | Austin | Public | 147 | 2 |
| Collin County Community College District | McKinney | Public | 130 | 2 |
| Texas A&M University - College Station | College Station | Public | 116 | 1 |
| Texas State University | San Marcos | Public | 98 | 1 |
| University of North Texas | Denton | Public | 74 | 1 |
| Texas State Technical College | Waco | Public | 64 | 2 |
| San Antonio College | San Antonio | Public | 55 | 1 |
| San Jacinto Community College | Pasadena | Public | 52 | 1 |
| Northwest Vista College | San Antonio | Public | 51 | 1 |
| El Paso Community College | El Paso | Public | 49 | 1 |
| South Plains College | Levelland | Public | 49 | 1 |
What graphic designers earn in Texas
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $62,960. Texas pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Texas
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 Graphic Designers page.
How to become a Graphic Designer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
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 Texas
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 7 majors mapped to Graphic Designers7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 11.0801Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design
- 11.0803Computer Graphics
- 50.0102Digital Arts
- 50.0401Design and Visual Communications, General
- 50.0402Commercial and Advertising Art
- 50.0404Industrial and Product Design
- 50.0409Graphic Design
Common questions
Answers for people weighing graphic designers programs in Texas.
What degree do you need to become a Graphic Designer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Design and Visual Communications, General, which awarded 628 degrees in Texas in 2024-25, 25.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Graphic Designer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 7 programs to this occupation. The largest are Design and Applied Arts, Visual and Performing Arts, Computer Software and Media Applications. Together they graduate about 2,490 people a year in Texas.
How much do graphic designers earn in Texas?+
The median is $60,150 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 4.5% below the U.S. median of $62,960. 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 graphic designers growing?+
BLS projects a +2.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 20,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Texas?+
54 institutions in Texas reported graduates from at least one of the 7 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 graphic designers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Artist, Designer, Graphic Artist, Graphic Designer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-1024.
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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