Best Graphic Designer programs in Virginia, ranked by enrollment
Design or create graphics to meet specific commercial or promotional needs, such as packaging, displays, or logos.
22 schools in Virginia run programs that feed this job, graduating 685 people a year. The job pays a median of $72,310 in Virginia across about 4,740 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Virginia that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Virginia that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Virginia (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 Virginia page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Design and Visual Communications, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0401In Virginia → | 313 | 45.7% | 16 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 2 | Graphic Designmain feeder CIP 50.0409In Virginia → | 192 | 28.0% | 5 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
| 3 | Digital Artsmain feeder CIP 50.0102In Virginia → | 87 | 12.7% | 2 | $24,752 | $25,963 |
| 4 | CIP 11.0801In Virginia → | 50 | 7.3% | 6 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
| 5 | Industrial and Product Designmain feeder CIP 50.0404In Virginia → | 43 | 6.3% | 2 | $31,611 | $26,000 |
Top 22 schools in Virginia
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 22 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liberty University Lynchburg, VA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 312 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $30,019 | 65% | $28,911 | 99% |
| 2 | Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 80 | Graphic Design | $25,872 | 63% | — | 93% |
| 3 | Northern Virginia Community College Annandale, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 54 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $33,232 | 33% | — | — |
| 4 | Tidewater Community College Norfolk, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 38 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $22,935 | 32% | — | — |
| 5 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 36 | Industrial and Product Design | $46,761 | 86% | — | 55% |
| 6 | Radford University Radford, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $34,096 | 49% | — | 90% |
| 7 | Brightpoint Community College Chester, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design | — | 38% | — | — |
| 8 | Virginia Western Community College Roanoke, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 18 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $31,440 | 40% | — | — |
| 9 | Germanna Community College Locust Grove, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 46% | — | — |
| 10 | Marymount University Arlington, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Design and Visual Communications, General | $33,180 | 54% | $25,803 | 93% |
| 11 | Bridgewater College Bridgewater, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Digital Arts | — | 53% | $19,485 | 92% |
| 12 | Virginia Peninsula Community College Hampton, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 13 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 13 | Longwood University Farmville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Graphic Design | $35,612 | 61% | — | 90% |
| 14 | Regent University Virginia Beach, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Graphic Design | — | 57% | $18,677 | 38% |
| 15 | Blue Ridge Community College Weyers Cave, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 40% | — | — |
| 16 | J Sargeant Reynolds Community College Richmond, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 32% | — | — |
| 17 | Danville Community College Danville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 39% | — | — |
| 18 | Piedmont Virginia Community College Charlottesville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 39% | — | — |
| 19 | Southern Virginia University Buena Vista, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 33% | $23,606 | 96% |
| 20 | Emory & Henry University Emory, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Graphic Design | — | 56% | $20,446 | 84% |
| 21 | Southwest Virginia Community College Cedar Bluff, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Design and Visual Communications, General | — | 46% | — | — |
| 22 | Virginia Highlands Community College Abingdon, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design | — | 40% | — | — |
All 22 schools in Virginia
Every school in Virginia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty University | Lynchburg | Private not-for-profit | 312 | 4 |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | Richmond | Public | 80 | 2 |
| Northern Virginia Community College | Annandale | Public | 54 | 2 |
| Tidewater Community College | Norfolk | Public | 38 | 2 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Blacksburg | Public | 36 | 2 |
| Radford University | Radford | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Brightpoint Community College | Chester | Public | 19 | 1 |
| Virginia Western Community College | Roanoke | Public | 18 | 2 |
| Germanna Community College | Locust Grove | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Marymount University | Arlington | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 1 |
| Bridgewater College | Bridgewater | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| Virginia Peninsula Community College | Hampton | Public | 13 | 2 |
| Longwood University | Farmville | Public | 8 | 1 |
| Regent University | Virginia Beach | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 1 |
| Blue Ridge Community College | Weyers Cave | Public | 6 | 1 |
What graphic designers earn in Virginia
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $62,960. Virginia pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Virginia
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 Virginia
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 Virginia.
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 313 degrees in Virginia in 2024-25, 45.7% 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 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Design and Applied Arts, Visual and Performing Arts, Computer Software and Media Applications. Together they graduate about 685 people a year in Virginia.
How much do graphic designers earn in Virginia?+
The median is $72,310 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 14.9% above 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 Virginia?+
22 institutions in Virginia reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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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