Computers are at the forefront of advertising, entertainment, and communication in today’s culture and this list of accredited web design degree programs in Minnesota will be useful for students considering study at a Minnesota school. The computer technology field is diverse and highly-compensated. Some of the programs listed are fairly well-defined, while others allow some leeway in designing a degree path. One program even suggests incorporating courses from another college in the university into a degree program to enrich it. Students should also consider whether they will enter the field with an associate degree or complete a four-year bachelor program.
The Art Institutes International Minnesota
Media Arts Department
This school has four departments: Media Arts, Design, Fashion, and Culinary. It is located in an ideal site for arts because there are four art museums, an orchestra and a regional theater all nearby. The three concentrations available in the Media Arts Department are advertising, graphic and web design and audio. There are labs available to students in design, fashion, and media arts as well as PC and Mac labs. The hands-on education style of the school provides students with the skills and industry contacts they need to get positions in this career. The tuition is $481 per credit hour based on twelve credits per quarter. A tuition freeze is in effect until 2015.
Associate of Applied Science in Web Design and Interactive Media
This program focuses on interface design, interactivity, visual design, database design, dynamic web content design, and technology and information design. It is intended to give students the skills and knowledge to obtain entry-level positions as interactive designers, animators, special effects artists, and computer artists. The associate degree program takes seven quarters to complete. Students who earn this degree will be able to demonstrate and integrate knowledge of major concepts, theory, empirical findings, and historical trends. The program is 92 credits or 1220 hours. There are eight required classes including Fundamentals of Design, Introduction to Video, Image Manipulation, and Advanced Scripting Languages, among others. There are also eight required general education (liberal arts) courses that include two English classes, science, psychology and math along with art history, critical thinking, and public speaking.
Bachelor of Science in Web Design and Interactive Media
This twelve-quarter program contains the course material of the associate degree plus other instruction to make up the 180 credits in this degree path. In addition to teaching the fundamentals and advanced practices of the major, students are shown how to make presentations, how to respond in interviews, and how to build resumes. At graduation they are expected to know the vocabulary associated with web design and to understand the concepts of interactive design as well as to possess the technical skills needed in this career. They should also have mastered the ability to work in teams. There are 29 required courses plus electives chosen from two sets: Advanced Typography, Photography for Non-majors, and Print Production in the first set and Package Design, Publication Design, and Introduction to VFX in the second. There is also an elective internship.
Associate in Applied Science in Graphic Design
This seven-quarter program stresses the ability to verbally communicate a vision as well as the technical skill to produce the design. Graduates of this program will have the introductory skills they need to get entry-level positions in advertising, publishing, television and interactive communications or to further their educations. There are fifteen required courses including Fundamentals of Design, Drawing and Perspective, Print Production, Publication Design, Color and Design and Digital Illustration among others. There are also eight required liberal arts courses: English I and II, Psychology, Public Speaking, Environmental Science, College Math, Art History and Critical Thinking. Four of the concentration courses require a “C” or above to pass. The Associate in Applied Science in Graphic Design program consists of 92 credits or 1220 hours.
Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design
The Bachelor of Science degree is a twelve quarter program. One of its stated goals is to teach students to “express themselves creatively while visually communicating a message.” The program stresses hands-on learning and uses technology and software recognized in the graphic design industry. Courses center around three areas: typography, illustration and package design. Beginning students learn the concepts of color and design. By graduation, they are expected to use this information in creative problem solving. There are 31 required courses including some classes dedicated to portfolio-building. In addition, students take 15 hours of general education courses in English, science, math, and psychology as well as ethics and interpersonal communication, physics, and anthropology. The program contains 180 credits or 2440 hours.
Accreditation
- Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS)
Contact
Art Institutes International—Minnesota
15 South 9th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Phone: (612) 332-3361
Email: aimadm@aii.edu
Website: http://new.artinstitutes.edu/areasofstudy/Graphic-And-Web-Design/detail/42
Dakota County Technical College
Design and Technology
The motto of this school is “Real education, Real results.” The school has less than 6000 students and is located in the Minneapolis/St Paul metropolitan area. Created in 1969, the technical college offers several courses in five academic departments as well as continuing education. The average student age is 31. The school boasts high-tech classrooms and fully credentialed faculty that can make the most of the facility. Certificates of completion and associate degrees are awarded by the Multimedia and Web Design Program.
Associate of Applied Science in Multimedia and Web Design
This degree prepares students to create visual content for websites, some of it interactive, as well as to design and implement other presentations with stand-alone delivery. Students in the program use software known and utilized in the industry to design and develop images, use two-and three-dimensional animation and produce audio, video and navigation for websites. People with this degree can seek employment in the advertising, educational and entertainment industries. The program consists of 70 credits: 55 in requisite core classes and six credits in technical electives, plus another 15 credits in general education. Composition and Interpersonal Communication are required in the general education portion, however the remaining credits are elective. Tuition is $168.95 per credit and the estimated total for the associate degree is $15, 437.75.
Associate of Applied Science in Graphic Design and Technology
The goal of this program is to teach students to “explore, plan, design and produce visual solutions to communications problems.” People in this degree path are concerned with discovering the best and most effective means of communicating in print, on the Internet, with multimedia and interactive technology. Classes are delivered in traditional daytime schedules or in the evenings to accommodate working adults. Students may attend full or part-time as well and they may start in the fall or spring semester. Careers for this degree include advertising design, graphic artist, visual designer and studio designer. The 70- credit program includes 55 credits in required courses including four credits of technical elective, plus 15 credits of general education courses of which Composition I and Interpersonal Communication are required but the other credits may be chosen from electives.
Accreditation
- Higher learning Commission, North Central Association of Schools and Colleges (NCA HLC)
Contact
Dakota County technical College
Design and Technology Department
1300 145th Street East
Rosemount, MN 55068
Phone: (651) 423-8323
Email: amy.eppen@dct.edu
Website: http://www.dctc.edu/academics/programs-majors/design-technology/
DeVry University Edina Campus
College of Media Arts and Technology
DeVry is best-known for its online education, but it does offer traditional campuses as well. The Edina campus of DeVry University boasts spacious classrooms and fully-wired computer labs. The school also offers a comfortable commons area. Edina is known as the most affluent suburb of Minneapolis with a population of less than 50,000. The school has graduate and undergraduate programs. Tuition at DeVry is $609 per credit hour for programs under eight credit hours and $365 per credit hour for those programs eight credit hours and more. DeVry’s web design programs are ranked number four on the top ten best online web design schools and degrees by our editors.
Associate of Applied Science in Web Graphic Design
The goal of this program is to give students mastery of “key software applications, fundamental design principles, web content management and animation.” Graduates will be able to apply these skills to build web pages, develop advertising images, create instructional material and more. The program takes five full semesters and contains 63 credit hours. Course delivery is through traditional classroom study, online courses or through hybrid courses. Credits earned in this program are applicable to the DeVry Bachelor of Science Degree in Multimedia Design and Development. Courses include “Fundamentals of Digital Imaging,” “Web Design,” “ Information Design,” “Web Animation” and “Instructional Design for Multimedia.” The program brochure says that during the program students will create samples to include in building a portfolio that can be used in job interviews.
Bachelor of Science in Multimedia Design and Development
This degree takes eight full quarters to complete and consists of 124 credit hours. It can be earned at the Edina campus, online or in a hybrid program of both. Students in this degree program can include a related program like “Web Development and Administration” or “Web Game Programming” from the College of Engineering and Information Systems into the degree to enhance their skills and build their educational resumes. Specializations in tis degree must be at least 30 credit hours and include: “Graphic and Multimedia Management,” which contains coursework in marketing, advertising and public relations, “Web Design and Development” which incorporates introductions to database and programming and “Web Game Programming” which contains courses in interactive web page scripting and game development.
Accreditation
- Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association (NCA HLC)
Contact
DeVry University Edina Campus
7700 France Street Ste. 575
Edina, Minnesota 55435
Phone: (952) 838-1860
Website: http://www.devry.edu/universities/us-locations/minnesota/edina-campus.html
Dunwoody College of Technology
Department of Computer Technology
This school , founded in 1914, is the only not-for-profit technical college in Minnesota and one of three in the United States. It offers bachelor’s and associate degrees as well as diplomas and certificates, however credits earned in these programs may not transfer to other colleges. The school features a “2+2” program that guarantees people who graduate with an associate degree can enter the bachelor program at Dunwoody. There are 130 faculty members and the student-to-faculty ratio is 10:1. Tuition is not quoted generally, but available through a computer-generated tuition calculator on the website.
Associate in Applied Science in Web Programming and Database Development
This degree program provides graduates with the skills necessary to “design, create and manage websites that are well[coded, efficient, aesthetically pleasing useful, data driven and user friendly.” The median salary for professionals in this area is more than $75,000. Students learn mobile and web development, graphic source and proprietary object-oriented and scripting languages, database creation and management, coding and other courses germane to this profession. The degree takes two years ( four semesters) to earn. It contains 21 required courses plus electives in the arts and humanities and in the social/behavioral sciences. There are also “diversity electives” and internships built into the program. The internships are in three units and require 56 hours, 108 hours and 162 hours respectively.
Associate in Applied Science in Web Development
This is a new program at Dunwoody. There is no job placement data on this degree yet, but placement in the Web Programming and Database Development program is more than eighty percent. Classes in this two-year program are held in the evenings to accommodate working adult learners. This degree leads to careers as wen developers, web designers and content managers, among others. The median starting salary for people in this career is more than $62,000. The program is made up of 15 required courses, and electives in the humanities and social sciences as well as a diversity elective. There are classes in scripting languages, database creation and data recovery, coding practices, programming logic, website design, navigation paradigms and structure query language. The arts and sciences curriculum are intended to enhance the degree with skills in communication and writing plus math courses designed especially for computer students.
Accreditation
- Higher Learning Commission, North Central Association (NCA HLC)
Contact
Dunwoody College of Technology
818 Dunwoody Blvd.
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Phone: (612) 374-5800
Email: info@dunwoody.edu
Website: http://www.dunwoody.edu/computer/web-programming/
This compilation of information is intended merely as a starting point for people investigating degree programs. Schools differ in their approach to learning as well as in the requisites they have for earning a degree. Prospective students should study the individual school website for more detailed information than can be given in this list of accredited web design degree programs in Minnesota.
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