Students are increasingly interested in the excellent, accredited web design degree programs in Montana, which offer a choice between two-year and four-year degrees in this growing field. Thanks to the growth of mobile devices and the continuing importance of a strong web design on user engagement, search engine optimization, and even e-commerce, the number of jobs in this industry is expected to increase dramatically through the end of the decade. Each of the programs offered through Montana’s community college and universities gives students the opportunity to learn about web design ethics and best practices, programming languages and popular applications, giving them a framework for extensible, adaptable success in this industry over the long course of their professional careers.
Great Falls College, Montana State University
Department of Information Technology
Great Falls College was established as the vocational counterpart to the expansive Montana State University, though it exists within the Montana State University System. The school offers two-year degrees to students studying web design and other fields and, thanks to its existence in the Montana State University System, credits are easily transferrable into four-year degrees in web design, graphic design, computer science, and other related fields. Professors who teach courses in this program largely have master’s or doctoral degrees in design and computer science, with practical experience in the design world that helps them give students context and real-world anecdotes. All students at Great Falls College are encouraged to seek internships, generally through campus-arranged internship and job fairs, networking events, and advising appointments that help to place students in a proper internship role in Great Falls.
Associate of Applied Science, Computer Information Technology: Web Design
In addition to standard introductory courses that introduce students to business, technology, and math at the collegiate level, the courses contained in this A.A.S. program focus on programming in HTML, CSS, and Java. Students will learn the fundamentals of JavaScript as well as the importance of web standards, as seasoned web designs from the Great Falls community give them hands-on design and programming experiences in campus labs. They’ll also focus on how to maintain networks, repair common computer programs, and create interactive experiences for online users that entertain them and add real value to an engaging website design. An internship is required, and will be helpfully arranged by campus advisors and internship fairs.
Accreditation
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Contact
Great Falls College, Montana State University
Department of Information Technology
2100 16th Ave. S.
Great Falls, MT 59405
Phone: (800) 446-2698
Email: admissions@gfcmsu.edu
Website: http://www.gfcmsu.edu/catalog/Programs/CIT%20Web%20Design%202014-2015.pdf
Miles Community College
Department of Information Technology
Miles Community College is a public, two-year school that focuses on A.A., A.S., and A.A.S. degrees for today’s students. It exists outside of the Montana State University System, which means students are charged different tuition rates and have the opportunity to participate in intercollegiate athletics as they study web design. This more traditional on-campus experience is paired with a series of non-traditional, high-level web design courses. Students learn advanced skills by participating in hands-on, laboratory experiences that are instructed and supervised by doctoral professors and adjuncts, most of whom are designers in Miles City or other parts of Montana. Their practical experience is an asset for students who are looking to gain not only the right skill set, but also the best possible information about how to apply their skills and find a rewarding position in the industry after they graduate.
A.A.S. Web Design Option
Students must take at least six credits of programming coursework at Miles Community College, which teaches them everything from basic computer application creation to web programming languages like XHTML, XML, CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery. They’ll take a full course dedicated to Java, which can help them develop web applications, and they’ll take advanced networking, computer science, business, and mathematics classes that will prepare them for the essential on-the-job skills required of any web design positions. Students will need to seek out an internship off-campus, for which they will receive three credits of elective coursework, before they will be able to successfully finish the program an receive a degree.
Accreditation
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Contact
Miles Community College
Department of Information Technology
2715 Dickinson St.
Miles City, Mt 59301
Phone: (406) 874-6100
Website: http://www.milescc.edu/DegreesPrograms/IT/aasgraphicweb.htm
Flathead Valley Community College
Department of Business, Economics, and Technology
Flathead Valley Community College, which is one of just three non-MSU System community colleges, is uniquely focused on awarding the Associate of Applied Science degree to its graduates. The school awards this degree to those who graduate from its web design system, who study primarily the skills required to be successful in advanced web design for personal blogs, e-commerce site, and social networks. The “applied” nature of this degree eliminates the vast majority of liberal arts courses required of other schools, giving students more time to focus on web design skills, ethics, best practices, and insightful information from professors who are seasoned designers in their own right.
Web Technology Program
The Web Technology degree program teaches students all of the most popular software applications for modern design: Illustrator, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver, all created and distributed by Adobe. Extensive computer programming classes will teach students Java and JavaScript, jQuery, XHTML, CSS, and other popular web languages that create engaging designs. All students will focus on network design, interactive systems administration, basic computer science, and web security. They’ll hold at least one internship during this two-year program, which counts as a core course and enables them to receive their degree at the end of their studies.
Accreditation
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU)
Contact
Flathead Valley Community College
Department of Business, Economics, and Technology
777 Grandview Drive
Kalispell, MT 59901
Phone: (406) 756-3861
Email: drausche@fvcc.edu
Website: http://www.fvcc.edu/academics/academic-programs/business-economics-technology/it-web-technology-aas.html
Each of the programs offered to aspiring web designers in Montana is crafted to give them a good background in programming for the web, designing websites for various uses, and staying in life with best practices and ethical considerations. Those who wish to change the face of the Internet in a very public way can benefit from each of these three accredited web design degree programs in Montana, no matter which corner of the Internet they aspire to transform.
Related Resource: Is a web design degree worth it?
Follow
