Information Technology
Associate of Applied Science • 61 Credit Hours
Design Your Future. Turn Ideas into Impact.
The Mountwest Graphic Design program is designed to build technical skills along with the confidence and professionalism students need to succeed in creative careers.
Artificial Intelligence is included in our training. AI-powered tools can’t replace creativity and human experiences, but they can perform a broad range of tasks to support and enhance the design process.
Through hands-on projects, constructive critique, and real-world challenges, students in our program learn to present their ideas clearly and to trust their creative voice—emerging as capable, career-ready designers prepared to make an impact.
This degree program can be taken remotely without the need to attend classes on campus. Some of the required General Education courses may require in-person attendance.
Digital graphics | social media posts, videos and animations | advertisements | layouts and publications | logo design and branding systems | illustration | digital photography | photo retouching, correcting and special effects | image generation with AI, and so much more!
Classes are offered in a variety of modalities (web, remote, in-person, flex) to meet student needs and schedules.
Graphic Design is more than simply making things look good—it’s the art and strategy of visually communicating ideas to attract attention. Designers blend images, color, text, movement, and emotion to tell stories, spark action, and solve problems.
Good design helps people understand, engage, make decisions, get inspired, and imagine new possibilities.
From social media graphics to ad campaigns, businesses need creative content to send messages to their customers on every screen and platform.
Creativity, innovation, and powerful storytelling are essential in today’s fast-changing economy.
Successful designers leverage their talents and entrepreneurial thinking to contribute to businesses or launch their own ventures. The Graphic Design profession offers a wide variety of career pathways, depending on your skills and areas of interest.
Why Study at Mountwest?
Mountwest provides an affordable way to earn a college degree, along with robust support services to help students succeed.
Mountwest is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, which means that degrees from our institution meet the highest standards of rigor and quality.
The Mountwest Graphic Design program teaches the fundamentals of digital art and graphic design in small classes with hands-on training. We accommodate students of all ages and levels of experience. Classes are available both on campus and online.
Through hands-on projects, constructive critique, and real-world challenges, students learn to present their ideas clearly and trust their creative voice—emerging as capable, career-ready designers prepared to make an impact.
You’ll Learn to:
You’ll get extensive practice using:
See the Curriculum Sheet for all of the required classes in the program.
Graphic Designer
2024 Median Pay
$61,300 per year / $29.47 per hour
Number of Jobs
267,200 in 2023
Job Outlook
21,000 openings for graphic designers are projected each year over the decade
For the most current salary information, please refer to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “Occupational Outlook Handbook” at www.bls.gov/ooh/ and search for “Graphic Design,” “Desktop Publishers,” “Special Effects Artists and Animators,” and “Media and Communications” occupations.
Video created with the aid of Artificial Intelligence.
Classes are offered in a variety of modalities (web, remote, in-person, flex) to meet student needs and schedules.
We use open and free resources as much as possible so students don’t have to purchase expensive textbooks.
Many of the students are involved in various clubs at the college, the Mountwest Student Government Association, and the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Many have served as work-study students, Peer Tutors and Peer Coaches. They are given opportunities for paid and unpaid internships. These activities provide leadership and professional experiences for their resumes.
For most students, you will begin in Fall semester and if you stay on the recommended track and successfully complete your Graphic Design, IT, and general education courses, you will finish in two years over four semesters, and you’ll complete 61 college credit hours. If you wish to go part-time, we can work with you to develop a pathway for you to finish over a slightly longer period of time. But remember, core classes are offered in a Fall to Spring setup, so you have to keep in mind that some are only offered in the Fall, and some only in the Spring semesters. Besides the degree, you can also earn a certificate and skill set from the college as additional credentials. You also have the option to study for and take Adobe Certified Associate exams – which is an impressive credential to have besides your college degree. A great portfolio, a degree and professional certificates show employers you’re serious about your career and have attained skills to apply in the workplace.
Community College has small class sizes, personal attention, lots of support resources and classes in your major where you get hands-on projects right away that are based on real-life work scenarios. Mountwest programs are set up to prepare students for careers or to transfer to a university to complete a four-year degree.
You certainly can. Mountwest is an accredited college, so your credits are considered valid at universities. We also have articulation agreements with Marshall University and West Virginia State University, so students can transfer all of their college credits toward earning a Graphic Design degree at these institutions. Some of my students come into my program knowing that they want to get all they can out of their time with me, and then finish a degree at a university. We help set you up for success here at Mountwest.
People who pursue Graphic Design as a career typically have these qualities – some might surprise you. They are:
• scholarly: good at paying attention, following instructions, and learning new things
• organized: able to manage multiple projects and deadlines, and keep your files and assignments organized
• artistic (expressed through drawing, painting, sculpting, making videos, photography, music, writing, participating in theatrical productions, things like that
• creative: observant, full of ideas, intuitive, enjoys making things and expressing yourself
• curious: loves researching, exploring, collecting things, observing, questioning
• humanist: interested in how people feel, think, act, behave, and respond
• tech savvy: enjoys computers, digital devices, new technology, and learning to use new software
• intersectional: able to take in information from many different places and synthesize it into your work
• focused: ability to spend extended amounts of time and effort on tasks
• self-directed: often able to figure things out on your own, solve problems and set and achieve goals
• hard-working: acquiring the necessary skills and developing quality graphics is not easy
• collaborative: ability to work with others to complete projects
• open to critique: you can’t improve and grow if you don’t accept input and suggestions Graphic Design offers many career paths – some are well established, and others are newly emerging. The best students are the ones who are focused, hard-working, passionate about design, and love learning new things.
Visual content is becoming increasingly important across all industries, whether commercial, educational, cultural or political. The Graphic Design program at Mountwest combines creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, business and technology skills to prepare students for entry-level positions in a wide variety of occupations and industries.
The college adheres to an open admission policy which means applications with a high school diploma or GED are eligible for admission. Applicants with neither a high school diploma nor GED may be admitted on a conditional basis.
Graduates of this program are well prepared to transfer to a university to complete a four-year degree. Mountwest has 2 + 2 articulation agreements with several surrounding universities, including Marshall University and West Virginia State University.
The Mountwest Graphic Design AAS program, which began in Fall Semester of 2014, completed an articulation agreement on Oct. 6, 2015 with the Marshall University Graphic Design BFA program.
In Summer 2021, representatives from the Mountwest and Marshall programs met to renegotiate and update the articulation agreement between the schools. In recent years, Marshall changed several foundation courses for its Graphic Design degree, and recent transfer students from Mountwest were viewed by some of the MU faculty as having deficits in their knowledge and skills related to particular areas. The specific areas of concern included hand drawing techniques and photography skills.
At the conclusion of the June 7th meeting, the two groups agreed on a plan of correction that involved changing an elective Digital Photography course at Mounwest into a required course for students who planned to transfer to the Marshall Graphic Design program. Changes were also made so that the Mountwest transfer students would now be required to take a basic drawing class at Marshall to develop skills needed for the more advanced courses. The Mountwest Graphic Design professor also committed to including more drawing activities in the course learning activities, which previously had been slanted more strongly toward the digital and technical areas rather than traditional drawing techniques.
The updated articulation agreement between the Mountwest and Marshall Graphic Design programs was finalized and enacted on Aug. 5, 2021.
The projected change in employment of graphic designers varies by industry. For example, employment of graphic designers in newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers is projected to decline 22 percent from 2018 to 2028.
However, employment of graphic designers in computer systems design and related services is projected to grow 24 percent over the same period. Companies are continuing to increase their digital presence, requiring graphic designers to help create visually appealing and effective layouts of websites.
People with entrepreneurial thinking have a positive outlook, are resourceful and motivated as they solve problems and contribute their talents to help others.
Create a noteworthy design portfolio with a wide range of projects that clearly demonstrates your effectiveness as a visual communicator.
