Co-op/
Internship Encouraged
Salary and Career Info
Graphic Design BFA
In this creative, innovative graphic design degree, you'll integrate design principles, methods, concepts, images, words, and ideas to convey distinct, visually compelling messages to a range of audiences.
Program skills
Students concentrate in areas of typography, design imagery, systems design, interactive design, packaging design, visual narrative design, and motion design. Through their study, students develop design processes, ideation, critical thinking, innovative investigations, and creative research. Students are also exposed to public speaking, presentation methods, and client experiences
Software skills: InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Adobe Premiere, HTML, CSS, and others
Program facilities equipment
The College’s specialized studios, advanced computer facilities and wide range of equipment make it one of the most complete of any degree-granting institutions in the field. Students have access to resources like the RIT Graphic Design Archives, Cary Graphic Arts Collection and the Vignelli Center for Design Studies for research. Along with photography equipment, printing facilities (3-D printing, laser printing, etc.) and Makers Spaces.
Program job titles
Art Director; Associate Art Director; Creative Designer; Creative Director; Digital Designer; Digital Product Designer; Freelance Graphic Designer; Graphic Designer; Experience Officer; Identity/Packaging Designer; Illustrator; Interactive Designer; Junior Art Director; Junior Director; Junior Graphic Designer; Motion Designer; Presentation Designer; Product Designer; Promotions Marketing Coordinator; Social Media Director; UI/UX Designer; Visual Designer; Web Designer; Web Developer
Program significant points
- Named by Business Week as one of the top 10 design schools in the country and one of the top 40 in the world.
- RIT's Design School is also highly ranked by U.S. News and World Report and Design Intelligence.
Select program hiring partners
Adirondack Brewery; Athlete Studio; Bailey Brand Consulting; CGI Communications, Inc.; Chatterblast Media; CloudCheckr; Community Arts Center of Cambria County; Deloitte; Eliqs; Flynn; Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Lisa Erickson Design; Merchbro; Partners + Napier; Procter & Gamble (P&G); RED, Inc. Communications; Riddle & Bloom; RIT - MAGIC Spell Studios LLC; ServiceNow; Simple Tech Innovations, Inc.; Threespot; Topix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Trimble Inc.; Viscira
93.8%
Outcome Rates for Graphic Design BFA
Total percentage of graduates who have entered the workforce, enrolled in full-time graduate study, or are pursuing alternative plans (military service, volunteering, etc.).
85.40%
Knowledge Rate
Total percentage of graduates for whom RIT has verifiable data, compared to national average knowledge rate of 41% per NACE.
| Outcome | % of Students |
|---|---|
| Employed | 93.80% |
| Full-time Graduate Study | 0% |
| Alternative Plans | 0% |
Experiential Learning
Cooperative Education and Internships
What’s different about an RIT education? It’s the career experience you gain by completing cooperative education and internships with top companies in every single industry. You’ll earn more than a degree. You’ll gain real-world career experience that sets you apart. It’s exposure–early and often–to a variety of professional work environments, career paths, and industries.
Co-ops and internships take your knowledge and turn it into know-how. Your art and design co-ops will provide hands-on experience that enables you to apply your artistic capabilities in dynamic professional settings while you make valuable connections between classwork and real-world applications.
Cooperative education, internships, and other experiential learning opportunities are strongly encouraged for students in the BFA in graphic design.
Creative Industry Day
RIT’s Office of Career Services and Cooperative Education hosts Creative Industry Day, which connects students majoring in art, design, film and animation, photography, and select computing majors with companies, organizations, creative agencies, design firms, and more. You'll be able to network with company representatives and interview directly for open co-op and permanent employment positions.