Harrisburg Area Community College

Two Flexible HACC Degrees for Graphic Design

Harrisburg Area Community College appears in our ranking of the 20 Most Affordable Associates in Web Design and Development Online.

At the Wildwood Park Campus, the Department of Communications, Humanities, and the Arts grants a Graphic & Interactive Design AAS for Harrisburg Area Community College Hawks soaring into creative careers crafting impactful visual messaging. Chaired by Prof. Brenda Eppley, the 60-credit, NASAD-accredited program utilizes cutting-edge software to practice creating aesthetically pleasing digital graphics. Expect day or night 200-level courses like Photo Editing, Typography, and Drawing with a 17:1 student-faculty ratio. Sophomores can add the Art 148 internship at industry partners, such as iHeartMedia, American Eagle, Penn State, and the National Duncan Glass Society. Credits are transferrable from the 31-credit Graphic Design Certificate in Harrisburg or Lancaster.

Online via D2L Brightspace, the Web Development & Design AAS gives Harrisburg Area Community College undergrads 24/7 asynchronous access to tech-savvy work building appealing websites that power the internet. Overseen by Prof. Carl Petersheim, the 60-credit, two-year curriculum splits into three tracks for Interactive Web Media, Web Application Development, and General Web Studies. Since August 2007, it has built atop a 27-credit arts foundation with portfolio-building courses from UX Design to Vector Imaging. The associate uniquely offers a 2+2 transfer track to Bloomsburg University or the Pennsylvania College of Technology. Ranked 10th nationally by BestColleges.com, the 30-credit Web Development & Design Certificate is also accessed online.

About Harrisburg Area Community College

Harrisburg Area Community College originated on February 14, 1964, or Valentine’s Day, when an inaugural class of 426 enrolled at the previous Harrisburg Academy. Two months later, Pennsylvania’s earliest community college merged with Hershey Junior College. In 1965, HACC acquired its main 157-acre Capital Region campus for only $1. Fully accredited in 1967, it launched the present 140,000-book McCormick Library the next year. In 1974, Harrisburg Area Community College opened the Rose Lehrman Arts Center. In 1987, the John N. Hall Technology Center started the first distance courses using VHS cassettes. By 1990, satellites had physically extended to Lebanon, Lancaster, and Gettysburg. In 1998, HACC Online was born for busy working adults.

Allocated $154.3 million, Harrisburg Area Community College now employs 2,382 faculty teaching 18,837 Hawks from 50 countries online on Desire2Learn and at five campuses with 30+ clubs like the Society for Student Designers. In 2018, the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges named HACC the #1 largest among its 14 public constituents. In 2016, Harrisburg won a Diana Hacker HYCA Outstanding Program Award for Fostering Student Success. It also received the 2007 APPA Award for Excellence in Facilities Management. On WalletHub, Harrisburg Area Community College has America’s 381st best career outcomes. PayScale recorded an average HACC alumni wage of $51,269. Niche also placed HACC as the 17th best design college in Pennsylvania.

Harrisburg Area Community College Accreditation Details

On June 21, 2018, Harrisburg Area Community College received a formal notification from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) Board of Trustees that the Level I accreditation was reaffirmed according to 14 standards through 2026-27 under its seventh president, Dr. John Sygielski, who earned the Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction. Located 109 miles east via Interstate 76 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this superb six-state Northeast Region accreditor is authorized by the U.S. Education Department to evaluate HACC’s 100+ programs. Particularly, the Graphic & Interactive Design AAS has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design since April 1, 2014.

Harrisburg Area Community College Application Requirements

Getting into Harrisburg Area Community College is labeled “least selective” by the U.S. News & World Report since 100 percent of the 13,796 Fall 2017 applicants were accepted for open enrollment. Prospective Hawks flying into the Graphic & Interactive Design AAS still must finish a secondary diploma or GED though. The Department of Communications, Humanities, and the Arts seeks a minimum 2.0 GPA to avoid probationary status. The Honors Program only admits first-year applicants ranking in the top 20th percentile with GPAs above 3.5. Accuplacer testing is required unless students have passed similar exams. For example, scoring at least 18 on the ACT Reading or 23 on the ACT Math sections makes one exempt. Same goes for sufficient SAT English and Math marks above 480 and 550 respectively. Non-native speakers with 6.5 IELTS scores or better waive the English as a Second Language class.

Harrisburg Area Community College has rolling admission with priority dates of June 1st for Fall, December 1st for Spring, and May 1st for Summer. Scholarship consideration deadlines are August 1st and February 3rd. International students must file before July 1st, November 1st, or April 1st. Accordingly, visit the Welcome Center or file the HACC Application online for free. Forward official transcripts or GED certification to Central Enrollment Services Suite H122 in Harrisburg, PA 17110. Optional test reports require SAT code 2309 or ACT code 3589. Further steps might include the I-20 form, orientation registration, tuition deposit, placement exam, transfer evaluation, immunization record, and certificate of residence. Learn more by contacting (800) 222-4222 or start@hacc.edu.

Tuition and Financial Aid

For 2018-19, Harrisburg Area Community College charged sponsored in-state students $222 per credit. Non-sponsored Pennsylvania residents paid $264 per credit. Non-resident Graphic & Interactive Design AAS tuition was $314 per credit. Each figure included the $25 technology fee, $12 institutional fee, $10 capital outlay fee, and $3.50 activity fee. Art courses added fees of $30 to $150 apiece. HACC budgeted $8,072 each year for off-campus housing. Associate majors spent around $1,968 for books, $2,707 for travel, and $1,762 for miscellaneous. Traditional annual study equaled about $20,532 in-state and $23,929 out-of-state. Online Web Development & Design AAS undergrads covered $793 per course or $15,860 total.

According to the NCES College Navigator, the Financial Aid Office in Cooper Center Room 205 gets 78 percent of new HACC Hawks tuition assistance averaging $4,700 each for $4.41 million combined. Institutional funds include the Rev. Roach Memorial Scholarship, Francis Dixon Foundation Grant, Jennifer Jane Leader Scholarship, Leslie Torresson Memorial Award, Roberta Sullivan Adams Scholarship, David & Marie Graupner Elias Scholarship, Disabled Veterans Scholarship, Patrick Joseph Hopkins Scholarship, Jeffrey Gaines Arts Scholarship, Cheryl Plawsky Scholarship, and Kim Mecray Bleecher Scholarship. The Harrisburg General Scholarship gifts $1,000 each year to main campus students. The Fine Arts Scholarship would assist Graphic & Interactive Design AAS majors meeting a 2.5 GPA minimum. Completing FAFSA forms coded 003273 determines Federal Pell Grant, SEOG Grant, Work-Study Program, and Direct Loan eligibility. Pennsylvania offerings like the State Grant, PA Forward Student Loan, National Guard Grant, and Ready to Succeed Scholarship also help.

Keep exploring Harrisburg Area Community College on the Department of Communications, Humanities, and the Arts website.