University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Graphic Design Options at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign appears in our ranking of 21 Affordable Master’s Degrees in Marketing and Advertising.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design through the School of Art and Design. Students in this program must complete a rigorous course of study in graphic design along with core education requirements and program-related electives. Students must complete 122 credit hours to earn this degree.
Core education requirements at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are the same across all undergraduate degrees. These courses are in the areas of composition, cultural studies, humanities, natural sciences and technology, quantitative reasoning and social sciences. All students must complete a foreign language course as well. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers languages that include American Sign Language, Arabic, Mandarin, French, Hindi, Persian, Sanskrit, Yiddish, Zulu, and many others. All of these are acceptable to complete the foreign language requirement.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Art and Design also offers other majors to those students who may be interested in a future in graphic design. These majors include art and design, industrial design and studio art. Students can also supplement their graphic design degree with a minor in a related field. Popular minors with graphic design students include art and design, art history, business for non-business majors, communication, creative writing or journalism.
A student with an existing undergraduate degree can pursue a master’s degree in graphic design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This MFA degree is considered to be a terminal degree in the field. Therefore, the process to be admitted and to complete the degree is much more strict than most master’s level programs.
Online degrees are offered through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. However, there are no undergraduate degrees in graphic design that are fully available online. Students can take courses online to supplement their in-seat studies or as a non-degree seeking student. Some online courses that may be of interest to graphic design students include:
- Media Entrepreneurship
- Design Beyond Boundaries
- Editing and Post-Production
- Consumer Insights
- Strategic Analytics and Data Visual
About University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the flagship school of the University of Illinois system. The university is comprised of 16 schools and colleges. It offers over 150 undergraduate degrees and over 100 graduate degrees. Notable alums of the school include Jesse Jackson, Shel Silverstein, Carol Moseley Braun, a large number of CEOs, professional athletes and Olympians. In addition, the school was once home to many students who went on to be awarded Nobel, Pulitzer, and Turing Awards.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is consistently highly ranked by a variety of publications. U.S. News and World Report ranks the university at 48 in the nation and 59 in the world. The Academic Rankings of World Universities places the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign even higher at 26th in the U.S. and 38th worldwide.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Accreditation Details
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is accredited through the Higher Learning Commission. This accreditation covers all certificates, undergraduate and graduate degrees. The university goes under re-accreditation audits every 10 years.
The School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. In addition, the institution ranks the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as having one of the outstanding art programs in the United States.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Application Requirements
All applicants may complete the online application to be accepted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Students must also provide completed transcripts that show the admission requirements have been met. All students must have completed high school coursework that consisted of a minimum of four years of English, three years of math, two years of social sciences, two years of lab sciences and two years of a foreign language.
The school also weighs the rigor of study, the number and type of extracurricular activities, and college entrance exam scores. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign does not have a minimum requirement for ACT or SAT scores, but most students have an ACT that falls at 27 or higher. Likewise, though there is no minimum GPA requirement, most admitted students have a high school GPA of 3.45 or more.
Freshman applicants to the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign must submit a digital portfolio along with their application materials.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Students from Illinois who live in households with an income of under $61,000 per year can qualify for four years of free tuition. Students who do not meet these requirements based on major and whether or not they are Illinois residents. Undergraduate graphic design students who are Illinois residents can expect to pay about $13,600 in tuition per year. Non-resident students are charged at a rate of about $31,000. These fees do not include the cost of books, supplies or room and board. A typical graphic design student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign can pay a total of $32,000 to $50,000 annually depending on their home state.
Students may qualify for state or federal grants if they can show need. This is accomplished by completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Students who do not qualify based on need may also apply for academic scholarships. Merit-based scholarships range from $2,000 to the full cost of attendance. The university also accepts outside scholarships. Students must make the school aware of the type and amount of private, outside scholarships in order to apply these funds.
In addition, specific colleges with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offer departmental scholarships. Prospective students should contact the financial aid office at the university to learn about these opportunities and how to apply.
Students interested in learning more about graphic design degrees at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign can visit the School of Art and Design website.
