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Undergraduate Certificate Programs
Pursue an Undergraduate Certificate in Graphic Design
This is a 24 credit Sessions College Undergraduate Certificate program. Credit can be applied towards earning your Associate or Bachelor’s Degree.
Priority Deadline: November 4
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About this Program
Develop Visual Communication Skills For Design and Digital Media
Do you dream of becoming a graphic designer, crafting the images, icons, ads, and layouts that shape our media landscape?
At Sessions College, the Undergraduate Certificate in Graphic Design program provides essential training in visual communication. Whether your goal is to master the fundamentals of color, typography, and composition or learn professional workflows for Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, this program builds the foundation you need in just two semesters.
This program is for designers seeking to explore current production methods and techniques. Take this program to kick-start your professional career as a designer or to upgrade your visual communication and content design skills.
Priority Deadline. Enroll by November 4 for priority registration processing.
Program Length: 8 months
Credits: 24 credits
Tuition: $300 per credit
Next Class:
January 6, 2025
Priority Deadline:
November 4
“We prepare designers to enter or advance their careers and pursue their own creative paths. Our goal at Sessions College is to help you gain relevant skills and generate the compelling body of work that matches your career interests.”
Andrew Shalat
Department Head of Graphic Design, Photoshop and BFA Portfolio Instructor
Program Curriculum
The Undergraduate Certificate in Graphic Design is a 24-credit online program completed in two semesters. Part-time schedules are available.
First Semester
DES 121 Photoshop I - 3 Credits
Adobe Photoshop is the premiere image manipulation tool for print design, Web design, and photography. You can learn to tame this creative powerhouse of a program in this online Photoshop course. Working with a design pro, you’ll learn the best techniques for common Photoshop jobs including selecting and isolating objects, creating image composites, masking and vignetting images, setting typography, and improving images with retouching and effects.
DES 106: Design Foundations - 3 Credits
Color is a fundamental medium for any artist or designer. Typography is what sets designers apart from other artists. Composition, literally the assembly or construction of elements, is the artful arrangement that guides the viewer’s eye through an image. In this course, you will analyze everything from Grand Masters to Madison Avenue ads to tubes of toothpaste, and discover how color, type, and composition are combined to create effective and powerful visual communications. Class projects challenge you to build and apply your design skills in application to real-life creative scenarios
DES 111: Drawing I - 3 Credits
Many people are afraid to draw, but the truth is that drawing is not as hard as it seems. If you can relax, get your mind around the task, and begin to understand what you see, you can draw. In this online drawing course, you’ll learn how to analyze what you see in the world around you and communicate it on paper. Guided by a professional artist, you will explore the critical concepts of line, mass, form, perspective, value, and composition, building a solid foundation for all your art and design work.
DES 141: Illustrator I - 3 Credits
Adobe Illustrator is a powerful and versatile tool for creating illustrations, logos, and graphics for print and the web. You can learn to produce detailed and scalable art in this online Illustrator course. Working with an expert instructor, you’ll build a strong foundation, exploring shape tools, drawing tools, layers, the Pen tool (a lesson unto itself) as well as transformations/distortions, type tools, and modifying paths and shapes. Hands-on illustration projects include creating a robot, a series of album covers, a marketing postcard, an advertisement vehicle wrap, and a company logo.
Second Semester
DES 204: The Study of Graphic Design - 1.5 Credits
Professional designers make choices informed by the present and the past. In this online design history course, you’ll explore design movements from the early 20th century through today and gain experience in research, idea-building, and production of creative concepts. Working with an experienced art director, you’ll learn how to use historical knowledge and cultural awareness as a springboard for your contemporary design projects.
DES 131: Logo Design I - 1.5 Credits
Logos are the front line—the identity of a company. They are ubiquitous, and they are vital. In this introductory online logo design course, you’ll learn how to design logos that will strengthen the visual image of your own or your client’s company. Working with a design pro, you’ll explore the development of logos through a series of case studies. Each exercise combines a written, conceptual component with hands-on projects for creating an effective logo.
DES 201: InDesign I - 3 Credits
Layout designers today need the skills to move seamlessly between print and digital projects. Luckily, Adobe InDesign can handle it all. In this online InDesign course, you’ll explore a host of essential InDesign techniques and focus on developing efficient workflows. The course will impart a working knowledge of InDesign’s main capabilities, everything from basic features to using parent pages, importing and manipulating objects, controlling text flow and style, and organizing content with tables, layers, links, and conveyor tools. Projects give you training in a range of real world print/digital publishing projects, from brochures to catalogs, magazines to ePubs, and even an interactive folio for the iPad.
DES 102: Typography II - 3 Credits
Typography, technology, and culture are intertwined. Type has the power to communicate meaning and mood through its quirks and beauty, its history and diversity. In this advanced online typography course, you’ll learn advanced concepts in typography, building your portfolio through hands-on projects. You’ll experiment with type fusion, learn the details of text layout and information hierarchy, create a visual identity for product package and a civic authority, and even design your own currency.
DES 211: Graphic Design I - 3 Credits
Graphic designers today must be ready to tackle a wide range of projects from identity design to editorial design to product and packaging design. In this online graphic design course, you’ll establish a firm foundation for professional design work. Gain insights from industry veterans and explore the challenges of designing posters, logos, magazine covers, book layouts, 3D designs, and brand identities. Hone your design process, as you research each project, develop concepts, work with expert instructor feedback, and begin to develop pieces for your portfolio.
Program Outcomes
By completing the program, Undergraduate Certificate in Graphic Design students develop the following competencies:
Technology
Create images and design layouts by effectively and efficiently using design software including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, and other industry technologies.
Art & Design Principles
Demonstrate the ability to produce visually compelling work by applying knowledge of color, typography, and composition.
Design Process
Develop strategic and compelling designs for a variety of audiences and social contexts.
Projects
Produce and present a range of standard professional graphic design projects including graphics, posters, ads, logos, page layouts, and packaging.
About Sessions College
Sessions College has been inspiring creative professionals for 25 years. Accredited since 2001, we have a unique and proven approach to online education.
Accredited by Distance Education Accrediting Commission since 2001
Recognized as top design school by GDUSA
Winner of four USDLA awards for distance education
A Better Way to Learn
- Fully Online and Asynchronous. Our programs are fully online and asynchronous, allowing you to fit learning into your life. We provide weekly deadlines to keep you on track, but there are no mandatory login times and our learning platform is available 24 hours a day.
- Project-Based Learning. Our curriculum is designed to be highly interactive and project-based from the ground up to improve learning outcomes and keep you engaged.
- Feedback from Creative Pros. Our program is taught by industry experts who provide 1:1 feedback on all of your work.
Designed for Career Success
This program will help you prepare and advance your career as a graphic designer or digital media professional.
Learn from experienced professionals
Complete a wide range of relevant projects
Develop skills for an exciting career
Graduates could be employed in design or digital media industries as a Graphic Designer, Brand Identity Designer, Web Designer, UX/UI Designer, Production Artist, Desktop Publisher, or Digital Designer.
Median annual salaries in top industries
In May 2023, the median annual wage for graphic designers was $58,910*. The median annual wages for workers in top industries was:
| Specialized design services | $62,330* |
| Advertising, public relations, and related services | $56,970* |
| Publishing industries | $54,450* |
| Printing and related support activities | $44,500* |
*As of May 2023, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Truly Accessible and Affordable Education
Our Undergraduate Certificate admissions process only requires a high school diploma (or equivalent) and a conversation with an admissions advisor to ensure you are set up for success in our program.
Our truly affordable tuition is:
$7,200 per academic year (24 credits) - $3,600 per semester*.
Significantly more affordable than other online design or digital media colleges.
So affordable that 100% of tuition costs may be covered for eligible students.* Find out today if you qualify.
* Federal student aid and military education benefits available for eligible students.
What Students Gained from Our Graphic Design Programs
I work full-time, so studying online just made things easier for me. It allowed me to work and do school on my own time without the added pressure of having to schedule classes at nights and weekends, causing me to be away from my family.
There is no way I could have taught myself everything I’ve learned in school. The programs are so vast and basically unlimited, you have to have someone walk you through them in an organized way. The classes build on each other and you end up using things you’ve learned in previous classes for following classes.
Online classes allow students to learn self-discipline, time management, and effective communication. I wasn’t at a point in my life where 8am classes, parking fees, and long commutes was feasible. Online studying gives a student more freedom to achieve their goals.
Advance your career with our 100% online design and digital media programs today!
Sessions College
Main Office
404 S. Mill Avenue, Suite 201
Tempe, AZ 85281
Contact Us
800-258-4115 (US)
480-212-1704
admissions@sessions.edu