Graphic Communication

Types of Degrees Graphic Communication Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general graphic communications graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	222
Undergraduate Certificate	122
Associate Degree	69
Basic Certificate	67

What Graphic Communication Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, graphic communication majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Graphic Communication Majors

Graphic Communication majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Graphic Communication Majors

When studying graphic communication, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Time Management - Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Graphic Communication Majors

As a graphic communication major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
• Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Communication?

The major attracts more women than men. About 73% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of graphic communication majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	28
Black or African American	19
Hispanic or Latino	23
White	124
International Students	1
Other Races/Ethnicities	27

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Graphic Communication, too. About 0.5% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Graphic Communication

Some degrees associated with graphic communication may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to graphic communication have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	2.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	39.3%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	9.5%
Some College Courses	20.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	23.2%
Bachelor’s Degree	5.2%

Online Graphic Communication Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	9	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	0
Associate’s Degree	13	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	2	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Graphic Communication

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to graphic communication.

Major	Number of Grads
Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics & Special Effects	5,611
Prepress/Desktop Publishing & Digital Imaging Design	1,137
Graphic & Printing Equipment Operator, General Production	262
Other Graphic Communications	170
Printing Management	55
Platemaker/Imager	10
Printing Press Operator	3
Computer Typography & Composition Equipment Operator	2

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.