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Web Designer Education Requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a web designer. Web designers usually study graphic design, computer science, or computer applications. 67% of web designers hold a bachelor's degree, and 18% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 18,181 real web designer resumes to see exactly what web designer education sections show.
The most common colleges for web designers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online web designer courses to help get the education required to be a web designer.
There are certain web designer certifications that you should consider. These web designer certifications include Master Certified Web Professional - Designer (CWP) and Certified Web Professional - Web Developer.
What education do you need to become a web designer?
What degree do you need to be a web designer?
- Bachelor's, 67%
- Associate, 18%
- Master's, 7%
- High School Diploma, 4%
- Other Degrees, 4%
What should I major in to become a web designer?
- Graphic Design, 24%
- Computer Science, 12%
- Business, 8%
- Other Majors, 48%
Most common colleges for web designers
Web Designer Common College  | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 6.98% |
| Full Sail University | 6.59% |
| DeVry University | 6.39% |
| The Art Institute of Pittsburgh | 6.29% |
| University of California - Davis | 5.80% |
Best majors for web designers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graphic Design | 24.0% |
| 2 | Computer Science | 11.9% |
| 3 | Computer Applications | 7.9% |
| 4 | Business | 7.6% |
| 5 | Fine Arts | 7.6% |
Best colleges for web designers
The best colleges for web designers are University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, and Northwestern University.
A web designer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for web designers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become web designers.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,465
Enrollment
6,483
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
4. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
5. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
20 best online courses for web designers
Advertising Disclosure
1. User Experience Design Immersive (Full-time)
Launch a future-proof career designing digital experiences that power revenue, user loyalty, and product success. Distinguish yourself as a designer by compiling a portfolio to showcase solo, group, and client projects to employers based on UI design and Agile methodologies...
2. User Experience Design (Part Time)
Translate user wants and needs into intuitive digital experiences that power revenue, loyalty, and product success. Build confidence and credibility to tackle complex design problems on the job. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
3. UX Designer
Design impactful user experiences for products in today’s digital world. Build a portfolio that showcases your ability to transform user research to high-fidelity interactive designs...
4. Product Design
Learn the steps you need to turn an idea into reality. By the end of this course you’ll learn how to bring an idea from concept to hand off for development and onto creation of a prototype...
5. Responsive Design HTML CSS Web design - Dreamweaver CC
Learn HTML5 & CSS3 web design skills. Build beautiful responsive design websites in Dreamweaver CC...
6. Web Design Responsive Website Template from Scratch HTML CSS
Build your own website from scratch Web Design how to build a simple website template from scratch using HTML and CSS...
7. Visual Design (Part Time)
Gain the vocabulary and tools to tackle diverse design challenges on the job. Kickstart your portfolio and create beautiful, responsive designs for the web. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
8. Intro to UX Design
Are you interested in UX Design, but have no prior experience or an idea of where to start? You’ve come to the right place! In this two-hour livestream, we’ll explore the decision-making process that separates a good user experience from a great one, and learn some tools that you can implement in your own UX process today. All in real time, taught by an industry professional. Come learn the basics and gain the skills you need to begin your UX Design journey!...
9. Complete Web Designing Course Web-Development BootCamp
Complete Web Designing Course with HTML CSS Java Script, SEO.j Query, Web Templates, Layout Web-Development Boot Camp...
10. Complete Web Design: HTML, CSS, Javascript, jQuery, Vue, Git
6 Courses in 1! Learn Webdesign and Become a Professional Front End Web Developer! From Complete Beginner to Advanced...
Top 10 most affordable universities for web designers
The most affordable schools for web designers are Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, lehman college of the city university of new york, and brigham young university.
If the best universities for web designers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for web designers.
1. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,240
Cost of Attendance
13,991
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2. Lehman College of the City University of New York
Bronx, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,210
Cost of Attendance
14,359
3. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-State Tuition
$5,620
Cost of Attendance
18,136
4. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-State Tuition
$6,381
Cost of Attendance
21,034
5. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$6,798
Cost of Attendance
18,306
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for web designers
The hardest universities for web designers to get into are University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, and Northwestern University.
Some great schools for web designers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for web designers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions Rate
8%
SAT Average
1,492
2. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions Rate
17%
SAT Average
1,507
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions Rate
8%
SAT Average
1,508
4. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions Rate
5%
SAT Average
1,520
5. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions Rate
9%
SAT Average
1,516
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for web designers
The easiest schools for web designers to get into are Cardinal Stritch University, la roche college, and linfield college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a web designer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for web designers.
1. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
Admissions Rate
71%
SAT Average
1,035
2. La Roche College
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions Rate
99%
SAT Average
1,008
3. Linfield College
McMinnville, OR • Private
Admissions Rate
81%
SAT Average
1,117
4. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions Rate
90%
SAT Average
994
5. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions Rate
82%
SAT Average
983
Average web designer salary by education level
| Web Designer education level | Web Designer salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $77,966 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $70,303 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $61,857 |
Web Designer Education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025