Information on Graduate Degree Programs in Web Design
Majors Overview July 9, 2015This article talks about graduate degree programs in Web design and their educational requirements, coursework, career choices, and job and wage outlook.
Graduate Programs in Web Design
Students enrolled in a master’s degree program in website design learn about developing and maintaining websites for various purposes. These programs may lead to senior executive or management positions in the field. Program enrollees learn about using coding languages and software applications that power websites, including Flash, Adobe Dreamweaver, ColdFusion, and Ajax. Apart from Web-centric and computer courses, coursework may cover ways of using the Internet and behavior of consumers on websites.
Educational Requirements
Admission criteria in master’s degree programs in Web design do not usually expect students to hold an undergraduate degree in a specific major. Schools often prefer applicants with a bachelor’s degree and an undergraduate GPA of 3.0. Students seeking enrollment in some programs are required to have professional experience of 2-5 years. Some programs may prefer recent undergraduate program graduates. These programs commonly require students to submit a digital portfolio representing their prior work in typography, interface design, application proficiency, design strategy, and information architecture.
Coursework
Coursework may cover topic areas such as information technology applications and human and technological interaction. Core coursework may cover subject areas such as:
•XML applications
•Requirements analysis and specifications
•Sound and screen resolution
•Typography
•Color and composition
•Portal development and management
•CSS, PHP and motion graphics
•Usability design
Career Choices
Program graduates can seek job positions in:
•Programming
•Enterprise architecture
•Website developing
•Software engineering
•Database management
•Website architecture
Job and Wage outlook
Over the 2012 – 2022 decade, a job growth rate of 20% has been predicted for information security analysts, computer network architects and Web developers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). In 2012, Web developers brought in an average annual wage of $62,500 (BLS).