Web Design Degree Online
Associate Degree in Web Design
NEXT CLASS:
October 2, 2023.
Apply Now
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
About This Program
The Sessions College Associate of Occupational Studies in Web Design degree online offers an intensive two-year degree for students seeking to enter careers as Web designers with a focus on visual and interactive design. Designed for high school graduates and adult learners, the program offers a strong foundation in visual design and a working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Strong graphic design is the foundation of the Web design program. First year studies include type, color theory, composition, digital photography, as well as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Second year classes place an emphasis on responsive design, with training in Bootstrap, flexbox, WordPress, and UX/UI design.
Studying online was definitely worth it. There are many opportunities to interact with your peers and professors. Your college schedule can be organized to fit your lifestyle. You can obtain a degree in a different form, catered to your needs, and still get a great education.
Student Work By: Shawn Bashaw, Jennifer Parlett, Nicole Porata
Program Benefits
Launch your Creative Career
Earn a degree and launch your creative career in our most rigorous 2-year program.
By Creatives, for Creatives
Collaborate with a community of creative learners and industry professionals.
Maximize Your Portfolio
Projects put you through your paces as you build a body of work. Your program culminates with a guided portfolio review.
Structure and Flexibility
Weekly deadlines keep you on track, but with no set login times you can build your studies around your schedule.
Education You Can Afford
Affordable programs with low per credit tuition, and financial aid available for those who qualify.
Convenient Online Application
Fast, convenient, and student-centered application process.
Studying Online at Sessions
Founded in 1997, Sessions College has delivered accredited and affordable fully online programs for creative professionals for more than 20 years. Take a virtual college tour in this video!
The Curriculum
The Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Web Design is a 72-credit program completed in two years. Part-time schedules are available.
First Semester
- DES 104 Color Theory - 1.5 credits
- DES 101 Typography I - 1.5 credits
- DES 121 Photoshop I - 3 credits
- WEB 101 HTML and CSS I - 3 credits
- GEN 104 English Composition - 3 credits
Second Semester
- DES 105 Design and Composition - 1.5 credits
- DES 131 Logo Design I - 1.5 credits
- DES 141 Illustrator I - 3 credits
- WEB 213 Bootstrap Using Dreamweaver I - 3 credits
- GEN 105 Computer Technology - 3 credits
Third Semester
- DES 102 Typography II - 3 credits
- DES 151 Digital Photography I - 3 credits
- WEB 214 Bootstrap Using Dreamweaver II - 3 credits
- GEN 106 History of Art - 3 credits
Web Design Major - Year Two
Fourth Semester
- WEB 209 Advanced CSS - 1.5 credits
- DES 222 Photoshop II - 3 credits
- WEB 205 Javascript For Designers I - 3 credits
- WEB 232 Web Typography - 1.5 credits
- GEN 107 General Psychology - 3 credits
Fifth Semester
- WEB 231 Web Design I - 3 credits
- WEB 222 UX/UI Design - 3 credits
- WEB 207 Internet Marketing - 3 credits
- GEN 207 Copywriting - 3 credits
Sixth Semester
- DES 201 InDesign I* - 3 credits
- WEB 241 Wordpress for Designers - 3 credits
- WEB 259 Capstone Project - Web Design
- GEN 204 Intro to Marketing - 1.5 credits
- GEN 206 Creative Businesses - 1.5 credits
- DEG 260 Portfolio Review - 1 credit
* Elective course may be replaced by any other 3-credit course in the program, subject to availability and prerequisites.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Program highlights for Web Design majors in the AOS in Web Design program.
WEB 101 HTML and CSS I - 3 credits
To create Web pages, a Web designer must have a foundation in HTML and CSS. This course begins with the basics of HTML markup and specifications for standards-compliant Web pages. CSS scripting is examined as a method for positioning page elements and styling typography. Cutting-edge features of HTML5 and CSS3 are also introduced. The emphasis is on the contemporary use of markup and scripting to create effective and attractive Web sites.
WEB 213 Bootstrap Using Dreamweaver I - 3 credits
Bootstrap provides a framework of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to speed up your site development. Working with an expert instructor, you'll learn how to build responsive, mobile-first web sites using Bootstrap 4 and Dreamweaver, Adobe's HTML editor. This course will show you how to design web sites by using CSS to structure and design layouts, ensuring that your designs work on a range of platforms and devices.
WEB 205 Javascript for Designers I - 3 credits
Learn the fundamentals of JavaScript, the programming language that allows you to make things happen when a user interacts with your website. You will learn how to create clean, valid code as you create programs that respond to various kinds of user interaction. Assignments include a range of projects: interactive dialogue boxes, a trivia quiz, a rainbow color picker, a sortable database, and more.
WEB 209 Advanced CSS - 1.5 credits
Take your coding to the next level with flexbox, a new set of CSS properties that swoop in where floats leave off. Flexbox easily adapts to different screen sizes and different sizes of content, providing limitless, robust ways to structure page content, designing navigation, create column based layouts, and add sticky footers. The course also focuses on using scalable vector graphics (SVG). Using SVG, you can create (and animate) images that scale to fit any screensize without loss of image quality. Combined with CSS3 animation, SVG provides performance, consistency, and interactive/creative potential for your Web graphics.
WEB 232 Web Typography - 1.5 credits
Learn how to enhance your Web designs with the latest techniques for styling, typesetting, and embellishing text. Get up to speed on the latest in Web font options and how to use CSS font stacks. You'll take your fonts into the grid, studying a mix of classic and cutting edge techniques to ensure on-screen readability and effective vertical rhythm, and learn how to retain viewer attention by embellishing text with CSS3 effects and building typography-driven information graphics.
WEB 214 Bootstrap Using Dreamweaver II - 3 credits
In this course, Web design students will further their exploration of Bootstrap using Adobe Dreamweaver, focusing on the use of CSS, templates, and library items to design responsive sites. Topics includes using image effects, animated content areas, and interactive navigation, and creating mobile and tablet layouts with CSS3 media queries.
WEB 231 Web Design I - 3 credits
Learn a systematic professional approach to Web design. You’ll use site maps, wireframes, comps, color palettes, usability tests, and other tools and concepts to make sure your responsive designs hit the mark. Students entering this class are expected to have a basic competence in HTML, CSS, and Bootstrap, as well as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Building upon those skills, students will complete four portfolio projects that challenge their Web design skills and build an understanding of how to manage Web design projects in a professional context.
WEB 207 Internet Marketing - 3 credits
Learn practical skills for growing your business on the Web. Studying with a professional Internet marketing consultant, you'll learn how develop an entire marketing plan for your online business. Course projects will include target audience analysis, developing a site plan, creating a content development strategy, planning email marketing campaigns, optimizing for search engines, building a Facebook fan page, planning a social media crisis strategy, designing a landing page for an ad, and using site metrics.
WEB 240 Wordpress Development - 3 credits
Explore the world of WordPress development and learn how to develop sites that take advantage of the power, versatility, and community of WordPress. You'll start with the basics of WordPress navigation and interface, then you'll open the hood, learning the anatomy of WordPress themes and how to make your own. From there, you'll explore child themes, functions, hooks, filters, plugins, widgets, custom post types, and more, all with one big goal in mind: learning the techniques and tools essential to developing excellent WordPress sites.
OUTCOMES
Program Outcomes
By completing the program, Associate Degree in Web Design students develop the following competencies:
1. Web Coding/Design
Layout and design responsive websites using standards-compliant HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code, adapting modern frameworks such as Bootstrap and focusing on WordPress.
5. Marketing
Implement basic techniques for marketing web sites, including SEO, search advertising, and email marketing.
2. Technology
Create images and design layouts by effectively and efficiently using design software including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and other industry technologies.
6. Critical Thinking and Writing
Employ critical thinking to generate, support, and convey ideas through writing for academic or professional contexts.
3. Art/Design Principles
Demonstrate the ability to produce visually compelling work by applying knowledge of color, typography, and composition.
7. Portfolio
Apply creative problem solving and constructive feedback to conceive, produce, and present an impactful body of work that showcases your skills to employers and potential clients.
4. Web Publishing
Publish sites to the Web, validating and troubleshooting sites to fix errors or cross-browser issues, with a knowledge of accessibility best practices.
Outcomes Assessment
To learn more about our outcomes assessment process, visit our Academic Team.
Sessions Student Work
Student Work
Visit the Student Gallery
FACULTY
Walt Dombrowski
is an experienced web developer and trainer.
Piper Nilsson
is a graphic/Web designer and award-winning instructor.
Michael Hamm
is a senior visual designer, Web developer, and all-round Illustrator guru.
VIEW ALL PROGRAM FACULTY
Get expert feedback in classes taught by our industry-leading faculty.
| Instructor | Biography | Degree(s) Earned |
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Andrew Shalat is an author, designer/illustrator, educator, and Mac expert who is a regular speaker at Macworld and has written several books on design for McGraw-Hill and Peachpit Press. |
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Carolyn Zaikowski is the author of the novel A Child Is Being Killed (Aqueous Books, 2013) whose fiction, poetry, and essays have been published widely. |
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Jordon Schranz is an audio/visual artist and designer whose work has been exhibited internationally in New York, Chicago, El Paso, Berlin, Bogotá, and Ciudad Juárez. |
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Kevin Hedgpeth is an Arizona native who makes his home in Phoenix, where he actively writes and illustrates in addition to teaching college-level visual arts courses. He is co-author and illustrator of several published books. |
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Kristen Becker is an educator and a graphic and business designer specializing in e-commerce. With over 12 years of experience as an award-winning educator, Kristen has developed curriculum and taught courses in graphic design, multimedia, and e-commerce/marketing. |
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Michael Hamm is a Senior UX Designer who has worked for Oracle Corporation and Expedia, and an Adobe Illustrator expert with over 20 years of experience in the creative field. |
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Piper Nilsson is a graphic/Web designer and educator. Piper has been working with the Web since 1997, working in various roles as a designer, programmer, and information architect, Piper blueprinted sites for such global clients as MetLife, Pepsi, ETS, and Citibank. |
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Dr. Taz Tally is the president of Taz Tally Seminars and Taz Tally Photography and author of numerous graphics and print production books and instructional videos, CDs, DVDs and online training courses on scanning, prepress and printing, Photoshop, and color correction. |
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Walt Dombrowski is a web developer and trainer with 20 years of professional experience. Walt has worked in both front-end and back-end operations with clients from 23 different countries. |
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View all faculty.
Job Facts
Jobs related to web design and development are projected to increase well into the future. And while many online sources claim to offer instruction in web design, most employers prefer formal training when looking to hire.
Facts are sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook. For more information about the web design and development industry visit: World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), World Organization of Webmasters, or Smashing Magazine.
15%
Employment of web developers is projected to grow 15% from 2016 to 2026, much faster than the average for all occupations.
1 in 6
About 1 in 6 web developers were self-employed in 2016.
GETTING STARTED
Our online application process makes getting started easy, fast, and convenient.
What's the Admissions Process?
Classes start in January, April, and August, with early start options in February, June, and October.
Students entering the program are expected to have earned a high school diploma, GED, or state-approved home school equivalent. Any students under 18 years of age will need to provide the signed permission of a parent or guardian.
To apply, you’ll need to complete our convenient online application and provide an application essay, official transcripts from high school OR for any college degree completed, and 5-10 samples of your art/design work. (Transcripts must be provided for any course you wish evaluated for credit transfer.)
How Long is the Program?
The Associate of Occupational Studies (AOS) program is a 72 credit program completed in six semesters or two years by a student on a full-time schedule. Students with transfer credit can graduate in under two years and part-time schedules are available.
Will the Program Fit My Schedule?
Weekly deadlines help you stay on track. And with no set login times, you can build your studies around your schedule, wherever you are located. That’s why more than 50% of our degree students complete their programs while working full-time.
What Software or Supplies Do I Need?
To take this program, you’ll need the following:
- Mac or Windows computer with an Internet connection.
- Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver CC.
- Access to a digital camera with manual control over ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and White Balance, that allows for shooting in RAW format.
- MS word or equivalent application
- Your computer must meet software manufacturer requirements.
- Basic drawing and painting supplies including pencils, charcoal, newsprint, and sketch paper.
- A Web hosting account with an ad-free hosting service.
- Webcam, headphones or speaker, VPN connection, and microphone connected to the computer for live proctored exams.
There are no textbook or course material costs to participate in this online program. Student discount on Adobe Creative Cloud software is available to enrolled students.
What are the Program Costs?
The tuition for full-time Associate Degree students is as follows:
| Associate of Occupational Studies (AOS) Program |
|---|
| $510 per credit |
| $6,120 per semester |
| $18,360 per calendar year |
| $36,720 total program tuition |
Per-credit tuition for part-time students is the same as for full-time students. Federal financial aid available for eligible students. Ask about our $500-$2,000 scholarships for exemplary applicants.
A $200 registration fee is required to process your enrollment in the program. Registration fees are nonrefundable after 5 days from the scheduled beginning of program orientation. See Degree Program Admissions.
Is Financial Aid available?
Federal Student Aid. Federal student aid is available to students who qualify. If you are eligible, you may be able to fund your program using Pell Grants and Federal student loans. Check out our Financial Aid Information pages and ask to set up an interview with our Financial Aid Director.
Military Student Aid. Military servicemembers and their families who are eligible for GI Bill Education Benefits or active service member Tuition Assistance (TA) may also be able to utilize these programs to pay for their education.
Adult Learner Scholarships. Ask about our innovative scholarships for adult learners. The Designed for You Scholarship Program can help you offset your tuition costs.
Get Started Today
Take the first step on a rewarding creative journey towards earning an Associate Degree in Web Design.
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