12 Best Graphic Design Schools in Florida

Looking to study graphic design? If you want to become a graphic designer, then studying for a degree in graphic design is definitely a good start. But, where to do your degree?

There are countless options of where to study, both at home or abroad. How about The Sunshine State? Florida is a great place to study and live, with a subtropical climate and 237 days of sunshine a year.

Not to mention its incredible beaches, extensive orange orchards and 21 theme parks in Central Florida alone. There are quite a few graphic design schools and colleges in Florida so here we will take you through 12 of the best, and offer some attractive alternatives.

Though, did you also know that you don’t actually need a degree to be a graphic designer? There are some excellent graphic design short courses and bootcamps out there that mean you can become a graphic designer without investing the huge amount of time and money it takes to gain a degree.

The best of these courses is Shillington‘s innovative graphic design course that gets you industry-ready to work as a graphic designer in a seriously short amount of time - just 3 months full time or 9 months part time.

Read on to discover the 12 best colleges to learn graphic design in Florida.

1. Shillington Education

Location: Online
Course Duration: 3 months or 9 months
Cost: $10,000

Shillington’s graphic design course covers everything you need to become an industry-ready designer with a stand-out portfolio, ready to apply your skills in the real world from the moment you graduate.

From design theory to design programs, learn through live online classes run by experienced, practicing designers before immediately applying your skills in a studio environment.

And, this all happens in just three months full-time or nine months part-time.

If you’re wondering whether you need a degree to be a graphic designer, the truth is, you don’t. There’s no denying a degree can help, but there are alternatives, and Shillington’s Graphic Design Course has 30 years of student case studies proving it’s possible.

2. University of Florida (UF)

Location: Gainesville, North Central Florida
Course Duration: 3-4 years
Estimated cost of attendance: $95,000–$115,000 (FL resident, before aid) / $175,000–$195,000 (non-resident, before aid)

A large campus university in Gainesville, North Central Florida, the University of Florida that has existed in its current location for over 100 years, since 1906. It is the fifth largest public university by enrollment in the USA.

It’s best known for the Florida Gators, their intercollegiate athletic teams but they also have a well established School of Art and Art History within their College of the Arts. Within this School, UF offers a BFA (Bachelor’s of Fine Art) degree in Graphic Design/Design & Visual Communications. One of the best graphic design programs in Florida, UF’s undergraduate degree covers branding, experience design, UX/UI (user experience and user interface) design and loads more.

It aims to provide its graduates with the skills and abilities they need to build a career in graphic design, whilst building a community within the university and fostering independent thinking. It is a 120 credit degree, which takes 4 years of study on average.

UF’s Graphic Design/Design & Visual Communications program is a limited-access program—meaning that they only accept a certain number of students a year. To get onto the course, you’ll need to submit an application and a portfolio. The latter of which is reviewed to see whether you’ll be a good fit for the course. You’ll also need to purchase a computer and have access to the Adobe Creative Cloud for the duration of the program.

3. University of Central Florida (UCF)

Location: Orlando, Central Florida
Course Duration: 4 years
Estimated cost of attendance: $95,000–$105,000 (FL resident, before aid) / $165,000–$175,000 (non-resident, before aid)

University of Central Florida offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Emerging Media with a highly competitive Graphic Design track. The program focuses on integrating art, design, storytelling, and technology, preparing students for careers as UI/UX designers, motion graphics designers, and art directors. It is administered through the School of Visual Arts and Design in Orlando.

Prospective students should note that this is a limited-access program. Students must successfully pass a rigorous Graphic Design Portfolio Review, typically held in the Spring semester, to be officially admitted into the upper-level track.

UCF's prime location in Orlando is also a great selling point, as it offers direct networking and internship pipelines to major local employers like Disney, Universal, and various tech companies.

4. Flagler College

Location: St Augustine, North-Eastern Florida
Course Duration: 3-4 years
Estimated cost of attendance: $170,000–$190,000 before aid

Flagler College is a Liberal Arts College founded in 1968. It’s one of the best regional colleges in the Southern states of America and one of the top design colleges in Florida.

Based in St Augustine, Flagler has a 19 acre campus centred around the Ponce de Leon Hotel, a former luxury hotel in the Spanish Renaissance style. Flagler also offers Graphic Design as a major and a minor. If you’re looking to become a graphic designer, then their major could be the way forward.

The program starts with foundational knowledge, tackling drawing, art history, design theory and visual culture before introducing more specific elements of graphic design. This includes typography, branding, web and mobile design and more. The college prides itself in the balance of old and new in its graphic design major. The course culminates in a senior portfolio exhibition, where you will get the opportunity to show your work to the Flagler community.

A typical major at Flagler College will last between 3 and 4 years. There are no specific prerequisites for admission to the program, though there are set essential foundational modules which all students must undertake to advance on the course.

5. Ringling College of Art & Design

Location: Sarasota, Western Florida
Course Duration: 3-4 years
Estimated cost of attendance: $310,000–$330,000 before aid

Ringling College of Art & Design, founded in 1933, is a private college that focuses predominantly on art and design and is known for being one of the top design schools in the world. Based in Sarasota on the Gulf Coast, it has been ranked the second best design school in the South and its students have won several GDUSA awards.

Ringling’s Graphic Design BFA Degree kicks off with giving students a strong understanding of the design thinking process and then works this into a variety of applications and media, including computer-based and off-screen techniques.

Ringling alumni have gone on to work as graphic and product designers, art directors, visual designers or chosen the freelance route and worked for themselves. There’s also great opportunities to intern at the Ringling College Design Center whilst studying at the college and tour some of the major design studios in cities like New York, Chicago or San Francisco.

They also have designers visiting the campus to offer guest lectures. Previous guests include Ken Barber of House Industries and Will Miller of Firebelly.

As with other programs on this list, the Ringling Graphic Design degree is the same length as a standard degree. You’ll need both an application form filled in and a portfolio of your existing work to apply.

6. University of Tampa (UT)

Location: Tampa, Western Florida
Course Duration: 3-4 years
Estimated cost of attendance: $180,000–$200,000 before aid

Another college on the Gulf Coast, the University of Tampa was founded in 1931. The central building of the campus is Plant Hall, formerly the Tampa Bay Hotel, whose famous Moorish minarets have become an iconic symbol of the Floridian college.

Tampa’s graphic design programme aims to produce talented graduates that are “lifestyle designers”. One of the unique things about Tampa’s course is that it incorporates design elements, including design thinking, process and actual making, with teachings in entrepreneurship and business management.

The program therefore creates well rounded graduate designers who are able to understand the practical sides of both design and business. Previous graduates have gone into publication design, art direction, information design and lots more. Want to freelance? Then the business-focused modules of Tampa’s graphic design course could be perfect.

Another standard degree program, the University of Tampa’s graphic design BFA takes between 3 and 4 years to complete. You can apply through UT’s website—make sure to have everything you need ready to go.

7. Keiser University

Location: Fort Lauderdale, South-Eastern Florida
Course Duration: 3-4 year
Estimated cost of attendance: $150,000–$170,000 before aid

Keiser University was founded in 1977 and is an attractive option for studying graphic design in Florida. The main campus is based in Fort Lauderdale on Florida’s Eastern coast but has satellite sites around the state, including a residential campus in West Palm Beach.

One of the best design schools in the state, Keiser offers a program in Graphic Arts and Design that can be undertaken on its campuses in Lakeland, Pembroke Pines or Port St Lucie. Keiser’s graphic design course is aimed both at people who have no art or computer experience or have been tinkering with design software for a while—as long as they have the desire to learn and succeed.

Keiser’s Graphic Arts and Design program balances both the relevant knowledge and practical skills that its graduates need to be on the way to working as a designer. You’ll also learn how to properly critique your own work and the work of others, and how to properly communicate your work, both visually and verbally.

The program takes 3-4 years to complete and there are no prerequisites to studying at Keiser.

8. University of South Florida (USF)

Location: St Petersburg, Western Florida
Course Duration: 2-4 years
Estimated cost of attendance: $95,000–$115,000 (FL resident, before aid) / $140,000–$160,000 (non-resident, before aid)

Founded in 1956, the University of South Florida is America’s fastest-rising university, with campuses in Tampa, Sarasota and St Petersburg, all located in the Tampa Bay area.

Among its over 200 degree offerings, it offers degrees in Graphic Arts with Concentration in Graphic Design and Graphic Arts with Concentration in Illustration. Given this is an article on graphic design schools, we will focus on the former—which is based out of the USF Campus in St Petersburg in the Tampa Bay Area. This course centres around a studio format, where students work, learn and discuss their way to a career in graphic design. There is also a great opportunity to put learnt skills to the test and actively create and design whilst studying.

Taking the length of a typical degree, studying graphic design at the University of South Florida will see you graduating in 3-4 years. And applying to the course? You’ll need to submit both an application and a portfolio of your existing work to the university, as well as having an overall GPA of 2.5 or higher.

9. Florida Atlantic University (FAU)

Location: Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, South-Eastern Florida
Course Duration: 4 years
Estimated cost of attendance: $100,000–$110,000 (FL resident, before aid) / $160,000–$175,000 (non-resident, before aid)

Florida Atlantic University offers a specialized BFA in Graphic Design through its Department of Visual Arts and Art History. The curriculum sharpens visual problem-solving skills, translating verbal concepts into visual images across mediums like corporate identity systems, interactive design, and typography.

The curriculum requires a "BFA Senior Seminar" taken in the final semester, which ensures students graduate with a polished, professional portfolio ready for the job market. You should also note that admission to the upper-division BFA program requires passing a formal undergraduate portfolio review, ensuring students are studying alongside highly motivated peers.

10. Barry University

Location: Miami Shores, Western Florida
Course Duration: 2-3 years
Estimated cost of attendance: $180,000–$200,000 before aid

Barry University in Miami was founded as a Catholic women’s college in 1940 but over the last 71 years has developed into a liberal arts university—which offers over a 100 degree programs to around 7,000 students.

One of these programs is Barry’s Graphic Design BFA. Keeping its eye on the industry, Barry’s program analyzes the latest trends in design, as well as trends from the past and future predictions, to ensure their students come out on top. The University all prides itself on its small class sizes, all of which have access to a state of the art computer lab, which gives students access to all the technology and software they need as designers.

Students graduate from Barry with a professional portfolio that is developed through the course of their studies, including a Senior Project. This will also be displayed at a graduate exhibition at the end of your studies at Barry.

Students can expect to study at Barry for a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 4 years. To study at Barry, you do not need an existing portfolio of design work—it is a standard university application.

11. Full Sail University

Location: Winter Park, Central Florida
Course Duration: 2-3 years
Estimated cost of attendance: $85,000–$100,000 before aid

A part of the Florida college network since 1980, Full Sail University began as a school teaching recording arts and audio engineering—it has since expanded into offering much more diverse degree offerings and launched its online degree program in 2007.

One of these additions is Full Sail’s Graphic Design Bachelor’s Degree course—which is offered both on campus and online, the only college on this list to do so. Full Sail’s graphic design program, whether on campus or online, aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the field of design—it covers print, UI, packaging and more. Both Full Sail’s on campus and online programs, also offer multiple start dates throughout the year—so you aren’t tied down to the standard academic year.

How long the course takes depends on whether you want to learn in person or online. The on campus course can be completed in 20 months, while the online course takes a little longer and can be completed in 29 months—just shy of three years. For the Full Sail course, you don’t need an existing portfolio and the application is a lot less rigorous than other colleges on this list.

12. Palm Beach Atlantic University

Location: West Palm Beach, South-Eastern Florida
Course Duration: 2-3 years
Estimated cost of attendance: $180,000–$210,000 before aid

Home of the PB Sailfish, Palm Beach Atlantic University was founded in 1968 before moving to the campus where it is now housed in 1982. Through its College of Fine Arts, Palm Beach Atlantic offers a BFA in Graphic Arts—Graphic Design that has post-graduation employment as the driving force behind it.

Previous graduates have become graphic designers, art directors, animators and multimedia artists through a comprehensive course of study that covers both information and experiences in graphic design. According to Palm Beach Atlantic’s website, their degree program will train you in page-layout for magazines, books, advertising and corporate design..

If taken as a major, Palm Beach Atlantic’s Graphic Arts-Graphic Design degree program can take up to 4 years, as is the standard with degree programs in the USA. As with other programs on our list, you don’t need to submit a portfolio of previous design work as part of the application process.

There you are, the 12 best graphic design schools in Florida. But, wait, what if we told you that there was a cheaper, faster way of becoming a graphic designer? One that fully prepares you for a job in the design industry? Sounds good to be true but it’s not. Shillington’s graphic design course covers everything you need from design theory to design programs.

You’ll learn from experienced, practicing designers before immediately applying your skills in a studio environment. And, this all happens in just three months full-time or nine months part-time.

Learn more about Shillington’s graphic design course and whether it’s right for you by joining a free info session, where you can meet the teachers and get your questions answered.