Develop the principles, practices, and portfolio to engage audiences through visual solutions in any medium—from branding systems, advertising, packaging, and publications to websites, mobile apps, and UX.
UW-Stout's Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Graphic Design & Interactive Media offers a progressive curriculum and hands-on learning experiences in a vibrant creative culture to prepare you for a career as a graphic designer in print design and interactive media industry. You’ll study with faculty who are practicing designers with diverse experiences and high standards. Our graduates have a high employment rate and outstanding support from alumni.
Career-Defining Curriculum
Our curriculum will prepare you with the skills and flexibility to succeed and adapt in the rapidly changing graphic design and interactive media industry. You'll explore graphic design through the creation of advertising, publications, packaging, motion graphics and more and study interactive design across web, mobile app and emerging screen-based media.
There are a variety of different career paths you can take with a degree in graphic design & interactive media. The possibilities continue to grow in digital media.
"UW-Stout was an amazing experience for me. The professors and classes challenged me and taught me new ways to think. I flourished in the creative aspect of the program while learning the technical skills needed for a career."
~ Tiffany WeckwerthB.F.A. Graphic Design & Interactive Media
Use the Request Information form to receive a program summary and learn more about the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design and Interactive Media.
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UW-Stout's School of Art & Design is accredited by the National Association for Schools of Art and Design.
Industry-Experienced Faculty Instruction
Forget TA-taught classes and 200-person lectures. At UW-Stout, building close relationships with our industry-experienced and academically accomplished graphic design and interactive media faculty will play a key role in your polytechnic education and your career. Learn more about your future instructors!
Do More in Our Studios & Labs

Modern studio classrooms provide open, creative environments for learning. Extensive open studio hours allow access to these spaces outside of class periods.
Two galleries are housed in the School of Art & Design, a student gallery, and the John Furlong Gallery. These, along with other spaces on and off campus, provide student, faculty and outside exhibition opportunities throughout the academic year.
Professional Internship Placements in Graphic Design & Interactive Media
Take your education into industry and earn while you learn through UW-Stout’s award-winning Cooperative Education & Internship Program (CEIP) and other placements. Unlike traditional internships, our professional paid and pro bono credit-earning experiences connect you with leaders in your field, including national brands, boutique design firms, and other design-forward organizations, to ensure you’re set up for success long before you graduate. More than a third of Stout students accept positions after graduation with their internship employer.
Recent Internship Employers
- Advantage Signs & Graphics, Inc.
- Bay Island, Inc.
- Brand Ink
- Excel Studio
- Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum
- Imagine Print Solutions
- MGK Company
- Perkins + Will
- PetSmart, Inc.
Select Internship Position Titles
- Associate Marketing Intern
- Communications Intern
- Creative Intern
- Graphic Design & Digital Media Intern
- Multimedia Designer
- Print Production Specialist
- Product Design Intern
Portfolio of Student Work
Career Opportunities
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, multimedia artists and animators (which include digital media designers) earned a median annual wage of $99,060 and a median hourly wage of $47.63 in 2023. As a skilled designer, you'll find rewarding careers available in entertainment, advertising, and science and healthcare communications. Here are a few of our graduate's positions and employers:
Recent Employers
- FCB (Chicago)
- Hatch Design (San Francisco)
- Innopark (India)
- Mason Companies (Chippewa Falls, WI)
- National Public Radio (Washington DC)
- Ponzi Vineyards (Oregon)
- Strapped to a Meteor (Seattle)
- Target Corporation
- Volume One (Eau Claire, WI)
- WorkSimple - The Social Goal Management Company
- Ziba (Seattle)
Select Position Titles
- Advertising/Marketing Designer
- Application Designer
- Art Director
- Brand Strategist
- Communications Strategist
- Graphic Designer
- Interactive Designer
- Interface Designer
- Logo & Identity Systems Designer
- Motion Graphics Designer
- Packaging Designer
- Web Designer
New First-Year Students
Students admitted as Pre-Bachelor of Fine Arts (Pre-BFA) students will join an exciting community of first-year art and design students with classes and events geared towards preparing you for a successful application to the intended BFA program.
Acceptance Into the Pre-BFA & BFA Program
Your acceptance into UW-Stout automatically enters you into the Pre-BFA program that you chose on your application. Starting with incoming first-year students for fall 2026, you have two potential pathways into your BFA major.
We’re here to help guide you along the way.
- Pathway 1: Submit a Portfolio Before Enrolling in Your First-Year Coursework.
Before the start of school, you may submit an independent portfolio for review. If successful, you will be approved for direct-entry into your BFA major and will not be required to apply for the major later. You will still complete the School of Art & Design’s First-Year Experience (FYX) regardless of that outcome. If your portfolio review is unsuccessful, or if you choose not to pursue this pathway, you will still enroll as a “Pre-BFA” in your chosen BFA major. Deadlines and requirements are below. Ready to apply or have questions? Email artdesign@uwstout.edu. - Pathway 2: Submit a Portfolio During or After Your First-Year Coursework.
You enroll as a “Pre-BFA” student and develop a portfolio from the School of Art & Design’s FYX to apply for formal acceptance into your BFA major. After enrolling at UW-Stout, you have two opportunities to apply for acceptance.
What do I need to get accepted into my BFA program?
Pathway 1: After Admission to Stout, Submit the Following by Feb. 1 (Priority Deadline) or April 1 (Regular Decision).
- Your portfolio is the most important part of your application. It is evaluated on artistic and conceptual content, design, composition, technical skill, and creative potential. Your portfolio should contain 12 examples of your best and most recent work that showcases your technical skills and idea development. Select works that demonstrate the depth and breadth of your creative experiences and interests. Your portfolio may include works in a variety of media, including two-dimensional work, photography, three-dimensional work, design, architectural renderings, interactive media, websites, video and animation. Portfolio samples may come from formal assignments or outside of an art class.
- Submit an essay, saved as one PDF, that includes responses of 150 words or less for each of the three prompts below. Incorporate terms and concepts learned to discuss your work.
- Please tell us about your pre-college background, including your experience with making art or design, your educational experience, and influences.
- Tell us about a single project this year that has been included in the portfolio. Why did you include it? What skills did you learn from this project (technical, critical, creative/process)? Which of your strengths do you think it highlights?
- Give us a vision for your future self: What areas will you improve on? What opportunities have been revealed with your learning at Stout? Describe your career objectives.
- A $10 application fee is assessed at the time you electronically submit your portfolio.
Pathway 2: Commonly submitted at the end of the second semester.
- 2.0 or higher UW-Stout cumulative GPA and a grade of C or better for all art, art history, and design courses.
- A personal essay of 300-500 words about how your Foundations work represents your preparedness for your intended major
- Your FYX portfolio
Transfer Students
- All transfer students will be admitted as a Pre-Bachelor of Fine Arts (Pre-BFA) student. Upon acceptance information will be provided on how to submit a portfolio and essay to be reviewed by a committee of School of Art & Design faculty, who will determine direct admissions into the BFA major of your choice.
- Priority Deadlines:
- Spring Admission: October 1 at 9 a.m. CST
- Fall Admission: March 1 at 9 a.m. CST
- Submissions may be made after the priority date; however, there is no guarantee when it will be reviewed for a decision nor what art-specific coursework you may be able to get into after the review is completed and whether or not registration for the next semester has begun. There is a $10 application fee assessed at the time you electronically submit your portfolio.
Transfer students are considered for both fall and spring. This includes portfolio and essay submission by the priority deadline. Students applying for one of the BFA programs will remain admitted as a "Pre-BFA" student if you:
- do not submit a portfolio/essay
or - apply after the BFA program has closed
or - are not approved for the BFA program after submission of a portfolio/essay.
You may then apply for a change of major in subsequent semesters, depending upon available openings in the program. If needed, BFA Foundations courses will be available to "Pre-BFA" students pending seat availability.
Advisory Committee Members
Calee | Cecconi | Assistant Professor | UW-Stout |
Alex | DeArmond | Professor; Program Director | UW-Stout |
Aaron | Durst | Director, School of Art & Design | UW-Stout |
Robert | Fraher | Professor | UW-Stout |
Ashley | Hohnstein | Senior Manager; Associate Creative Director | Target |
Pat | Kavanaugh | Director, Project Management | Fjorge |
Jesse | Lindhorst | Founder & Design Director | Friend & Fort |
Katie | Lupton | Assistant Professor | UW-Stout |
Shelley | Pecha | Professor; Chair, Design Department | UW-Stout |
Justin | Peddycoart | Experience Architect | Salesforce |
Jason | Schmitt | Dean, CAHS | UW-Stout |
Colin | Schye | Director, Digital Product Design | Bionic Giant |
Kristin | Shardlow | Principal; Owner | Kristin Shardlow Consulting, LLC |
Nagesh | Shinde | Professor | UW-Stout |
Kerri | Soukup | Executive Creative Director; Executive Vice President | Leo Burnett |
John | Standish | Chief Strategy Officer | Artisan Venture Lab |
Andy | Vitale | UX Design Director | Polaris |
Ange | Wang | Senior Director, UX Instruction & Strategy | Prime Digital Academy |
Student | Representative | President, AIGA Student Organization | UW-Stout |
Student | Representative | Vice President, AIGA Student Organization | UW-Stout |