in The Art Institute of
Pittsburgh - Online Division

Get the skills you need for the career you want at The Art Institute Online. Whether you’re just starting out or are a seasoned professional, you can jump-start your career with an associate's or bachelor's degree from The Art Institute Online, a division of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Programs are available in Interactive Media Design, Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Fashion & Retail Management, and Media Arts & Animation.

Associate of Science Degree Programs:

Graphic Design

So you're interested in Graphic Design and have a passion for art? Come and learn the skills and techniques of computer graphics, electronic imaging and production using scanners, digital cameras and computer-based hardware and software (such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Illustrator) and all the other essential skills to begin a career in the design field.

At graduation, you will have an individualized portfolio to showcase the practical and technical skills you have acquired and you'll be prepared for entry-level career opportunities with corporations, organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, entertainment and advertising.

Interactive Media Design

Enter the fast-evolving field of Interactive Media Design. Our Interactive Media Design Associate of Science Degree program is the right choice if you are looking to marry your individual artistic abilities with complex technological skills. The program was created to prepare you for careers involving the Internet with a focus on marketing and design. It integrates the elements of audio, video, still images, animation, text and data for the delivery of interactive content.

Course work begins with drawing and design, digital image manipulation, multimedia system design, scriptwriting, sound, video and animation. It progresses to more complex classes such as interactive information design and Web development - all under the guidance of experienced faculty members recruited from this fascinating industry.

At graduation, you will have an individualized digital portfolio to showcase the practical and technical skills you have acquired. You'll be prepared for entry-level career opportunities with corporations, organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, entertainment and advertising agencies in the field of multimedia and Web design.

Bachelor of Science Degree Programs:

Fashion & Retail Management

Have an eye for style and a head for business? This means moving the world's fashions from designers' showrooms to retail sales floors.

In the Fashion & Retail Management program, you'll learn how to develop, analyze, and implement sales strategies. Buying and merchandising practices are explored. Your inventory control and cost analysis skills are honed. And you'll learn more about the many avenues open to you in this exciting field: buying, coordinating runway shows, sales consultation, manufacturer's rep, and more. Department stores, boutiques, and designer showrooms are the environments in which you'll be part of the changing face of fashion, from season to season.

Once you graduate, you'll be prepared for a variety of entry-level positions, including retail and wholesale sales, stylist, management trainee, or visual merchandiser.

Game Art & Design

Want to tease your brain with the challenge of designing successive levels of a complicated video game? If so, graduate to a future in Game Art & Design and get there online. The Game Art & Design Program concentrates on the artistic side of games - not computer programming. This unique program is your first step toward becoming an artist and designer in the multi-billion dollar game design industry.

You'll strengthen your basic art and design skills, and then you'll learn how to design game play and background, create characters and their environments, and apply your knowledge of video and computer games to evaluate game products. You'll also learn to plan the game environment and determine choices for characters.

When you graduate from the Game Art & Design program, you'll have the training and skills you need to compete for entry-level positions in the game industry - positions such as game-play tester, 2-D conceptual artist, 3-D character builder, 3-D object modeler, interactivity designer, background artist, and more.

Graphic Design

So you're interested in Graphic Design and have a passion for art? The Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design Degree program provides you with the opportunity to develop an understanding of color and composition, design and typography. You will be trained in creative problem-solving and learn to offer solutions that are effective in the business world. Emphasis is placed on learning skills and techniques of computer graphics, electronic imaging and production.

By graduation, you will have acquired the training and portfolio necessary to interview for an entry-level position as a production artist, graphic designer, assistant art director, production coordinator, and computer artist at ad agencies, design studios, publishing houses, corporate communications departments and TV studios.

Interactive Media Design

Enter the fast-evolving field of interactive Media Design. Our Interactive Media Design Bachelor of Science Degree program is the right choice if you are looking to marry your individual artistic abilities with complex technological skills. This program was created to prepare you for careers involving the Internet with a focus on marketing and design. It integrates the elements of audio, video, still images, animation, text and data for the delivery of interactive content.

The Bachelor of Science Degree in Interactive Media Design offers a broad range of design and technology competencies focused on career paths in the specialty of multimedia and Web design. These competencies include those related to visual design, digital image manipulation, audio, Web site design, video, animation, text, business and project management.

At graduation, you will have an individualized digital portfolio to showcase the practical and technical skills you have acquired. You'll be prepared for entry-level career opportunities with corporations, organizations, educational institutions, government agencies, entertainment and advertising agencies in the field of multimedia and Web design.

Media Arts & Animation

Interested in developing animation and art work that stirs an audience and spurs a response? Our Media Art & Animation program will develop your creative skills in this wide-ranging field.

The Media Arts & Animation program begins with a foundation in drawing, color, character design and computer applications. Under the guidance of an industry-experienced faculty, you'll examine advanced 2-D and 3-D animation principles as well as story development, background design, scenic layout and special effects. You'll work with program specific software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, and Discreet's 3D Studio Max.

At graduation, you will have an individualized digital portfolio to showcase your creative skills in traditional and digital 2-D and 3-D techniques and abilities. Entry-level opportunities exist for Media Art & Animation graduates in computer generated lighting, compositing and rendering, as storyboard artists, texture artists, computer modelers, computer-generated special effects artists, broadcast graphic artists, background painters, forensic artists and video post-production artists.

Diploma Programs:

Digital Design

If you want to become a digital specialist, you've come to the right place to get your career off the ground. Through the diploma program in Digital Design, you will learn design fundamentals, lettering and typography, and graphic design. You'll create color composites and renderings, and get the introduction you need to using computer applications and sophisticated software as design tools. You will use these tools to create high-quality layouts and designs.

The Digital Design Program provides you with a solid foundation for career growth. You'll be qualified for entry-level positions, including production or computer artist at newspapers, advertising agencies or television stations.

Web Design

In the Web Design program you'll learn the basics of Web site design, graphics and animation developed specifically for the Internet. You will explore the various site design models used in personal, commercial and government Web sites, and will design Web pages and Web sites utilizing a variety of techniques and software tools.

Depending on level of specialty, graduates are prepared for entry-level positions in many areas of Web-related businesses such as Web site designers, information designers, and Web animators.

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