Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design maps to BLS occupations averaging about N/A, with roughly 158,550 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $4,334; common paths include Floral Designers and Artists and Related Workers, All Other.
Key Statistics
Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design: what the data shows
Common questions about prepress/desktop publishing and digital imaging design degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a prepress/desktop publishing and digital imaging design degree?
A Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design program is classified under NCES CIP 10.0303 in the Graphic Communications field family (10.03).
A program that prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to the layout, design and typographic arrangement of printed and/or electronic graphic and textual products. Includes instruction in printing and lithographic equipment and operations, computer hardware and software, digital imaging, print preparation, page layout and design, desktop publishing, and applicable principles of graphic design and web page design
Types of prepress/desktop publishing and digital imaging design degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 10.03 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special Effects (CIP 10.0304)
- Computer Typography and Composition Equipment Operator (CIP 10.0308)
- Graphic Communications, General (CIP 10.0301)
- Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production (CIP 10.0305)
- Platemaker/Imager (CIP 10.0306)
- Printing Management (CIP 10.0302)
- Printing Press Operator (CIP 10.0307)
How long does it take to get a prepress/desktop publishing and digital imaging design degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 10.0303 in our file:
- 485 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Floral Designers (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a prepress/desktop publishing and digital imaging design degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Floral Designers | 40,160 | $36,120 |
| Artists and Related Workers, All Other | 7,370 | $72,760 |
| Set and Exhibit Designers | 10,850 | $66,280 |
| Fashion Designers | 20,910 | $80,690 |
| Interior Designers | 69,580 | $63,490 |
| Designers, All Other | 9,680 | $66,220 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a prepress/desktop publishing and digital imaging design degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Graphic Communications bachelor's program family: median debt $45,257, median earnings $43,283 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 1.78.
About 9.2% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $4,334 and median net price is $10,113.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$4,334 Median In-State Public
$38,447 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design majors are, on average, $4,334 for in-state public colleges, and $38,447 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 2 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion | AZ | 53,782 |
| 4 | University of Maryland Global Campus | MD | 49,664 |
| 5 | Miami Dade College | FL | 46,182 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 2 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 4 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 5 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 3 | New Mexico State University-Grants | NM | $68 |
| 4 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 5 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design programs across institutions.
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 10.03 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics, and Special Effects CIP 10.0304
- Computer Typography and Composition Equipment Operator CIP 10.0308
- Graphic Communications, General CIP 10.0301
- Graphic and Printing Equipment Operator, General Production CIP 10.0305
- Platemaker/Imager CIP 10.0306
- Printing Management CIP 10.0302
- Printing Press Operator CIP 10.0307
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 10.0303 in the survey year used in our extract (485 total across levels below).
- 485 Associate (100.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about N/A. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Floral Designers | $49,284 | 40,160 |
| Artists and Related Workers, All Other | $89,549 | 7,370 |
| Set and Exhibit Designers | $105,707 | 10,850 |
| Fashion Designers | — | 20,910 |
| Interior Designers | $87,978 | 69,580 |
| Designers, All Other | $98,753 | 9,680 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Graphic Communications CIP family (22 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design graduate.
- $45,257 median federal loan debt among completers
- $43,283 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 1.78 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 9.2% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$N/A Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design majors is $N/A.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design majors.
Occupations by Share
158,550 2023 Workforce
The number of Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design.
Age distribution for Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
1,171 Total Degrees Awarded
528 Male (45.09%)
643 Female (54.91%)
Gender distribution of Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
467 White (39.88%)
394 Hispanic or Latino (33.65%)
109 Black or African American (9.31%)
96 Asian (8.20%)
35 Two or More Races (2.99%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills to the layout, design and typographic arrangement of printed and/or electronic graphic and textual products. Includes instruction in printing and lithographic equipment and operations, computer hardware and software, digital imaging, print preparation, page layout and design, desktop publishing, and applicable principles of graphic design and web page design
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design.
CIP Code
10.0303 - Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $45,257 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $43,283, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.78. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Prepress/Desktop Publishing and Digital Imaging Design graduate.
About 9.2% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians. That is a program-level mobility signal, not a national underemployment rate.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about N/A. The largest mapped role by headcount is Floral Designers (40,160 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $4,334 in-state at public colleges and $38,447 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.