Digital Media and Multimedia: Program Overview, Universities, Careers & Salaries

Q: Which universities have the largest Digital Media and Multimedia programs?

Currently 400 accredited institutions offer Digital Media and Multimedia degrees across the U.S. Programs with the highest enrollment include Northwestern University (607 graduates), New York University (NYU) (586 graduates), and Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) (465 graduates).

Q: Is enrollment in Digital Media and Multimedia growing or declining?

Graduate numbers have increased over the past decade, rising from 2,097 in 2010 to 11,282 in 2023-24. This represents a 438% increase overall from 2010.

Q: What career paths are available with a Digital Media and Multimedia degree?

This degree prepares you for roles such as Managers, All Other, Web and Digital Interface Designers, and Communications Teachers, Postsecondary. Related occupations employ approximately 795,230 professionals nationwide.

Program Overview

Digital Media and Multimedia programs equip students with the technical, creative, and analytical skills needed to design, manage, and evaluate dynamic digital communication platforms in an evolving technological landscape. This interdisciplinary field integrates technology, design, and communication theory to prepare professionals for leadership roles in media production, digital strategy, and emerging media environments.

Computer and telecommunications technologies: Explores the foundational systems and networks that enable real-time data transmission, multimedia streaming, and digital connectivity across devices and platforms.
Design and development of digital communications: Focuses on the creation of interactive content, including web experiences, mobile applications, and immersive digital environments using industry-standard tools and frameworks.
Marketing and distribution strategies: Examines methods for promoting digital content across diverse channels, optimizing reach, engagement, and user retention through data-informed approaches.
Digital communications regulation, law, and policy: Investigates legal frameworks governing online content, intellectual property, privacy, cybersecurity, and the ethical responsibilities of digital media practitioners.
Human interaction with digital media: Studies user behavior, cognitive response, accessibility, and usability to ensure digital experiences are inclusive, intuitive, and effective across varied audiences.
Emerging trends and issues: Addresses cutting-edge developments such as artificial intelligence in content creation, virtual and augmented reality, blockchain-based media, and the societal impacts of digital transformation.

Digital Media and Multimedia Graduate Trends (2010-2024)

11,282

Total Graduates (2023-2024)

400

Universities & Colleges

Career Pathways

Career & Salary Outlook Schools Offering This Program Related Programs

Digital Media and Multimedia Career Pathways & Salary Outlook

The following table presents salary data for occupations typically aligned with Digital Media and Multimedia degrees, including Managers, All Other, Web and Digital Interface Designers and Communications Teachers, Postsecondary. These career paths represent common employment outcomes but are not guaranteed for all graduates. Salary ranges vary by location, employer, experience level, and specific role requirements. Nationally, these occupations employ approximately 795,230 professionals.

National Average Salaries

Occupation	Median Salary	Salary Range	Total Employment	Hourly Rate
Managers, All Other 11-9199	$136,550	$68,860 - $227,590	630,980	$65.65
Web and Digital Interface Designers 15-1255	$98,090	$47,840 - $192,180	111,400	$47.16
Communications Teachers, Postsecondary 25-1122	$77,800	$47,100 - $160,210	29,260	N/A
Media and Communication Workers, All Other 27-3099	$71,770	$38,530 - $148,070	23,590	$34.51

Data Source: Salary and employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, May 2024 estimates, based on 4 related occupations. Career pathways mapped using CIP-SOC crosswalk from the National Center for Education Statistics.

*Salary Range Explanation: The salary range represents the 10th to 90th percentile, meaning 80% of workers in this occupation earn within this range. This excludes the lowest 10% and highest 10% of earners to provide a more realistic picture of typical compensation.

Important Disclaimer: Salary data represents national averages and varies by location, experience, employer, and market conditions. These statistics are estimates for general guidance and do not guarantee specific employment outcomes for graduates.

Digital Media and Multimedia Salary Map by State

Geographic location significantly impacts earning potential for these careers. Average salaries range from $61,973 in Indiana to $133,338 in California—a 115% difference. The highest-paying states include California, Rhode Island, and New York. Nationwide, these occupations employ over 795,230 professionals across all states. Explore the interactive map below to compare regional compensation and identify optimal markets for your career goals.

Average Salary Range:

Top Universities for Digital Media and Multimedia by Graduate Enrollment

Below are the top 100 institutions offering Digital Media and Multimedia programs for the 2023-2024 academic year (the most recent data reported as of 2025), ranked by the number of graduates. The highest graduate enrollment in Digital Media and Multimedia is found at Northwestern University (607 graduates), New York University (NYU) (586 graduates), Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) (465 graduates), Arizona State University, Digital Immersion (435 graduates), and University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) (319 graduates). Combined, these colleges produced 9,153 graduates across all degree levels. Program availability varies by award level, including Associate, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees at participating universities and schools.

College Name	Award Levels	Graduates	Location	Control	Website
Northwestern University	Bachelor's Master's Post-Master's Doctorate (Research)	607	Evanston, Illinois	Private	northwestern.edu
New York University (NYU)	Bachelor's Master's Doctorate (Research)	586	New York, New York	Private	nyu.edu
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)	Bachelor's Master's	465	Savannah, Georgia	Private	scad.edu
Arizona State University	Bachelor's Postbac Cert. Master's	435	Scottsdale, Arizona	Public	asu.edu
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)	Bachelor's	319	University, Mississippi	Public	olemiss.edu
Florida State University (FSU)	Bachelor's Master's	255	Tallahassee, Florida	Public	fsu.edu
University of Southern California (USC)	Master's	209	Los Angeles, California	Private	usc.edu
University of Georgia (UGA)	Bachelor's Postbac Cert. Other Award	209	Athens, Georgia	Public	uga.edu
University of Wisconsin-Madison	Other Award	207	Madison, Wisconsin	Public	wisc.edu
Ball State University (BSU)	Bachelor's Postbac Cert. Master's	188	Muncie, Indiana	Public	bsu.edu
Towson University (TU)	Bachelor's Postbac Cert.	188	Towson, Maryland	Public	towson.edu
The New School	Bachelor's Postbac Cert. Master's	181	New York, New York	Private	newschool.edu
Pennsylvania State University	Bachelor's	176	University Park, Pennsylvania	Public	psu.edu
Washington State University (WSU)	Bachelor's Other Award	164	Pullman, Washington	Public	wsu.edu
Florida International University (FIU)	Bachelor's	159	Miami, Florida	Public	fiu.edu
Kennesaw State University (KSU)	Bachelor's Postbac Cert.	152	Kennesaw, Georgia	Public	kennesaw.edu
Florida Atlantic University (FAU)	Bachelor's Master's	148	Boca Raton, Florida	Public	fau.edu
Fordham University	Bachelor's Master's	139	Bronx, New York	Private	fordham.edu
Liberty University	Bachelor's Master's Doctorate (Research)	130	Lynchburg, Virginia	Private	liberty.edu
Northeastern University Professional Programs	Bachelor's Master's	120	Boston, Massachusetts	Private	northeastern.edu
University of Washington (UW)	Master's	118	Seattle, Washington	Public	washington.edu
Boston University (BU)	Master's Doctorate (Research)	113	Boston, Massachusetts	Private	bu.edu
University of Connecticut (UConn)	Bachelor's Postbac Cert. Master's	102	Storrs, Connecticut	Public	uconn.edu
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)	Bachelor's Master's	98	Baltimore, Maryland	Private	mica.edu
Miami University	Bachelor's Master's	93	Oxford, Ohio	Public	miamioh.edu
Texas Tech University (TTU)	Bachelor's Other Award	93	Lubbock, Texas	Public	ttu.edu
Indiana University (IU Indianapolis)	Bachelor's Master's	90	Indianapolis, Indiana	Public	indianapolis.iu.edu
Oregon State University (OSU)	Bachelor's	90	Corvallis, Oregon	Public	oregonstate.edu
Texas State University (TXST)	Bachelor's	87	San Marcos, Texas	Public	txst.edu
CUNY Graduate School and University Center	Master's	84	New York, New York	Public	gc.cuny.edu
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)	Bachelor's Master's	82	Rochester, New York	Private	rit.edu
Elon University	Bachelor's Master's	81	Elon, North Carolina	Private	elon.edu
University of Central Florida (UCF)	Master's	80	Orlando, Florida	Public	ucf.edu
Purdue University Global	Bachelor's Other Award	79	West Lafayette, Indiana	Public	purdueglobal.edu
Kent State University	Bachelor's Doctorate (Research)	78	Kent, Ohio	Public	kent.edu
Michigan State University (MSU)	Postbac Cert. Master's Doctorate (Research)	77	East Lansing, Michigan	Public	msu.edu
Arizona State University Campus Immersion (ASU)	Bachelor's Master's Doctorate (Research)	76	Tempe, Arizona	Public	asu.edu
Georgetown University (GU)	Master's	76	Washington, District of Columbia	Private	georgetown.edu
The University of Texas (UTEP)	Bachelor's	76	El Paso, Texas	Public	utep.edu
University of Colorado Boulder (CU)	Bachelor's Doctorate (Research)	74	Boulder, Colorado	Public	colorado.edu
Pratt Institute	Master's	74	Brooklyn, New York	Private	pratt.edu
Montclair State University	Bachelor's	72	Montclair, New Jersey	Public	montclair.edu
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)	Bachelor's Master's Doctorate (Research)	69	Atlanta, Georgia	Public	gatech.edu
Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO)	Bachelor's	68	Cape Girardeau, Missouri	Public	semo.edu
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (KU)	Bachelor's	68	Kutztown, Pennsylvania	Public	kutztown.edu
State University of New York	Bachelor's	66	New Paltz, New York	Public	newpaltz.edu
Pace University	Bachelor's Master's	63	New York, New York	Private	pace.edu
University of Cincinnati (UC)	Certificate (1-2 yrs) Bachelor's	63	Cincinnati, Ohio	Public	uc.edu
Illinois Media School (IMS)	Certificate (1-2 yrs)	63	Chicago, Illinois	Private	beonair.com
Texas A & M University	Bachelor's	62	College Station, Texas	Public	tamu.edu
University of Chicago (UChicago)	Bachelor's Postbac Cert. Master's	59	Chicago, Illinois	Private	uchicago.edu
University of California (UCB)	Master's	58	Berkeley, California	Public	berkeley.edu
Seminole State College of Florida	Associate's Other Award	58	Sanford, Florida	Public	seminolestate.edu
University of South Carolina (USC)	Bachelor's	58	Columbia, South Carolina	Public	sc.edu
University of South Florida (USF)	Bachelor's	51	Tampa, Florida	Public	usf.edu
University of North Georgia (UNG)	Bachelor's	49	Dahlonega, Georgia	Public	ung.edu
Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt)	Bachelor's Master's	46	Boston, Massachusetts	Public	massart.edu
Connecticut State Community College (CT State)	Associate's Other Award	42	Hartford, Connecticut	Public	ctstate.edu
Bowling Green State University (BGSU)	Bachelor's Postbac Cert.	39	Bowling Green, Ohio	Public	bgsu.edu
Georgia Southern University	Bachelor's	38	Statesboro, Georgia	Public	georgiasouthern.edu
Tulane University of Louisiana	Bachelor's Postbac Cert.	38	New Orleans, Louisiana	Private	tulane.edu
Southern Oregon University (SOU)	Bachelor's	38	Ashland, Oregon	Public	sou.edu
Westcliff University	Master's	38	Irvine, California	Private	westcliff.edu
Lynn University	Bachelor's Master's	37	Boca Raton, Florida	Private	lynn.edu
Oakland Community College (OCC)	Associate's	37	Auburn Hills, Michigan	Public	oaklandcc.edu
Hillsborough Community College (HCC)	Associate's Other Award	36	Tampa, Florida	Public	hccfl.edu
Ithaca College (IC)	Bachelor's	35	Ithaca, New York	Private	ithaca.edu
Arkansas State University (A-State)	Master's Other Award	34	Jonesboro, Arkansas	Public	astate.edu
Loyola University Chicago (LUC)	Bachelor's Master's	34	Chicago, Illinois	Private	luc.edu
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	Master's Doctorate (Research)	34	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Private	web.mit.edu
University of Puerto Rico (UPRH)	Bachelor's	34	Humacao, Puerto Rico	Public	upr.edu
DePaul University	Postbac Cert. Master's	33	Chicago, Illinois	Private	depaul.edu
Ohio Media School (OMS)	Certificate (1-2 yrs)	33	Valley View, Ohio	Private	beonair.com
Colorado Media School	Certificate (1-2 yrs)	33	Denver, Colorado	Private	beonair.com
Adelphi University	Bachelor's	32	Garden City, New York	Private	adelphi.edu
Francis Tuttle Technology Center	Other Award	32	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Public	francistuttle.edu
Valencia College	Other Award	31	Orlando, Florida	Public	valenciacollege.edu
Ohio University (OHIO)	Bachelor's Postbac Cert. Master's Other Award	31	Athens, Ohio	Public	ohio.edu
Ohio Media School	Certificate (1-2 yrs)	31	Norwood, Ohio	Private	beonair.com
Eastern Michigan University (EMU)	Bachelor's	30	Ypsilanti, Michigan	Public	emich.edu
Lincoln University	Bachelor's	30	Lincoln University, Pennsylvania	Public	lincoln.edu
Quinnipiac University (QU)	Master's	29	Hamden, Connecticut	Private	qu.edu
CUNY City College (CCNY)	Bachelor's Master's	29	New York, New York	Public	ccny.cuny.edu
Yeshiva University (YU)	Master's	29	New York, New York	Private	yu.edu
Tulsa Community College (TCC)	Certificate (1-2 yrs) Associate's	29	Tulsa, Oklahoma	Public	tulsacc.edu
The University of Texas	Other Award	29	Austin, Texas	Public	utexas.edu
University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College	Certificate (1-2 yrs) Associate's Other Award	28	North Little Rock, Arkansas	Public	uaptc.edu
University of North Texas at Dallas (UNT Dallas)	Bachelor's	28	Dallas, Texas	Public	untdallas.edu
Academy of Art University	Bachelor's Master's	27	San Francisco, California	Private	academyart.edu
University of Rochester	Bachelor's	26	Rochester, New York	Private	rochester.edu
Eastern Illinois University (EIU)	Bachelor's	25	Charleston, Illinois	Public	eiu.edu
SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly)	Bachelor's	25	Utica, New York	Public	sunypoly.edu
Lebanon Valley College (LVC)	Bachelor's	25	Annville, Pennsylvania	Private	lvc.edu
Thomas Jefferson University	Master's	25	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Private	jefferson.edu
College of Western Idaho (CWI)	Associate's	25	Nampa, Idaho	Public	cwi.edu
Stanford University	Master's	24	Stanford, California	Private	stanford.edu
University of Northern Iowa (UNI)	Bachelor's	23	Cedar Falls, Iowa	Public	uni.edu
University of the Pacific (UOP)	Bachelor's	22	Stockton, California	Private	pacific.edu
Southeastern University (SEU)	Bachelor's	22	Lakeland, Florida	Private	seu.edu
Canisius University	Bachelor's	22	Buffalo, New York	Private	canisius.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to the most common questions about Digital Media and Multimedia programs

How much can I earn with a Digital Media and Multimedia degree?

Salaries for Digital Media and Multimedia graduates vary by role and location. Managers, All Other earn a median of $136,550 annually, while Web and Digital Interface Designers earn around $98,090. Geographic location significantly impacts earnings—professionals in California average $133,338 compared to $61,973 in Indiana. Approximately 795,230 professionals work in related occupations nationwide.

Salary data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS program, May 2024. Earnings vary by experience, employer, and market conditions.

Which universities have the largest Digital Media and Multimedia programs?

Currently 400 accredited institutions offer Digital Media and Multimedia degrees across the U.S. Programs with the highest enrollment include Northwestern University (607 graduates), New York University (NYU) (586 graduates), and Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) (465 graduates).

Program size doesn't necessarily indicate quality—consider factors like faculty expertise, production opportunities, location, and available degree levels when choosing a school.

Data based on IPEDS program completions for 2023-2024 academic year. Numbers reflect programs where students graduated.

Is enrollment in Digital Media and Multimedia growing or declining?

Graduate numbers have increased over the past decade, rising from 2,097 in 2010 to 11,282 in 2023-24. This represents a 438% increase overall from 2010.

The field remains specialized with steady interest, though opportunities are most concentrated in major metropolitan areas with active arts scenes like New York, California, and Illinois.

Graduate enrollment data from IPEDS, 2010-2024 academic years. Trends reflect reported completions at participating institutions.

What career paths are available with a Digital Media and Multimedia degree?

This degree prepares you for roles such as Managers, All Other, Web and Digital Interface Designers, and Communications Teachers, Postsecondary. Related occupations employ approximately 795,230 professionals nationwide.

Skills in project management, creative leadership, and collaboration also transfer to event planning, arts administration, marketing, and corporate training roles. Many professionals work freelance or on a project basis across theatre, film, and live events.

Career pathways mapped using CIP-SOC crosswalk from the National Center for Education Statistics. Employment data from BLS OEWS May 2024.

Related Communication Programs

Explore similar degree programs within the Communication field. These programs share the same academic discipline and may offer complementary skills and career pathways.

Photojournalism

A program that focuses on the use of still and motion photography in journalism and prepares individuals to function as news photographers and...

91 graduates (2023-2024)

11 schools offer this

View Program

Environmental and Health Journalism

A program that focuses on reporting on science, health, or environmental policy issues; investigating environmental problems and their causes; and public relations. Includes...

10 graduates (2023-2024)

2 schools offer this

View Program