Bachelor of Science in Communication Design

Study the ever-changing art of creating powerful visual messages that compel your audience to take action.

Students studying communication design have opportunities to create all kinds of communications — graphic design, media design, book/publication, advertising, gaming, interactive and digital campaigns, print and direct marketing materials and campaigns, magazines, websites, and more.

Core coursework also includes fundamentals of marketing, communications, design thinking, and leadership for a well-rounded experience.

Program Features

• Learn from a full slate of professional working industry experts who challenge students with real-world projects.
• Get hands-on experience with real clients early in your academic career through classwork and practicums.
• Gain valuable internship and professional experience with on-campus opportunities, covering everything from events management to magazine design, and from advertising to social media communications.
• Collaborate in working groups with students studying in a wide range of creative majors for a realistic work experience.
• Create a professional portfolio and exhibit your best works in a senior show that’s open to the public.
• Design your program around you, choosing the projects that challenge and inspire, while stretching your skills and creativity.

Stephens Life Magazine

Bring your talents to Stephens Life , our national award-winning, student-run feature magazine. Choose the role that’s right for you.

A national award-winning feature magazine run by Stephens students.

Stephens Life is produced by students as part of a practicum class open (by application) to any major. The practicum simulates a real-world publishing environment where students take on the roles of creative director, art director, graphic designer, photographer, or writer, and work together to produce a high-quality magazine publication. From pitching articles to selling ad space to final production and public issue launch, magazine staffers earn essential experience for the world of professional publishing.

And we're good at it.

Stephens Life consistently brings home top national student awards. Most recently, the Spring 2019 Voyage Issue earned Best of Show at the Fall 2019 National College Media Convention in Washington, D.C.

“I was so nervous, I was shaking,” said Hannah Kueck, who attended the convention and received second place for Story of the Year for her column about life with scoliosis (Fall 2018 issue). “When I heard the news, I immediately started crying. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening.”

Her award-winning story was inspired by her own struggle with scoliosis, including two surgeries.

“I wanted to write to make people feel more powerful,” Kueck said. “People think we can’t function, but we can still live and have a great life.” Since the win, Kueck has gone on to serve as a copy editor for Stephens Life . She also earned an internship with COMO Magazine .

Creative Ink

Build your portfolio as you take on challenging real-world projects as part of the student-run creative services agency, Creative Ink. Take on a leadership, project management, or creative position.

A full-service marketing firm run by Stephens students.

Creative Ink, an integrated marketing communications firm, provides students with hands-on opportunities to work with real clients in the Columbia community as well as departments and organizations at Stephens College.

The most creative and dedicated Stephens students are selected to join the firm. “Inkers,” as team members are called, strategically apply their expertise as creative directors, account executives, and firm directors. They partner with clients to provide a wide array of professionally designed pro-bono marketing communication services. The end result? Crucial experience that is gained for post-graduate success.

Our Mission + Commitment

Founded in 1833, Stephens College is an institution committed to its mission to Learn. Grow. Lead. Stephens is resilient and optimistic, faithful to her traditions, and eager to embrace the future. Focused on the health sciences, performing arts, and integrative studies, Stephens continues to prepare graduates (whether from our undergraduate residential college, co-educational graduate programs, or 90-year-strong Children’s School) for the lives that await them — lives of distinction, integrity, and service.

A Mission That Guides Us

Stephens College is proud to be the second-oldest women’s college in the country. Shaped by our Ten Ideals, we stand in service to generation after generation of Stephens students.

Our Mission:

Learn. Grow. Lead.

Our Vision:

Inspired by its tradition as an undergraduate women’s college, Stephens College engages lifelong learners in an educational experience characterized by intellectual rigor, creative expression, and professional practice, supported by accomplished faculty, talented staff, and engaged alumnae/alumni. Graduates of Stephens College are educated in the liberal arts, informed by diverse perspectives, and committed to lives of leadership, integrity, and service.

Our Values: The Ten Ideals

Inherent in the culture of Stephens College is the tradition of the Ten Ideals, which originated in 1921 and which represent the core values that enrich and inspire our lives. Each year, 10 students are selected as personifications of individual ideals.

• Respect for our own dignity and the dignity of others, embodied in a sense of social justice
• Courage and persistence
• Independence, autonomy, and self-sufficiency
• Support for others through the willingness to take and give criticism, acceptance, and love
• Sensitivity to the uniqueness and fragility of the natural world of which we are part
• Responsibility for the consequences of our choices
• Belief in our changing selves and in our right to change
• Creativity in the spiritual and aesthetic dimensions of life
• Intelligence that is informed and cultivated, critical yet tolerant
• Leadership which empowers others

Stephens College: 187 years of Innovation + Tradition

Founded in 1833, Stephens College is proud to be the second-oldest women’s college in the country and the first institution of higher education in Columbia, Missouri.

From the beginning, Stephens has developed a tradition of cutting-edge educational programs that provide young women with classroom and experiential learning opportunities like no other institution in higher education.

Stephens believes in the power of a women’s undergraduate education. We also believe in the power of education to change lives and offer co-educational graduate programs as well as children's school and youth programs that celebrate and encourage lifelong learning.

Our Commitment to Equity

Stephens College is committed to fostering a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for learning, living and working. While we have much work to do, we look forward to doing it together, and we invite all members of our community to be part of that conversation.

Our students love life at Stephens.

That’s what they told The Princeton Review. Our students say they feel at home here. They think our campus is beautiful, easy to navigate, and an ideal place to make friends. They also appreciate the College’s close relationship with the local community and value the interaction of different types of students on campus.

And that’s not all there is to love about life at Stephens. Our hometown of Columbia, Missouri, is frequently ranked one of the best college towns in America. Here, there’s always something happening, thanks to three colleges and 30,000+ college students. Columbia really has it all: big-time college sports; film, music, and arts festivals; amazing recreation; and a great downtown with lots of places to eat, shop, and check out the latest bands.

Stephens’ historic campus is just steps away from downtown Columbia, so you get the best of both worlds - brick and ivy charm, and the buzz of a happening college town. You’ll find a culture of respect and support, and a network of friends eager to take on life’s amazing adventures with you. Our residence halls are truly a home-away-from-home (you can even bring a pet from home!). We can’t wait to welcome you here.