The Department of Design at West Virginia University and Concord University- Department of Design are the state’s pride and joy when it comes to design programs. Established in 1867 (WVU) and 1872 (Concord), these popular institutions enroll roughly 200 hand-picked design students each year. Overall, the state has a total undergraduate student population of nearly more than 100,000. These students attend the 23 public and 21 private institutions. Across the nation, undergraduate art and design school enrollment is 110,273.

WVU, Concord and other West Virginia design schools offer degree programs ranging from architecture to sculpture. Design students may earn a degree in graphic design, interior design, web design, drawing, illustration, multimedia and film, ceramics, jewelry making, photography, printmaking, metalsmithing, and painting. The costs for these programs vary by school, but on average, design students can expect to shell out around $4,377 per academic year at a public school $15,296 per academic year at a private school.

Fortunately, tuition rates are lower than the national average. The average tuition for public four-year schools across the nation is $5,950. For private schools, students pay $21,588 on average. West Virginia students may pay even less by completing all or part of the degree program online. Online students save a significant amount of money each year by eliminating room and board costs as well as transportation. Room and board costs average around $7,049 per academic year.

To get started on a design career, you should select a school. If you would like to explore options outside of the top schools listed above, you can browse through listings by visiting college directories or college ranking websites such as U.S. News & World Report or Design-schools.us. After you have selected several options, be sure to visit the school’s official website to begin the application process. Most directories and ranking websites feature links to each school’s official website.

You are planning a wedding the the Charleston, West Virginia area. Here are four fantastic places for weddings, big and small. Whether you need a venue intimate and cozy or grand and expansive, there is somewhere perfect for your and your beautiful Charleston wedding. The Hampton Inn in Charleston Southridge has the perfect set-up for an intimate wedding. Their well-appointed meeting rooms offer flexible seating and standing arrangements to suit your small wedding. Their exceptional catering services and peerless service are also sure to impress. The Woman’s Club of Charleston have a beautiful clubhouse that you can use as a setting for your small wedding and reception. The inside of the clubhouse features rich wooden flooring and decadent interiors, while the facade of the clubhouse is especially breathtaking during the fall. The clubhouse welcomes outside catering to handle food and drinks, however some restrictions do apply.

Clay Center has a number of spaces that you can rent out for your wedding. Some of them are beautiful large spaces great for big weddings — like the Benedum Grand Lobby and the Clark Performance Terrace. There are also smaller spaces for more intimate weddings, such as the Intermezzo Cafe and the Sculpture Garden. The Ramada Charleston has a Conference Center with close to 12,150 square feet of space — wide, expansive, and impressive for wedding parties of more than three hundred guests. The Center also has adjoining meeting rooms that you can utilize as green rooms for the wedding party and the wedding organizers. The Ramada also offers delicious catered meals to fit every budget, and you can also rely on the well-trained professional staff to help pull your wedding off without a hitch.