Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Lighting designer education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a lighting designer. Lighting designers usually study theatre, interior design, or fine arts. 69% of lighting designers hold a bachelor's degree, and 13% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,712 real lighting designer resumes to see exactly what lighting designer education sections show.
The most common colleges for lighting designers are the Full Sail University and the Full Sail University.
There are also many online lighting designer courses to help get the education required to be a lighting designer.
There are certain lighting designer certifications that you should consider. These lighting designer certifications include Lighting Associate (LA) and Certified Interior Designer (NCIDQ).
What education do you need to become a lighting designer?
What degree do you need to be a lighting designer?
- Bachelor's, 69%
- Associate, 13%
- Master's, 8%
- High School Diploma, 6%
- Other Degrees, 4%
What should I major in to become a lighting designer?
- Theatre, 25%
- Interior Design, 9%
- Fine Arts, 9%
- Other Majors, 50%
Most common colleges for lighting designers
| Lighting designer common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| Full Sail University | 13.76% |
| City College of New York of the City University of New York, The | 6.42% |
| University of Southern California | 6.42% |
| New York University | 5.50% |
| Colorado State University | 5.50% |
Best majors for lighting designers
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Theatre | 25.3% |
| 2 | Interior Design | 9.5% |
| 3 | Fine Arts | 8.6% |
| 4 | Drafting And Design | 6.7% |
| 5 | Business | 6.4% |
Best colleges for lighting designers
The best colleges for lighting designers are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Harvard University.
A lighting designer with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for lighting designers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become lighting designers.
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
2. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
3. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
5. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
6. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
7. Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$52,930
Enrollment
5,030
8. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,465
Enrollment
6,483
9. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
In-state tuition
$53,399
Enrollment
7,356
10. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
In-state tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
20 best online courses for lighting designers
Advertising disclosure
1. Visual Design (Part Time)
Gain the vocabulary and tools to tackle diverse design challenges on the job. Kickstart your portfolio and create beautiful, responsive designs for the web. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
2. How to Use Lighting Design to Transform your Home
Learn How to Use Lighting in your Interior Design Like a Pro...
3. Cinematic Lighting
The art of dramatic lighting, for cinematographers of independent films...
4. Facade Lighting Design Techniques
Mastering facade lighting design using Dialux evo and Photoshop software...
5. Unreal Engine 5- Beginner Lighting, Fog, and Post Processing
I'll teach you the basics of lighting scenes in UE5, in this beginner friendly game development course!...
6. Automate and Animate Your Holiday Lights Using RGB Pixels
Create your own animated light display using low-voltage, computer-controlled LED lights (RGB Pixels)...
7. LIGHTING for Film and Television
Learn to tell stories with light in a 6-hour, immersive, funny course with sketch comedy and two complete short films...
8. Bob Davis' Professional Photography Lighting Techniques
Digital photography expert Bob Davis shares his professional lighting techniques and the various types of light he uses...
9. Learn Arnold - Fundamentals of Shading and Lighting
Become an expert in Shading, Lighting and Rendering with Arnold for Maya, Katana, Cinema4d, Houdini and other 3D render...
10. The Art of Finding Light: Photography for the artist in you
Spotting great lighting is not a gift, it is Skill. Become a photographer who knows how to find great light...
11. Unreal Engine 4: Beginners Guide to Lighting
A practical guide to understanding lighting in Unreal Engine 4...
12. KATANA Mastering LookDev & Lighting for the VFX industry
Advanced Insights to Workflows and Techniques using Arnold...
13. Unity 5: Lighting Fundamentals
This course takes a look and new and existing lighting features in Unity 5 from the perspective of a novice student...
14. 47 Graphic Design Projects for Photoshop Beginners
Photoshop graphic design for beginners! Includes 47 Photoshop projects for your graphic design portfolio...
15. Digitally Painting Light and Color: Amateur to Master
Learn the fundamentals of light and color and take your art to the next level...
16. Graphic Design Masterclass - Learn GREAT Design
The Ultimate Graphic Design Course Which Covers Photoshop, Illustrator, In Design,Design Theory, Branding and Logo Design...
17. Adobe Photoshop Graphic Design
Design 4 Beautiful eye catching Graphic Design Projects from Scratch with Adobe Photoshop Graphic Design Basics...
18. Become a Professional Graphic Designer
Learn what you need to know to break into the world of graphic design...
19. Graphic Design Mastery: The FULL Branding & Design Process
Follows the FULL Graphic Design Process for A Company: Logo, Ad, Social Media, T-Shirt, Package, Website Design & More!...
20. Digital Design Masterclass For Graphic Designers
Icon Set Design, E-book cover, Digitizing Sketches, Social Media Design, Wordpress Web Design, Adobe Xd, GIFS and more!...
Top 10 most affordable universities for lighting designers
The most affordable schools for lighting designers are California State University - Long Beach, university of florida, and university of south florida.
If the best universities for lighting designers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for lighting designers.
1. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
2. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
3. University of South Florida
Tampa, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,410
Cost of attendance
20,456
4. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
5. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Pomona, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,353
Cost of attendance
21,302
6. California State University - Northridge
Northridge, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,893
Cost of attendance
18,870
7. Queens College of the City University of New York
Queens, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,338
Cost of attendance
14,281
8. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$5,656
Cost of attendance
21,623
9. Florida International University
Miami, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,556
Cost of attendance
19,434
10. Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,992
Cost of attendance
22,430
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for lighting designers
The hardest universities for lighting designers to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Harvard University.
Some great schools for lighting designers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for lighting designers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
3. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
4. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
5. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
6. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
7. Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO • Private
Admissions rate
15%
SAT average
1,506
8. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,471
9. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
10. Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD • Private
Admissions rate
11%
SAT average
1,513
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for lighting designers
The easiest schools for lighting designers to get into are Notre Dame de Namur University, mount saint mary's university, and wayland baptist university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a lighting designer without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for lighting designers.
1. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
2. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
3. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
4. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
5. Saint Martin's University
Lacey, WA • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,111
6. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
7. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,035
8. Rochester University
Rochester Hills, MI • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,002
9. Clarke University
Dubuque, IA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
1,058
10. Grand View University
Des Moines, IA • Private
Admissions rate
92%
SAT average
1,060
Average lighting designer salary by education level
| Lighting designer education level | Lighting designer salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $64,868 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $59,194 |
| Doctorate Degree | $71,804 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $53,413 |
Lighting designer education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common arts, entertainment, sports, and media questions.
Search for lighting designer jobs
Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025