As of 2022, Santa Barbara City College’s photography department recently earned the No. 2 ranking nationwide by Intelligent.com

This award is attributed to online degree programs offered at low tuition costs. 

With a cumulative score of 97.82%, the Graphic Design and Photography program sat high in ranking over the 78 universities assessed.

“For the third year running, we were surprised, but also elated, to receive this award again,” Chair of Photography Seantel Sanders said. 

Within SBCC’s graphic design concentration students follow a curriculum highlighting the belief that a graphic designer is a verbal and visual expressor who develops creative solutions based on different designs and communication problems.

“I don’t remember what we ranked the previous years, but we just basically keep our head down and charge forward, working to offer a high-quality education to our students,” Sanders said.

SBCC’s photography department was the first fully digital photography program on the West Coast and has been online for 20 years.

“When the pandemic hit, we were ideally positioned to serve our students in the online environment,” Sanders said. “My predecessor, Linda Lowell, pioneered many of the online learning strategies we still use in the department, instructional videos, engaging discussion, in-depth feedback, and it looks like the work is paying off.” 

SBCC students experience hands-on learning creating projects using electronic media, typographic design, photojournalism, advertising, illustration, photography and color management.

When researching degrees, some main components Intelligent.com looks for include a program’s credibility and flexibility. These scores are accumulated after combining the program’s strength, student readiness, return on investment, cost and student engagement scores. 

“Enabling smarter choices to produce the greatest advantage, utility, and satisfaction,” Intelligent.com’s slogan reads.

“Overall, the award is a testament to the challenging work of our faculty and staff, and the quality of our students,” Sanders said. “I could not be prouder.”