Illustration
Entry requirements
Our postgraduate minimum requirements are:
- A 2:2 undergraduate UK honours degree or international equivalent or;
- A degree-equivalent postgraduate diploma/professional qualification.
Applicants who hold a degree from another discipline or have experiential learning in lieu of a degree may also be considered for entry via the Recognition of Prior Learning process (RPL).
For all postgraduate courses you will need:
- To submit a maximum of six examples of work from your portfolio for consideration.
- One reference to support your application. This may be from an academic or a creative practitioner.
Applicants who meet the entry requirements above will be required to submit a personal statement outlining their intentions for MA study.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
If you’re over the age of 21 and don’t have traditional qualifications, we may be able to consider your relevant experience as well as your educational background through the Recognition of Prior Learning process (RPL). Where experience is being presented in lieu of academic achievement applicants must be able to demonstrate substantive experience, for example employment in a related industry.
Following receipt of your application the admissions team may ask you for further information. You may also be asked to attend an informal interview.
Months of entry
September
Course content
This course offers an expansive understanding of contemporary illustration through an inquisitive and exploratory programme of study. You will engage with illustration as a broad, evolving field which extends ideas of communication and visualisation through practice-based research, experimentation and critical discussion.
We are interested in all forms of illustrative practice. Central to the course is an ethos of authorial practice, where you lead and shape your own projects by developing individual proposals that reflect your interests, ambitions and values. You will be encouraged to consider co-designed and collaborative methods of practice, as well as autobiographical approaches derived from the ‘lived experience’. You will be supported by teaching staff with diverse research and practical interests from the fields of illustration and its broader visual cultures.
Research and dissemination methods will be introduced and developed with the support of workshops, lectures and seminars with opportunity to situate work in relevant professional contexts. The course celebrates image making through analogue and digital methodologies which complement contemporary and expanded illustrative practices. You will be encouraged to undertake in-depth examination and experimentation of interdisciplinary practical and theoretical research methods through hands-on and playful approaches.
The MA in Illustration is a chance to develop your practice through creative experimentation and critical discourse. You will build on both new and established making skills while strengthening your narrative communication, critical thinking, empathic awareness, and the professional resilience needed for contemporary practice.
The course suits recent graduates and practising creatives looking to broaden their approach, diversify their skills, or prepare for doctoral research. Previous students have developed studio and freelance illustration practices. Others have established creative businesses, worked in design roles, or moved into teaching, lecturing or creative community outreach. For those focused on academic inquiry, the programme provides a foundation for further study and progression to a PhD.
Fees and funding
Qualification, course duration and attendance options
- MA
- part time24 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- full time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
Course contact details
- Name
- Leeds Arts University
- marketing@leeds-art.ac.uk