Graphic Design

Entry requirements

Applicants should hold a 2:2 degree or equivalent professional experience or learning in a related field.

Applications from all candidates will be considered on their merits.

Professional experience in the field of graphic design or a related art and design area.

IELTS: Score of 6.5 or above.

A high level of achievement in undergraduate studies at a university elsewhere such as North America: Minimum overall GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.

Applicants are requested to submit digital supporting material and where possible will be invited to attend an interview with a portfolio of recent work.

Months of entry

September

Course content

On our MA Graphic Design course you’ll have the opportunity to develop your own choice of personal topic(s) within the wide arena of visual communication. This will be guided by your research and support from your supervisor.

The course is rooted in visual communication research, underpinned by theory, with an emphasis on enabling you to develop a very personal body of practical work. We’ll encourage you to generate a unique line of enquiry through developing new ideas and challenging traditional design boundaries. By the end of your programme, you should have generated a contemporary body of work that has advanced your skills to a professional level in preparation for your future in the creative industries.

The course modules challenge you to advance your critical and creative thinking skills in graphic design, across both traditional and digital media, whether that involves getting to grips with established graphics disciplines like typography, editorial, branding and packaging, or working with digital tools to create concepts for moving image, websites, apps and other new media.

You’ll be taught in a friendly studio atmosphere with the opportunity to mix with all the other MA students in the School. You will be able to explore various traditional print techniques, such as letterpress and screenprint in our specialist workshops. Then we have a full spectrum of digital print facilities for large format printing onto different material, laser cutting and 3D printing.

• The opportunity for a structured work experience will be provided for every student who requests it.
• You’ll have access to an excellent library of traditional and digital books/magazines and computers loaded with the latest industry software (such as the Adobe Creative Suite).
• Study trips are an important part of the research activity that brings design to life. We’ve taken students on study trips to London, Berlin, Amsterdam and New York in recent years.

• You’ll get to attend lectures from guest speakers and practicing designers who are at the top of their profession.
• Every year we hold a Design Conference Week featuring various national and international guest speakers from all areas of graphic design, branding, advertising, illustration, media and digital design.
• At the end of the course your work will go on display at a public exhibition.

This course will develop your intellectual and imaginative power through a programme that combines theory and practice. The theory and practical modules run alongside and complement each other.

Design Research 1and 2 are theoretical modules that provide you with the opportunity to explore methods that are appropriate to the world of design research. Our unique Friday morning lecture programme features lectures from academics, guest speakers and practicing designers.

Throughout the programme you’ll continue to explore the links between theory and graphic design practice. Practical work is carried out within our extensive and very well equipped studios and workshops. The practical modules (Practice 1,2,3) are designed to allow you to pursue your own specific individual design research project. This will be a major investigation into a particular personal area of study. A key element of the practice sessions is the opportunity to generate, investigate and test new ideas.

The programme culminates with a final public exhibition of student work.

All full-time and part-time students will be required to attend the Friday morning lecture programme throughout semesters 1 and 2. Full-time students will also attend weekly seminars and tutorial sessions during the week. Part-time students are scheduled for their practical sessions on a Friday afternoon, so that their commitment on campus allows for day release from their place of employment.

Evening tutorial sessions may be available from time to time for some students who are unable to attend in the day. Many of the Friday morning lectures are filmed to help support distance learning or those who miss sessions.

You will be required to pay for any overseas trips and visits you undertake. These are an optional aspect of the course.

Some of our students have gone on to apply for further study at MPhil and PhD level.

Information for international students

Visit our website for further information.