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Illustration

Entry requirements


A level

B,C,C-B,B,C

Access to HE Diploma

D:15,M:30

60 credits, 45 credits must be graded at Level 3

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,C-B,B,B,B

T Level

Pass (C and above)

UCAS Tariff

104-112

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

Present a portfolio

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Illustration

Want to become a great illustrator? One who takes a line and conjures worlds that compel and transfix? Technique is important. Courage is needed. But individuality is demanded. That’s why we’ll give you the space, resources and inspiration to find your voice. That’s why, with our help, you’ll make art that makes a difference.

We are unique amongst university illustration courses in giving you a thorough grounding in graphic design, allowing you to also potentially work for a design studio as a designer.

**Course Overview**

On our illustration degree, we will help you develop strong drawing, composition, and colour skills that will underpin your personal visual language, allowing you to develop a unique voice as an artist. You’ll gain the experience, confidence, and advanced technical skills you need to succeed. And once you find your voice as an artist, your personality, passion and the quality of the work in your portfolio will get you noticed. You’ll receive extensive feedback, support, and advice throughout your studies and have access to state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, as well as the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, including ‘live briefs’ to develop and hone your skills.

We are unique amongst illustration courses in giving you a thorough grounding in graphic design. You’ll have the necessary skills and experience to stand out from the crowd.

**On this course you will...**
- Study illustration within a university institute recognised by the industry as a course provider that engenders strong drawing skills. Through doing so, we provide our graduates with the backbone of a long career in illustration.

- Be encouraged to develop an individual approach to illustration - allowing you to develop a personal style that stands out from the crowd.

- Have regular and meaningful contact with tutorials, workshops, and discussions - reinforcing your practice with the support of tutors and peers who know you and your work inside and out.

- Be included in deciding what direction the course/module/brief should take. Small group sizes mean a supportive and open community of practice.

- Have access to a large professional studio space that is open plan and shared across all-year groups. Stock up on supplies with our in-house shop and experiment in our reprographic department.

**What you will learn**

In a professional sense, the word ‘lllustration’ represents an exciting and very varied discipline that ranges from self-authored graphic novels and comic art, through concept art for film, TV, and games to the more traditional work for magazines, books and advertising, animation, and much, much more. What links all of these disciplines is the ability to connect audiences with ideas, information, or products through engaging and memorable illustrative communications.

Our aim is to inspire you to become an innovative, individual illustrator. We’ll help you develop strong drawing skills as a firm foundation for your life as an illustrator, but our uniquely-designed course will also expand your design skills to give you an insight into one of the major markets for illustration work.

**Year One**

- Introducing Visual Communication

- Cultural Contexts

- Collaborative Practice

- Multi-Dimensional Illustration

**Year Two**

- The Illustrators Toolkit

- Drawing

- Illustration Projects

- The Critical Illustrator

**Year Three**

- Advanced Illustration Projects

- Independent Research Paper

- Illustration Showcase

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
EU
£9,250
per year
International
£13,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Carlisle - Brampton Road

Department:

Institute of the Arts

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

61%
Illustration

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Design studies

Teaching and learning

71%
Staff make the subject interesting
75%
Staff are good at explaining things
64%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
68%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

64%
Library resources
79%
IT resources
75%
Course specific equipment and facilities
46%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

96%
UK students
4%
International students
29%
Male students
71%
Female students
51%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
A
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Design studies

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£16,088
low
Average annual salary
90%
low
Employed or in further education
52%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

30%
Design occupations
20%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
10%
Other elementary services occupations

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Design studies

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£13k

£13k

£16k

£16k

£19k

£19k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Plymouth | Plymouth
Illustration
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 96-144
Nearby University
Heriot-Watt University | Edinburgh
Communication Design
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-152

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here