Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication) (with Foundation Year)
University of East London
UCAS Code: W226 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
University of East London
UCAS Code: W226 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
64 UCAS points
Pearson BTEC Diploma (QCF)
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
UCAS Tariff
You may also need to…
Attend an interview
Present a portfolio
About this course
Studying on BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication) with Foundation Year is a great way to introduce yourself to the university experience should you not have either an Art and Design background or enough UCAS points.
Studying on BA (Hons) Graphic Design and Illustration (Visual Communication) you will have freedom to explore both graphic design and illustration without the stigma of working between or within subjects, allowing you to bridge between the two and go on to develop a practice that blurs the line between the two - a key characteristic that has become more common in industry.
You will learn a great deal in a fun environment. You get to learn alongside fine art, photography, design and illustration students. So if you're not 100 per cent about your direction or can't choose between subjects (maybe you enjoy more than one) you can use it as a diagnostic year to help you choose. One of the major benefits of all our foundation courses is you are free to switch direction should you change your mind.
As you progress you will join students who will be at the forefront of future-focused design. You will experiment and develop emerging technology such as AR/VR (XR), AI, game engines, electronics, sensors, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and robotics. You will play a role in shaping the world around us with free thinking ideas and opportunities.
You will be supported by yearly employability initiative Detour Ahead: Roadmaps for the Art and Design Industry, week-long inter-disciplinary guest talks offering you industry insights as well as guidance on subjects such as freelancing, copyright and tax.
You will be able to develop an original, individual approach to creating graphic design and illustration, coupled with a thorough understanding of the social, cultural and professional context occupied by these two disciplines. Having skills in both areas (feet in both camps) allows a more adaptable approach to taking on work and being successful, chiming with the requirements of the Creative Industries 4.0, where discipline distinctions become increasingly irrelevant to professional life.
Students gain fresh perspective and approaches (divergent thinking) giving you edge in the competitive creative job market, skills for the fourth industrial age (4iR).
You will have freedom to explore both graphic design and illustration without the stigma of working between or within subjects, allowing you to bridge between the two and go on to develop a practice that blurs the line between the two - a key characteristic that has become more common in industry.
Towards the end of the course, in the final year, you will be able to gravitate towards one or other on the named subjects as your creative voice emerges. It's that flexibility which is the underlying selling point of this course.
At any point should you feel more an illustrator or more a designer you can seamlessly switch between the degree courses.
Modules
Foundation Year: Professional Life 1 (Mental Wealth) (Core), Art & Design Workshops, Processes & Skills (Core), Art & Design Studio Practice & Portfolio (Core), Art & Design Specialist Workshops, Processes & Skills (Core), Art & Design Specialist Studio Practice & Portfolio (Core), Art & Design Contextual Studies (Core)
Year 1: Contextual Studies 1 (Core), Practice 1 (Core), Experimentation and Application 1A (Core), Experimentation and Application 1B (Core), Research into Practice 1 (Core), Professional Life 1 (Mental Wealth) (Core)
Year 2: Contextual Studies 2 (Core), Practice 2 (Core), Advanced Experimentation and Applications (Core), Advanced Practice (Core), Research into Practice 2 (Core), Professional Life 2 (Mental Wealth) (Core), Optional placement (Optional)
Year 3: Practice 3 (Core), Research into Practice 3 – Extended Research Project (Core), Research into Practice 3 – Graphic Design, Illustration and Animation (Core), Independent Major Project Part A (Core), Independent Major Project Part B (Core), Professional Life 3 (Mental Wealth) (Core)
For more information about individual modules, please visit our course pages via the link below.
Assessment methods
Each module has a duration of 12 weeks (one term) and always concludes with an assessment point. We provide feedback throughout these 12-week periods with a specific 'Tracking Week' dedicated to this process midway through each term.
For Practical modules, your submission will consist of a Learning Journal (the presentation of your development and experience) and a Portfolio (the presentation of your practical output). For Theoretical modules, you may be asked to produce a piece of academic writing of a given length and a live presentation.
Feedback is provided within 15 working days in line with UEL's assessment and feedback policy.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Docklands Campus
School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering (ACE)
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
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
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
£16k
£20k
£22k
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.
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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:
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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?
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