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Illustration

Entry requirements


A level

B,C,C

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

AQA Level 3 Technical Level (1080 glh)

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Access to HE Diploma

M:30

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

M2,M3,M3

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

25

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H3,H3,H3

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

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

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

Scottish Advanced Higher

B,C,C

Individual Advanced Highers can be accepted with Scottish Highers towards tariff requirements

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,B

T Level

Pass (C and above)

UCAS Tariff

112

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Illustration

**Why choose this course?**

The BA Illustration at the University of Northampton puts the power of storytelling and visual communication at the heart of what we do.

The course emphasises the importance of supporting students to develop their own visual language through a range of media and approaches from page to screen, 3D, installation and interaction. Through this holistic programme you can experiment and innovate using idea generation and real-world application to create work with meaning and purpose. With regards to employment, 90% of students go on to work and / or study within 15 months after the course.*
Other highlights include:

- Strong links with industry plus lots of opportunities to work with ‘live’ projects, competition briefs and collaboration with other subjects.

- Access to specialist resources with technical instruction and support such as; printmaking, photography, sculpture, 3D printing, lasercutting, VR and digital media.

- Opportunities to exhibit your work publicly.

- Mac computer design and reprographics suite.

**By studying at the University of Northampton, you can be sure that:**

- You will experience student life at the University’s £330 million Waterside Campus. Come along to an Open Day and find out more.

- Students enrolling on this course at Northampton will be provided with their own brand new laptop** to keep at no additional cost. All sports clubs and societies are free to join at Northampton and every essential course text book is available via the library, meaning you won’t have to purchase copies. For more information on this visit our website (northampton.ac.uk/benefits).

- Our expert academics teach in small groups supported with one to one assistance. Our academics and students form a tight bond, providing individualised support and guidance whilst challenging students academically.

- Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd.

**The Northampton Employment Promise**

- In fact, we’re so confident in our careers and employability support that if you achieve at least a 2:2 degree and complete either our Employability Plus Gold programme or achieve a Changemaker Gold Certificate during your time studying with us, but still haven’t secured full-time employment 12 months after graduating, we will secure a three – six month paid internship for you or support you into postgraduate study.

✱ National Student Survey (NSS) 2023
✱✱ eligibility criteria and terms and conditions apply. See northampton.ac.uk/benefits for more information

Modules

**STAGE 1:**
• Fundamentals of Illustration (Compulsory)
• Potential of Illustration (Compulsory)

**STAGE 2:**
• Audience, Collaboration and Context (Compulsory)
• Expanding Practice (Compulsory)

**STAGE 3:**
• Research Focus (Compulsory)
• Professional Focus (Compulsory)
• Practice Realisation (Compulsory)

Module information is quoted for 23/24 entry. Please note that modules run subject to student numbers and staff availability, any changes will be communicated to applicants accordingly. 24/25 entry modules will be released in June 2024.

Assessment methods

The course is assessed in a number of ways:

• Illustration projects

• Competitions

• External assignments

• Presentations

• Portfolio and exhibition displays

• Reports

• Essays

• Dissertation.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Northampton

Department:

Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology

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.

80%
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

89%
Staff make the subject interesting
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
90%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
92%
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

81%
Library resources
85%
IT resources
89%
Course specific equipment and facilities
70%
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?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
23%
Male students
77%
Female students
68%
2:1 or above
11%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
A

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.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
93%
med
Employed or in further education
66%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

38%
Design occupations
15%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
6%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals

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.

£17k

£17k

£19k

£19k

£20k

£20k

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 what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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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:

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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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the 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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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