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York St John University

UCAS Code: W210 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C/4 (or equivalent) including English Language.

UCAS Tariff

104

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

groups

Present a portfolio

image

About this course

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2025

Subject

Graphic design

Graphic design is everywhere. Immerse yourself in the art of visual communication.

Learn the principles of visual language and the impact of graphic design. You will take the knowledge and techniques you learn and apply them to different practical projects. We encourage creativity, so you will be able to use different mediums and platforms to develop creative design solutions that are uniquely yours. It's time to find your specialism.

This course gives you the knowledge and practical skills needed for a career in graphic design. When you join us you will start by learning ways to generate concepts and ideas. You will evolve your skills in artistic layout, drawing and visual communication. Projects throughout the degree allow you to focus on your practical abilities. These projects increase in complexity as you progress and involve working with private clients. As you work on them you will learn about:

Typography
Branding
Composition
Image making
Motion graphics
User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) design
Print production
3D type and lettering
Alongside this practical exploration, we will also introduce you to the histories and theories of graphic design. This will allow you to identify what interests you most, so you can conduct your own research in these areas.

When you choose to study with us, you get more than the skills you need to succeed. You gain experiences that make you stand out. We give you opportunities to:

Work with private clients and graphic design companies on live briefs
Enter design competitions to showcase your work internationally
Complete work placements in industry and learn from visiting professionals
Visit international cities to experience contemporary design around the world and find new inspiration
Exhibit your work at our annual degree show, the perfect way to build a professional network.
Our team of expert designers and technical specialists will really get to know you by supporting your personal practice and ambitions.

Modules

Modules may include:

Year 1:
Design Process
Context of Practice
Graphic Design Principles
Graphic Design Practice 1

Year 2:
Critical and Contextual Studies 1
Graphic Design Practice 2
Personal and Professional Practice 1
Collaborative Practice

Year 3
Personal and Professional Practice 2
Critical and Contextual Studies 2
Graphic Design: Major Project

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
£14,000
per year
International
£14,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni

Course location:

York St John University

Department:

Art and Design

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.

75%
Graphic design

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

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
85%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
75%
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

73%
Library resources
80%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
64%
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?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
42%
Male students
58%
Female students
52%
2:1 or above
7%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
E

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
92%
med
Employed or in further education
52%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

39%
Design occupations
16%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
6%
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.

£16k

£16k

£20k

£20k

£21k

£21k

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...

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.

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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.

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