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Illustration

Entry requirements


96-144 tariff points, including a minimum of 2 A Levels, General Studies accepted

Considered in combination

Pass a named Access to HE Diploma (e.g. Preferably Art & Design, Humanities or Combined), with at least 33 credits at Merit and/or Distinction.

Considered in combination

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

26-36

English and Mathematics accepted within as GCSE equivalent

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

H2,H2,H3,H3,H3-H3,H3,H3,H4,H4


English and Maths accepted within as GCSE equivalent

Considered in combination

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

DD-D*D*

In any subject

Considered in combination

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

MMM-DDD

In any subject

Considered in combination

96-144 tariff points, including two Advanced Highers English and Maths accepted within as GCSE equivalent

In combination with Advanced Highers

T Level

M

Preference on Digital Production, Design and Development, but other subjects may be considered on an individual basis.

UCAS Tariff

96-144

Including a minimum of 2 A Levels, General Studies accepted.

Considered in combination

You may also need to…

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About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Illustration

Come and study in lively, purpose-built studios surrounded by other creative students and award-winning staff. We will help you forge your visual voice to succeed in today's expanding creative industries.

You set your work in a global context through such activities as briefs centred on UN Sustainability Goals, study trips and taking part in the optional Global Exchange programme (including Japan) to gain new perspectives and broaden your cultural references. Get noticed in the professional world with external commissions, events and competitions.

**Explore** the excellent resources that are on offer to you, including digital software (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, After Effects and Animate), 3D software and Virtual Reality immersive media, and traditional life drawing, printmaking in silkscreen, lino, woodcut, etching, risograph, bookbinding, ceramics and letterpress.

**Get insight into the industry** from visiting speakers across the breadth of illustration. We have a special annual illustration event – PIE – inviting speakers from around the world; recent keynotes have been Fantagraphics and Flying Eye Books.

**Get noticed.** Develop your own visual voice and get noticed in the professional world by taking part in external events, commissions and competitions.

**Define your direction.** Explore a broad practice or focus on one of our four specialist exit awards: Animation and the Screen, Children's Markets, Comics and Visual Narratives, or Printmaking.

**Go global.** Engage with UN Sustainability projects with real world impact. We have options to study abroad on a three-month placement including Japan, Europe, Scandinavia and North America. National and overseas study trips inspire and inform with wider cultural contexts.

**Learn from experts.** Work with experienced and award-winning tutors. We invite successful practitioners to work alongside to offer inspirational advice and industry insight.

Modules

The first year will introduce you to the basics of illustration practice. You’ll develop your knowledge of image-making through character design, life drawing, printmaking, bookbinding, sequential and conceptual approaches, digital workshops and media exploration. We’ll also introduce you to the techniques and essential processes of illustration practice within historical and contemporary frameworks, preparing you for your second year.

In your second year, you can keep your focus broad or pursue a more specific area of personal interest at a deeper level. You’ll make contact with experts in the industry and analyse why the creative world is how it is. Critical and contextual modules with a varied visiting speaker programme will help you begin to position yourself as a professional. You’ll also have the opportunity to take part in placements, live briefs and competitions, to study abroad or collaborate with other disciplines.

In your final year there is increased emphasis on developing and consolidating your personal visual 'voice', while visiting lecturers will offer a variety of viewpoints. You’ll undertake a dissertation related to your personal interests and have the chance to exhibit your work at both our Degree Show and in London. Modules focus your attention on building up your analogue and digital portfolios and raising your professional profile and confidence ready for your first job in your chosen field.

The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry and up to date information can be found on our website

Assessment methods

For up to date details, please refer to our website or contact the institution directly

The Uni


Course location:

University of Plymouth

Department:

School of Art, Design and Architecture

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.

83%
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

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
95%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
83%
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

88%
Library resources
87%
IT resources
88%
Course specific equipment and facilities
55%
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
22%
Male students
78%
Female students
69%
2:1 or above
3%
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.

£17,000
med
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
53%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

25%
Design occupations
15%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
15%
Artistic, literary and media 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.

£14k

£14k

£19k

£19k

£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.

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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?

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