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Illustration and Design

Entry requirements


GCSE/National 4/National 5

We also require three passes at GCSE grade C or above, which must include Mathematics and English Language; or a minimum of Level 2 Key Skills in Communication and Application of Number. If you have studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade then you will need to achieve a grade 4 or above.

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

112

You may also need to…

Attend an interview

Present a portfolio

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Illustration

**Push the boundaries of illustration. using a blend of traditional and digital techniques. Develop your own style and release your personal creativity. Perfect your craft alongside experienced academics and like-minded peers. Become industry-ready and launch your career as an illustrator or designer.**

Are you passionate about drawing? Full of creative ideas? Illustration and Design will cultivate your talents. Here at Sunderland, we encourage you to push the boundaries of illustration, blending traditional techniques with computer technology, such as virtual reality and 3D design. You can also combine illustration with other areas, including animation, graphics, advertising, 3D illustration and web design.

You’ll explore design principles, printmaking and drawing in your first year, before pursuing a specialist study of illustration during your second and final year. You’ll perfect your craft alongside experienced academics who are all practicing professionals at the cutting edge of their field, bringing their industry insights and experience directly into their teaching.

Throughout the course you’ll build and develop a creative, industry-ready portfolio that will help launch your career as an illustrator or graphic designer, or any other role where these creative skills are needed.

If you have previously studied an HNC, HND, Foundation Degree or started a degree elsewhere in a relevant subject you may gain direct entry to join this course at Stage 2 or 3.

Modules

Please see our website for more details on modules

Assessment methods

Please see our website for more details on assessment methods

Tuition fees

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

England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,000
per year
International
£16,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

City Campus

Department:

Art & 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.

68%
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

82%
Staff make the subject interesting
86%
Staff are good at explaining things
73%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
77%
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

57%
Library resources
62%
IT resources
55%
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?

94%
UK students
6%
International students
27%
Male students
73%
Female students
71%
2:1 or above
12%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
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.

£13,500
low
Average annual salary
90%
low
Employed or in further education
49%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

33%
Design occupations
16%
Other elementary services occupations
8%
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.

£14k

£14k

£17k

£17k

£18k

£18k

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.

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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