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Illustration (Swansea College of Art)

Entry requirements


UCAS Tariff

120

We are interested in creative people that demonstrate a strong commitment to art and/or design, and therefore we welcome applications from individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. To assess student suitability for their chosen course, we arrange interviews for all applicants at which your skills, achievements and life experience will be considered, as well as your portfolio of work. Our standard offer for a degree course is 120 UCAS tariff points. We expect applicants to have a grade C or above in English Language (or Welsh) at GCSE level, together with passes in another four subjects. Plus, we accept a range of Level 3 qualifications, including: • Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, plus one GCE A-Level in a relevant academic subject • Three GCE A-Levels or equivalent • UAL L3 Extended Diploma in Art and Design. • UAL L3 Applied General Diploma and Extended Diploma in Art and Design. • UAL L3 Diploma and Extended Diploma in Creative Practice: Art, Design and Communication. • UAL L3 Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production and Technology. • BTEC Extended Diploma in a relevant subject • International Baccalaureate score of 32 • Other relevant qualifications can be considered on an individual basis Qualifications are important. However, our offers are not solely based on academic results. If you don’t have the required UCAS points, please contact the courses admissions tutor or email [email protected]. We can consider applicants based on individual merit, exceptional work, and/or practical experience.

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

6 years | Part-time | 2024

Subject

Illustration

The Illustration programme at Swansea College of Art, UWTSD has an established record of providing vocationally-oriented, innovative and industry-focused experiences.

The programme aims to teach real world illustration skills and design sensibilities, as well as the knowledge and experience of the creative industries to enable students to pursue successful, sustainable career paths with confidence.

The programme also looks to introduce a range of projects with an aim to focus upon social, environmental and political issues. This mission is to instil a growing responsibility towards ethical and sustainable practice within illustration, as well as a confidence and critical awareness in addressing a broad base of topics likely to be encountered professionally.

Modules

Year One – Level 4 (Cert HE, Dip HE & BA)

The first year is partially concerned with getting the basic skills in place and to bring all students up to speed with knowledge of relevant software.

• Contemporary Challenges: Making a Difference (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Editorial Illustration (20 credits; compulsory)
• Image-making & Communicating (20 credits; compulsory)
• Learning in the Digital Era (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Visual Studies 1 (10 credits; compulsory)
• Visual Studies 2 (10 credits; compulsory)
• Ways of Perceiving (10 credits; compulsory)
• Ways of Thinking (10 credits; compulsory).

Year Two – Level 5 (Dip HE & BA)

The second year is broadly about the transition into becoming a professional illustrator.

• Changemakers: Building your Personal Brand for Sustainable Employment (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Changemakers: Creativity and Value Creation (20 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module)
• Illustration for Advertising (20 credits; compulsory)
• Narrative Illustration (20 credits; compulsory)
• Research in Context (10 credits; compulsory)
• Research in Practice (10 credits; compulsory)
• Visual Enquiry 1 (10 credits; compulsory)
• Visual Enquiry 2 (10 credits; compulsory).

Year Three – Level 6 (BA)

Level 6 is partially student-led and the project brief content and formative deadlines are negotiated. This creates a self-directed responsibility where students create their final portfolio.

• Advanced Creative Enquiry (20 credits; compulsory)
• Graduate Portfolio (60 credits; compulsory)
• Independent Project (40 credits; compulsory; Graduate Attributes Framework module).

Assessment methods

At the beginning of each module, we issue the ‘Assessment Specification’, which clearly describes in each assessment criteria what is required.

Weekly feedback sessions keep students focussed on the requirements, without hindering the freedom to work with expanding ideas.

Technical tuition is typically delivered via a demonstration lecture and then staff help each student individually as they progress though a challenge.

All modules have formative and summative feedback, both written and verbal. When the summative written feedback is released, students can book-in for ‘one to one’ tutorial to discuss their feedback further.

There are no written exams for this course.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,000
per year
England
£9,000
per year
EU
£9,000
per year
International
£13,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,000
per year
Scotland
£9,000
per year
Wales
£9,000
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Dynevor, Swansea

Department:

Swansea College of Art

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.

72%
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

87%
Staff make the subject interesting
82%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
85%
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

64%
Library resources
53%
IT resources
72%
Course specific equipment and facilities
57%
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
29%
Male students
71%
Female students
70%
2:1 or above
10%
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.

£15,912
low
Average annual salary
97%
med
Employed or in further education
65%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

47%
Design occupations
21%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
7%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

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 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:

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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?

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