Illustration BA (Hons)

This course is in clearing

Overview

Course options

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Degree

UCAS code: 4J23 112 UCAS points
  • BA (Hons) Illustration, home applicant, full time

    • This course is in Clearing

    • Home Applicant
    • Full time, 3/4 years
    • Pound 9250 per year
  • BA (Hons) Illustration, home applicant, part time

    • Home Applicant
    • Part time
    • pro-rata full time fee

Degree with foundation year

UCAS code: 1A55 64 UCAS points

Creating Culture & Artistic Practice with renowned artist, Keef Winter | Makers & Mavericks

What makes this course different

Industry insight

You'll be taught by professional artists and designers and have access to the best facilities in our superbly equipped workshops

See our facilities

Kick-start to your career

You will work alongside and share modules with other arts students gaining fresh perspectives and approaches, giving you the edge in the competitive job market for Industry 4.0 (fourth industrial age)

East London

You'll be studying in east London, one of the most vibrantly creative areas in Europe, close to the established cultural hub of central London and the exciting new one in Stratford

Course modules

In this foundation year you will gain solid art and design experience, readying you for your illustration degree.

Year one will help you develop your creative practice as an illustrator, whilst grounding you in the history of art, and art theory.

In year 2 you will be able to define your individual approach to illustration, and develop advanced analytical skills to help you relate your theory to practice.

In your final year you get to work on a number of independent projects that can be showcased publicly at the end of the year. You can use this for your career portfolio, to help you make a start in the industry.

NOTE: Modules are subject to change. For those studying part time courses the modules may vary.

Download course specification

Your future career

Our illustration graduates progress into a wide variety of stimulating jobs. Some become editorial illustrators, working on magazines or designing book covers. Others go into teaching the subject themselves or working for graphic design companies.
A few have even landed jobs as technicians within the University itself. They just can't tear themselves away from UEL's winning atmosphere!

Industry links

We have links with Blind Pig, a multidisciplinary creative studio. Creative director and founder Ric Combline has helped shape the course through his feedback and encouragement for art and design-based courses at UEL.

Graduate employers

Our illustration graduates have been employed by organisations such as Sainsbury's, Merlin Entertainment - Chessington World of Adventures, Choice Care Group, City and Exit and Carphone Warehouse.

Job roles

Some of our students grasp their opportunities well before they leave our course. For example, Martin Reznik, one of our outstanding graduates who is now in hot demand as a magazine illustrator, was already designing apps for a company in Los Angeles as a student.

Then there's the story of a group of friends who set up their own company while studying at UEL. They began as a university society, just wanting to find a way of making their own comics more visible.

Now, after graduation, they've grown into a business, Backwards Burd, offering publishing services and giving new illustrators and artists a fresh showcase.

Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.

Further study

You could go on to further study and do an MA in Creative Enterprise, which will help you learn how to work as a freelancer or entrepreneur. We also offer an MPhil PhD in the School of Arts and Creative Industries if you'd like to do research.

Rema Khatun
As a university committed to your career growth, we've curated dedicated Career Zones across all of our campuses with practical services tailored to your success. From internships, personalised coaching, and employability workshops to volunteering, mentoring, placements, and enterprise opportunities, we offer a diverse range of support."
Rema Khatun

Career Zone

How we support your career ambitions

We offer dedicated careers support, and further opportunities to thrive, such as volunteering and industry networking. Our courses are created in collaboration with employers and industry to ensure they accurately reflect the real-life practices of your future career and provide you with the essential skills needed. You can focus on building interpersonal skills through group work and benefit from our investment in the latest cutting-edge technologies and facilities.

Career Zone

This digital platform provides you with careers and employability resources, including: 

  • Jobs board for internships, placements, graduate opportunities, flexible part-time work 
  • Mentoring programmes for insight with industry experts 
  • 1-2-1 career coaching services
  • Careers workshops and employer events 
  • Learning pathways to gain new skills and industry insight

Mental Wealth programme

Our Professional Fitness and Mental Wealth programme issues you with a Careers Passport to track the skills you've mastered. Some of these are externally validated by corporations like Amazon and Microsoft.

Our Mental Wealth programme

We are careers first

Our teaching methods and geographical location put us right up top:

  • Work-based projects
  • Networking and visits to leading organisations
  • Support in starting a new business
  • London on our doorstep

How you'll learn

Your learning will involve a blend of activities, from research through practice to reflection. The illustration course is divided into modules, with each module being composed of a set of projects or briefs. These briefs can be compiled over time to produce a growing record of experience and budding expertise.

The course begins at pace by introducing a wide range of key ideas and their practical applications in illustration. This gradually gives way to longer, more in-depth and self-determined projects that encompass many processes and conceptual stages. Along the way, you will develop your work via regular feedback sessions, seminars, tutorials and critiques, or 'crits'.

UEL has extensive maker facilities. Within Architecture and Visual Arts (AVA) there are dedicated spaces for production. These include a fully equipped Risograph printing studio, analogue and digital darkrooms, an immersive green screen studio and a variety of traditional printing. There are also wood, ceramic and metal workshops to further develop your practice. Digital Fabrication facilities include 3D printing, laser cutting and CAD milling.

As a student, you will be able to loan equipment including Wacom Tablets, light boxes, photographic kit, projectors and VR headsets.

You’ll learn through a variety of methods. You’ll have the chance to explore different creative areas with workshops in printmaking, textiles, bookbinding, coding, and more. You’ll also benefit from online resources, industry insights through guest lectures and live projects, and the inspiration of London’s vibrant art scene. We'll help you build a strong professional portfolio tailored to your career goals.

Guided independent study

We are investing in key areas beyond your studies including our career services, library and well-being, to be available both face-to-face on campus and online with many of these available 24/7. We have new, modern library facilities on both campuses offering inspirational environments for study and research. Libraries contain resources in print and digital formats, a range of study spaces and a dedicated librarian who can assist with your learning.

Academic support

You are supported with any academic or subject-related queries by an Academic Advisor, module leaders, and former and current UEL students. If you need a bit of extra help with certain skills such as academic writing, English, maths or statistics, our Academic Tutors offer workshops, drop-in sessions and one-to-one appointments to help you achieve your potential. You can receive advice and guidance on all aspects of the IT systems provided by the University from our IT Service Desks located on all three campuses. Our Student Support hubs in Docklands and Stratford feature centralised helpdesks to cater for your every need. UEL provides also support and advice for disabled students and those with specific learning difficulties (SPDs).

Dedicated personal tutor

When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of the academic course team who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at UEL and who will show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer.

Workload

Each year you will spend around 300 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module. 

The approximate percentages for this course are: 

  • Year 1: scheduled teaching - 300 hours; guided independent study - 900 hours.
  • Year 2: scheduled teaching - 300 hours; guided independent study - 900 hours. 
  • Year 3: scheduled teaching - 300 hours; guided independent study - 900 hours.

Your timetable

You will receive your personalised timetable at the beginning of the academic year depending on your course.

Class sizes

The size of classes can vary depending on the nature of the course, module and activity. This can range from large groups in a lecture theatre setting, to smaller groups taking part in seminars and collaborative work.

How you'll be assessed

Each module has a duration of 12 weeks (one term) and always concludes with an assessment point. We provide feedback throughout these 12-week periods with a specific 'Tracking Week' dedicated to this process midway through each term.

For practical modules, your submission will consist of a Learning Journal (the presentation of your development and experience) and a portfolio (the presentation of your practical output). For theoretical modules, you may be asked to produce a piece of academic writing of a given length and a live presentation. 

Feedback is provided within 15 working days in line with UEL's assessment and feedback policy.

Campus and facilities

Docklands Campus, London, E16 2RD

Who teaches this course

This course is delivered by the School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering

The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.

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The banner below displays some key factual data about this course (including different course combinations or delivery modes of this course where relevant).

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Statistics for BA (Hons) Illustration Degree, Full Time

Statistics for BA (Hons) Illustration Degree, Full Time

What our students and staff say

Textile design ACI
Art and Design at UEL offers everyone a chance to operate in an economy which is moving further and further into the realms of the creative industries."

Joe Pleass

Graphic Design