Visual Communication BA(Hons) (Online)

Program Overview

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Visual Communication BA(Hons) (Online)

Course Overview

Create impactful visual content with the power to shift mindsets and inspire action on this unique online Visual Communication course. Drawing on Falmouth’s acclaimed creative culture, you will develop the practical skills and critical understanding to become a curious and dynamic practitioner across a range of platforms and formats within the ever-evolving creative landscape.

Why Study This Course at Falmouth?

• Join a global community of diverse creatives who are shaping the future of illustration, design, animation, photography and challenging the landscape of visual communication.
• Be supported to challenge yourself and develop your own visual language on a course designed and curated for online delivery.
• Build relationships with leading industry professionals through live briefs, online one-to-one portfolio reviews, guest lecturers, studio visits and optional in-person events.
• Define your passions, skills and ambitions to help locate your practice and build a sustainable career.

Course Details

BA(Hons) Visual Communication (Online) Course Video

On this Visual Communication course, you'll hone practical and theoretical skills in graphic design, photography, video, illustration and animation to create innovative visual content for a range of platforms.

You’ll develop complex problem-solving and ideation skills, enabling you to experiment, and become comfortable taking risks to produce innovative visual solutions to briefs and weekly tasks.

Your creative practice will be underpinned with a solid understanding of visual communication techniques and contextual awareness. You'll graduate with a professional portfolio, a creative business plan for your future, entrepreneurial skills and a high level of industry awareness and reality to help sustain your creative career post-graduation.

Course Study Options

On this accelerated online Visual Communication degree, you’ll have the opportunity to gain a BA(Hons) degree over two years full-time or three years part-time.

From module information to course aims and assessment criteria, discover the full course details:

• Full-time course details
• Part-time course details

Industry Guest Speakers

Industry guest speakers have included Google, Sony Music, NASA, Nando's, Superdry, Vanity Fair, Redbull and Adobe.

Final year students get expert portfolio feedback in online one to one sessions with leading studios like The Association of Illustrators, ILoveDust, Grand Matter, Phantom Design and Anyways Creative Agency.

Stage One

Through practical work and critical investigations, you'll be encouraged to experiment with and disrupt visual practices and processes. Working within an immersive community culture, you'll develop your understanding of audience, explore all areas of the creative process and learn core visual language skills, including type & image, storytelling, craft and production.

As you work on live briefs, you'll be introduced to branding, consumer culture, typography and information hierarchy, the ethics and responsibility of creative practice, design for society and the importance of collaborative practice. You'll also gain an understanding of the history and theories of visual communications.

Modules

• Play: This module aims to orientate learning, build organisational skills and develop an understanding of the elemental principles of visual communication through the application of a range of processes, building technical competence and analytical skills.
• Industry: This professional practice module introduces you to the creative industries and asks you to begin to identify where your own practice might situate itself.
• Relay: Develop industry skills in collaboration and refine your professional communication skills to enable you to work efficiently together to produce outcomes.
• Form: This workshop-based practice module develops your specialist craft skills and refines your use of materials, process and techniques.

Stage Two

You'll work on a range of projects to challenge your emerging fields. Throughout these projects you'll hone your core skills, reflect critically on your strengths and explore alternative models of practise to help define your design future beyond the Visual Communication course. Undertaking self-selected briefs, technical learning activities and presentations, as well as collaborative exercises and independent research, you'll continue to strengthen and provoke speculative, experimental and industry process models.

Modules

• Shape: Develop your ability to shape your ideas, and your outcomes, to find sustainable solutions for the specific needs of your intended audience.
• Find: Work collaboratively to develop your use of a range of research methods to underpin the conceptual development of projects and find solutions to complex problems.
• Break: This self-directed practice module aims to develop your ability to generate innovative visual communication strategies, underpinned by the development of your critical analytical skills.
• Share: Develop collaborative industry-focussed ways of working to generate complex and ambitious creative projects.

Stage Three

Finally, you'll refine the detail and depth of existing projects, or work on new initiatives to cement your final visual communications identity, so you're ready to head into industry or go to further study. You will underpin your final portfolio through undertaking a reflective research project and exploring alternative models of practice to give you the essential skills you need for a successful career in the creative industries.

Modules

• Jump: Evolve and refine a specialist body of creative practice and identify a future career pathway in the creative industries. It is the first stage in portfolio development that will build towards your professional identity and practice for when you graduate.
• Sprint: This entrepreneurial module aims to situate your practice within industry and prepare you with the business skills you need for a successful career in the creative industries.
• Launch: Develop an innovative final portfolio that demonstrates a high level of professionalism and industry level finish appropriate for your career ambition.
• Reach: This module asks you to contextualise your practice and identify future audiences for your work.

Learning and Support

How Online Study Works

This practice-based Visual Communication degree is underpinned by creative and technical tuition. We offer a truly multidisciplinary syllabus designed to meet the demands of visual communication within the creative industry.

What Will My Study Hours Be?

Based on the total learning time for the accelerated online courses, an average study week for full-time undergraduate students can be up to 50 hours, and for part-time students, can be up to 33 hours. As our online courses are intended to be flexible the actual time required to study will vary based on the level of study, the module week, and individual learning pace.

What Does Accelerated Study Mean?

An accelerated degree condenses your degree modules into two years on the full-time route, or three years on the part-time route. This means you'll be working across three study blocks per year, instead of two, including through the summer. Typically, there is a break of around two weeks between submitting your final assignment for each module and the start of the next study block. You will also get breaks on public holidays, for around two weeks at Easter and for around three weeks in December.

Assessment

The BA(Hons) Visual Communication degree employs a variety of assessment strategies over the course of the year. These include the submission of portfolios of practical work, presentations, verbal reports and a major practice project.

Your summative (final) assessments occur at the end of each module, usually at the end of the study block. You may also have interim formative assessments part way through a module as well. These assessments help ensure that you remain on track with your work.

You will receive continuous written and/or verbal feedback on all your work throughout the year. At the end of the module you will receive detailed feedback in written form.

Resources and Support

• Dedicated easy-to-use virtual learning environment (VLE)
• Accessible online audio / visual content
• A Student Advisor to support you throughout your studies and access to our Student Support Services
• Access to our Employability Service
• 24/7 access to Falmouth's extensive online library of contextual books, journals and resources
• Access to online software tutorials at LinkedIn Learning
• Students' Union community
• Optional in-person events
• Invitation to attend alumni events

Although online students don't have access to on-campus facilities as part of the course, you can hire equipment and access facilities by paying a charge. Find out more about availability and prices here.

Meet the Team

Our staff team is made up of experienced academics and subject experts. We pride ourselves on our global community of innovative graphic design, illustration, and photography professionals at the forefront of creative production. This connectivity provides essential networking opportunities for our students and graduates and helps inform and shape our future-focussed curriculum.

Careers

As a Visual Communication graduate, you could have a career as:

• A graphic designer, photographer, animator or illustrator
• A multidisciplinary creative
• A filmmaker, director or content producer
• A communications strategist or brand manager
• An art director or advertising creative

How to Apply

You have the option to apply via UCAS or directly with us, depending on your education and experience. Find out more about ways to apply.

UCAS Codes

You can apply for the September 2025 full-time route through UCAS using:

• University code: F33
• Course code: W2OA

Application Advice & Interview Information

Go to Toolkit

Deadlines

For starting your studies in 2025, the academic start date is 15 September 2025.

Please note:

• Virtual Welcome Week begins the week before the academic start date. During this time, our Student Advisor team will host Welcome Webinars and be in touch with practical information on how to study online.

Entry Requirements

We consider all applications on their own individual merit and potential. We invite all applicants to an online interview to give them the opportunity to demonstrate this along with what inspires and motivates them in their field. Applicants will also be able to show their portfolio or give a performance depending on the course. We welcome applications from all subject backgrounds, whether you've specialised in STEM, the arts or humanities.

Course Routes & Entry Requirements

• BA/BSc(Hons) degree: 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points

Check the title of your course to see if it's a BA or BSc award. UCAS Tariff points will primarily be from Level 3 qualifications such as but not limited to A-levels, T Levels, a BTEC/UAL Extended Diploma or a Foundation Diploma.

Check how many points your qualifications are worth

Portfolio

Some of our online undergraduate degrees require you to create and submit a digital portfolio as part of the application process.

Check our portfolio advice pages for more information

Applying Without UCAS Points

We'll welcome your application if you have formal or 'certified' learning (such as training courses not run by universities or colleges) and learning from work experience or self-study. This is called Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL), and should have been gained within the last five years, and be equivalent to the learning outcomes of our minimum entry qualifications. Find out more about APL.

Language Requirements

For applicants whose first language is English we require you to have or be working towards GCSE English Language Grade 4 (C), or equivalent.

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the same standard which is equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.0 overall score, with at least 5.5 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. We accept a range of in country equivalencies and approved tests.

If you need a student visa to study in the UK, you may need to take a recognised language test. You can read our English Language Requirements for more information.

For more information about equivalent international qualifications or English language requirements please contact our friendly Course Advisors.

Fees, Costs & Funding

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees for students starting the course in September 2025

• Annual tuition fee: £10,400 per year (2 years accelerated full-time)
• Annual tuition fee: £6,935 per year (3 years accelerated part-time)

Tuition fees for students starting the course in September 2024

• Annual tuition fee: £10,400 per year (2 years accelerated full-time)
• Annual tuition fee: £6,935 per year (3 years accelerated part-time)

Tuition fees for September 2026 will be confirmed in summer 2025.

Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.

The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs

What Funding Can I Get?

Funding for online study is different to on-campus study. You'll find information about both tuition fees and how you can fund your online study on this page.

Explore funding options

Typical Course Costs

You will need to purchase a laptop/desktop computer. It is an essential piece of equipment that you will need right from the start of the course. Our students use both PCs and Macs.

When considering your purchase of a laptop, the most important things to look out for is the CPU/RAM/graphics card, as we use software that needs a large amount of power. We recommend one with as fast a processor as you can afford (8GB of RAM minimum) and a reasonably sized screen (13" minimum, 15" is optimum), plus the following absolute bare minimum computer specifications:

• Windows:
  • Windows 10
  • At least an i7 processor
  • No less than 8-16GB Ram
  • Graphics Card (nVidia 1080 minimum, not Intel Iris integrated graphics) with at least 2GB
  • 256GB hard drive space minimum
  • 1920 x 1080 display resolution or higher (most displays offer a higher resolution than this)
  • Mouse with a scroll wheel and two buttons
• Apple Macbook Pro:
  • Mac OS 10.15 or newer
  • At least an i7 processor
  • No less than 8-16GB Ram
  • Graphics Card
  • 256GB hard drive space minimum
  • 1920 x 1080 display resolution or higher (most displays offer a higher resolution than this)
  • Mouse with a scroll wheel and two buttons
  • A dongle to plug things into the laptop is also required for all modern apple laptops

In general, it is cheaper and more cost effective to buy a Windows Laptop. A good spec Windows machine can be sourced from places such as Dell or PC World. Windows laptops do tend to be heavy for carrying about though. A good rule of thumb is if your laptop is capable of running a modern 3D computer game then it should generally be suitable for the kind of graphical work you will doing.

Anything in the MacBook Pro range will be suitable for your work and light to carry around. A USB dongle is a wise purchase with an Apple laptop as you can then plug in mice, keyboards, usb sticks, digital projectors etc. Avoid the MacBook and MacBook Air as they are small and underpowered for the work you will be doing.

Recurring Annual Costs

• £100-£200 - Studio kit (outlined in your Welcome Letter)
• £100-£200 - recommended reading throughout your course including books and publications.

Face-to-Face Events (Optional)

• £100-£400 - As an online student you will be given the opportunity to attend up to two events per academic year to meet your classmates and tutors in person. Dates and location of the events will vary.

Study Trips (Optional)

• £100-£400 - for optional study trips which will be outlined in your Welcome Letter.

Other Digital Equipment/Software

• 16 -32 GB memory stick so you can back up your work regularly (approx. £10-20)
• Wireless or Bluetooth mouse (approx. £15)

Adobe Creative Cloud

You will need access to Adobe Creative Cloud. You may be eligible for discounted licenses through Adobe's education pricing and Falmouth University seeks to provide further discounts when possible. If any discounts are available, we will communicate these to you.

For more information please visit Adobe Creative Cloud.

Funding

For information about funding available, please visit our student funding pages.

Ask a Student

What better way to find out about life at Falmouth University than by asking our current students?

From course details and academic support, to the social scene and settling in, our students are ready and available to answer any questions you might have. Simply set up your account, send them a question and they'll get back to you within 24 hours.

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Program Outline

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Visual Communication BA(Hons) (Online)

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Degree Overview:

This online Visual Communication BA(Hons) equips you with the skills to create impactful visual content, influencing perspectives and sparking action. It leverages Falmouth's renowned creative environment to nurture your abilities as a versatile practitioner across numerous platforms and formats within the ever-evolving creative landscape.

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Outline:

• Duration: 2 years full-time, 3 years part-time
• Format: Online
• Study workload: 27-50 hours per week
• Structure: Accelerated program with three study blocks per year
• Content: Graphic design, photography, video, illustration, animation, typography, branding, consumer culture, information hierarchy, ethics of design, history and theories of visual communication

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Modules:

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Stage 1:

• Play: Introduces basic principles of visual communication, technical competence, and analytical skills.
• Industry: Explores the creative industries and your potential fit within them.
• Relay: Develops collaboration and communication skills for effective project completion.
• Find: Utilize research skills to underpin project development and problem-solving.
• Break: Cultivates self-directed practice, generating innovative communication strategies underpinned by critical analysis.
• Sprint: Prepares you for a successful career with business skills and entrepreneurial thinking.
• Launch: Develop a professional portfolio showcasing your skills and industry-level finish.

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Assessment:

• Portfolios of practical work
• Presentations
• Verbal reports
• A major practice project
• Continuous written and verbal feedback
• Final written feedback

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Teaching:

• Online lectures, webinars, forums, and design activities
• Experienced academics and subject experts
• Industry professionals
• Global community of creative practitioners
• Virtual mentoring and support

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Careers:

• Graphic designer
• Photographer
• Animator
• Illustrator
• Multidisciplinary creative
• Filmmaker
• Director
• Content producer
• Communications strategist
• Brand manager
• Art director
• Advertising creative

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Other:

• Dedicated virtual learning environment
• Accessible online audio/visual content
• Employability Service
• Extensive online library resources
• Access to online software tutorials
• Students' Union community
• Optional in-person events and alumni events
• Value flexibility and accessibility
• Embrace a global learning community
• Enjoy self-directed learning and independent work
• Are passionate about visual communication and want to develop your skills in a supportive environment.

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Important:

• Module details may change as part of curriculum enhancement and reviews.
• Admission is based on individual merit and potential.
• Interview, portfolio, or performance may be required depending on your background.
• All subject backgrounds are welcome.