Program start date | Application deadline |
2025-01-01 | - |
2025-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
Graphic Design BA (Hons)
Overview
Work with both traditional and contemporary technologies on our graphic design course as you find your unique creative voice, with a focus on areas such as visual design, brand identity, editorial work, packaging and more.
Course Details
Course Structure
Year 1 Core Modules
- Collaboration Project
- Enhance your skills in team-working, communication, project management and negotiation.
- Collaborate with a group of your course mates to produce a small-scale creative project in response to a subject-specific brief.
- This is a 20-credit module.
- Graphic Processes
- Explore the core skills of graphic design informed by research, covering visual grammar, typography, layout, image and idea generation.
- Learn about the importance of creative thinking, experimentation, communication and implementation within a project themes framework.
- This is a 40-credit module.
- Introduction to the Creative Industries
- Learn how to start on your career path while developing vital employability skills such as networking and digital presence.
- Understand the structure of the sector and the interdisciplinary relationships between art, design and media.
- Discover how the sector operates locally, nationally and globally – debating the role of policy and the importance of sustainability.
- This is a 20-credit module.
- Visual Narratives
- Gain experience of utilising appropriate narrative, emotion and sequence as a fundamental aspect of visual communication and creative practice.
- Understand how found or individually generated narratives can be utilised imaginatively within design to engage an audience/user.
- This is a 40-credit module.
Year 2 Core Modules
- Creative Research Project
- Develop critical thinking and analysis skills, exploring contemporary issues and debates related to the creative industries.
- Research a specific area or development within your chosen subject – this may be technical, economic, ethical, legal, cultural, sociological, or a combination.
- Draw on appropriate academic and industry sources to contextualise your research.
- Present your topic and initial research within taught sessions, providing an opportunity for peer and tutor feedback.
- This is a 20-credit module.
- Identity, Experience and Environments
- You are introduced to branding and identity to become a strategic thinker and creative communicator, vital in graphic design practice.
- Using various technologies, you explore how creative works can be situated in differing environments providing opportunities to inform, agitate, navigate and enrich people’s lives.
- Develop an understanding of how design is used, and could be used, in commercial, social and public indoor and outdoor settings.
- This is a 40-credit module.
- Industry Project
- Develop and explore, in depth, a creative industry-based project in your specialist area of design, art, media, music, photography or illustration - relevant to your future professional practice.
- While forming a professional portfolio of work, you experience real-world business scenarios and challenges, industry competitions and cross and inter-disciplinary activities.
- Gain skills in project management, applied research methods and collaborative creative work.
- This is a 40-credit module.
- Working in the Creative Industries
- Research the social, political or ecological challenges around us to generate a small-scale project.
- Develop and reflect on your understanding of enterprise in the context of the creative industries.
- Contextualise your own professional practice and aspirations through application of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- This is a 20-credit module.
Optional Work Placement Year
- Work Placement
- You have the option to spend one year in industry learning and developing your skills.
- We encourage and support you with applying for a placement, job hunting and networking.
- Gain experience favoured by graduate recruiters and develop your technical skillset.
- Also obtain the transferable skills required in any professional environment, including communication, negotiation, teamwork, leadership, organisation, confidence, self-reliance, problem-solving, being able to work under pressure, and commercial awareness.
Final-Year Core Modules
- Major Project
- Produce a self-managed, individual extended piece of independent investigation and/or creative production or portfolio of work.
- Supervised by an academic member of staff, you take responsibility for the planning and execution of the work, including the consideration of associated legal, social, ethical and professional issues.
- Explore in depth a chosen subject area, demonstrating your ability to analyse, synthesise and creatively apply your learning, showing critical and evaluative skills and professional awareness.
- This is a 60-credit module.
- Professional Practice
- Plan and implement your departure from education to your first or new career, or to further study.
- Continue your creative practice, developing a portfolio and/or extended piece of work which reflects you as a creative.
- Explore discipline-specific employability strategies, and engage and network with industry to develop key connections.
- This is a 60-credit module.
How You Learn
- Think, dream and make: learn through doing, with focused studio time for practice-based creative work, allowing you to develop ideas and undertake larger-scale, more ambitious projects.
- Develop your creative voice: you are coached to find and grow your creative voice.
- Collaboration with industry professionals and your peers gives you new perspectives on developing your practice.
- Grow resilience: develop a creative journal, capturing your challenges, milestones and reflections to see patterns in your thinking and linking reoccurring ideas.
- Learn how to test ideas, explore creative directions, understand pitching etiquette and develop large-scale projects to help you thrive in the creative industries.
- Join the creative sector: our intensive, career-focused modules help you understand working in the arts and creative industries.
- From industry leaders’ professional wisdom and insight to accessing professional opportunities and creative coaching, you become an industry insider and leave with a working understanding of the professional community.
- Become connected: access our network of alumni and practising creatives at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA).
- Benefit from supportive voices, specialist expertise, shared wisdom and new ideas, establishing critical relationships that propel you into your creative career.
- Get creative: take part in MIMA Creative Week, a festival of workshops where you experiment with new materials, go on field trips and upgrade your tech skills.
- Expand your horizons: collaborate with our international partners in Prague, Dubai and India becoming international creative citizens while developing an understanding of wider global contexts, sustainability and the changing shape of equality and diversity.
How You Are Assessed
- The work produced is the work assessed; there are no examinations, and the production of design projects is a key feature.
- Assessment is undertaken against carefully defined criteria and project-based assignments involve a critique.
- The critique is a reflective process allowing for both staff and peer group appraisal.
- You receive written feedback to help you reflect and prepare for future modules.
Entry Requirements
- Year 1 entry: 96-112 points, including a creative subject, from any combination of recognised Level 3 qualifications and a creative portfolio showing skills in your chosen discipline.
- Digital portfolios are accepted but you are given the opportunity to attend a session on campus to discuss your portfolios with our staff.
- Consideration is also given to students without formal qualifications but with evidence of practical subject experience at an appropriate level.
- Non-EU international students who need a student visa to study in the UK should check our web pages on UKVI-compliant English language requirements.
- The University also provides pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements.
Employability
- Career Opportunities
- To support professional practice experience, you get involved with competitions from professional bodies such as Design and Art Direction (D&AD), You Can Now, Royal Society of Arts and International Society of Typographic Designers.
- You also have the opportunity to exhibit work externally.
- Work Placement
- A work placement officer and the University's award-winning careers service help you with applying for a placement.
- Advice is also available on job hunting and networking.
- By taking a work placement year you gain experience favoured by graduate recruiters and develop your technical skillset.
- You also obtain the transferable skills required in any professional environment.
Tuition Fees
- Full-time: £9,535 a year (UK applicants), £17,000 a year (international applicants)
- Part-time: £4,635 (120 credits) (UK applicants)
Other Course Routes
- Foundation Year: Study this course with a foundation year if you need additional preparation or if you don't have sufficient grades to join Year 1.
- Work Placement: Study this course with an optional work placement year, at no extra cost.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
Objective:
To equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to become successful graphic designers in the rapidly evolving digital world.
Description:
The BA (Hons) Graphic Design program at Teesside University emphasizes hands-on learning, industry-standard studio facilities, and a focus on developing individual creative voices. Students collaborate with experienced academics and designers, gaining valuable experience in various design areas, including branding, identity, strategy, and visual communication. The program also encourages students to develop their critical thinking and analysis skills through research-based projects, exploring contemporary issues and debates within the creative industries.
Outline:
Course Schedule:
The program is typically completed in three years, with the option to extend to four years with a work placement year.
Modules:
- Year 1:
- Collaboration Project
- Graphic Processes
- Introduction to the Creative Industries
- Visual Narratives
- Year 2:
- Creative Research Project
- Identity, Experience and Environments
- Industry Project
- Working in the Creative Industries
- Year 3:
- Major Project
- Professional Practice
Module Descriptions:
- Collaboration Project: Develops teamwork, communication, and project management skills.
- Graphic Processes: Covers fundamental skills in graphic design, including visual grammar, typography, layout, image, and idea generation.
- Introduction to the Creative Industries: Provides insight into the structure, opportunities, and challenges of the creative industries sector.
- Visual Narratives: Explores the use of narrative and emotion in visual communication.
- Creative Research Project: Develops critical thinking and research skills through investigation of contemporary issues in the creative industries.
- Identity, Experience and Environments: Explores branding, identity, and the role of design in various environments.
- Industry Project: Provides real-world experience through a project in a chosen design area.
- Working in the Creative Industries: Investigates the challenges and opportunities within the creative industries.
- Major Project: An independent project showcasing creative skills and knowledge.
- Professional Practice: Prepares students for entry into the workforce or further study.
Assessment:
Assessment methods include:
- Production of design projects
- Critiques
- Written feedback
- Presentations Assessment criteria are clearly defined and focus on the development of creative skills, critical thinking, and professional practice.
Teaching:
- Teaching Methods: Focus on hands-on learning, studio work, and industry-standard software.
- Faculty: Experienced academics and designers with expertise in various design areas.
- Unique Approaches: Creative Week workshops, field trips, international mobility opportunities, and industry collaborations.
Careers:
Graduates are prepared for careers in various design fields, including branding, advertising, strategy, and visual communication. They can find employment as freelance designers, in start-ups, or in established companies. The program also provides opportunities for further study at postgraduate level.
Other:
- The program is ranked 1st out of 64 institutions for Graphic Design in the Guardian University Guide 2024.
- The course is powered by Adobe and Apple, providing students with access to the latest creative tools and resources.
- Students have opportunities to participate in industry competitions and showcase their work externally.
Tuition Fees and Payment Information:
- Full-time
- Entry to 2024/25 academic year
- Fee for UK applicants: £9,250 a year
- Fee for international applicants: £17,000 a year
- Part-time
- 2024/25 entry
- Fee for UK applicants: £4,500 (120 credits)