Design (Visual Communication)

Program Overview

Design (Visual Communication)

MA

Postgraduate degree

Overview

This is a practical postgraduate course in Visual Communication, grounded in professional development and research. You’ll produce Visual Communication projects in a collaborative and creative environment, working with and alongside students of Design, Graphics, Illustration and Textiles, as well as Photography and other Fine Art specialisms.

What you'll learn

• Reach your creative potential through exciting professional visual communication projects.
• Learn from accomplished design professionals and receive excellent academic and technical support.
• Work in dedicated studio spaces and benefit from excellent workshop and fabrication facilities.

Course structure

This Design Master’s runs over one year and is divided into three trimesters.

Trimester one

• From the start of the programme we encourage playfulness and risk-taking.
• You’ll begin by making work that responds to a range of instructions in ways that will help you to interrogate your practical approach, and to learn from lecturers and other students as you progress.
• You'll develop primary and secondary research that will feed directly into your practical work and assessments, and the project that you produce will form the basis of your developing practice.

Trimester two

• Maintaining an experimental approach, you'll consolidate what you are learning and begin to narrow your focus within your chosen pathway or subject area.
• Academic staff will help you evaluate your development and refine your approach to support your project outcome.
• You’ll be encouraged to scrutinise the way in which your project functions and engages its audience.
• With help from our excellent subject specialists, technical demonstrators and technicians, you will hone the conceptual, technical aesthetic and contextual components of your project.

Trimester three

• In the final trimester, you will work exclusively on your Masters Project.
• This is a self-directed, double weighted practice module in which you’ll be focusing your attention on your final Degree Show.
• By this stage you will have established a line of enquiry for your practice and will be working to a proposal for the show that you have developed.
• You’ll work in the studio with increasing independence to produce a body of work that demonstrates your advanced knowledge and understanding of your professional practice.
• The final MA Show exhibition will take place at the Locksbrook campus and will be open to the public.

Course modules

• Research Methods
• Theory and Professional Context
• Practice 1 (Design)
• Research Practice
• Theory and Professional Practices
• Practice 2 (Design)
• Master's Project

How will I be assessed?

• Your progress is evaluated by formative assessment (throughout the duration of the course) and summative assessment (at the end of each trimester), through a mixture of exhibitions, verbal/visual presentations, research folders/blogs and written assignments.

How will I be taught?

• You’ll learn through lectures, seminars, workshops, talks, individual and group tutorials, studio critiques and self-directed study.
• Throughout the year visiting lecturers and professionals, designers and artists, visit the campus and give talks and seminars.
• You will have the opportunity to attend many of these.
• They will help you determine where your current practice sits within industry.

Opportunities

• Fieldwork: When permitted, Bath School of Design offers fieldwork opportunities throughout the academic year.
• Careers: Career opportunities may involve utilising skills in digital two and three dimensional design, infographics and graphic design, typography, branding and roles such as:
  • Illustrator
  • Graphic Designer
  • Visual Communicator
  • Textile Designer
  • Interior Designer
  • Photographer
  • Picture Editor
  • Art Director
  • Multimedia Artist
  • Animator
  • Set and Exhibition Designer
  • Picture researcher

Facilities and resources

• Where the subject is taught: Locksbrook Campus
• Our workshops: Comprehensive digital workshops and specialist art and design facilities, including:
  • Our student service point at Locksbrook where you can purchase subsidised art and design materials, hire out equipment for free and collect Library resources
  • Access to our well-stocked Library at Newton Park
  • Specialist technical workshops across all of art and design
  • Access to studio space where you can work on projects and refine your practice

Fees

• 2025 entry
  • UK full time: £9,950
  • UK part time: £4,975
  • International full time: £18,560

What we look for in potential students

• We're looking for energetic and self-motivated individuals who can work on their own but also see the value in working in collaboration with others.
• They should enjoy asking questions and solving creative problems.

Typical offers and subject-specific requirement

• You’ll need a good undergraduate degree in a design, visual communication or art specialism, or its equivalent in terms of learning or experience, and a good working knowledge of design, visual communication or art contexts.
• See our Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) web page to learn more.

How do I apply?

• Ready to apply? Click the "apply now" button in the centre of this page.
• Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply webpages.

Interview and portfolio guidance

• Interviews can be conducted onsite or online with a digital portfolio.

When to apply

• Many of our postgraduate courses have a limited number of student spaces.
• To avoid the disappointment of the course being full, we recommend that you apply now.
• Late applications (generally those made after 31 July) will only be considered if places remain on the course.

Contact us

• Admissions: +44 (0) 1225 876 112
• Course Leader: Andrew Southall
• Email: andrew.southall@bathspa.ac.uk

Related courses

• Design
• Design (Graphics)
• Design (Illustration)
• Fine Art (Photography)

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This is a practical Master of Arts in Visual Communication Design, grounded in individual research, in which you'll work alongside other postgraduate students from the Schools of Art and Design. Our view is that by integrating your methods with those in related fields, you’ll become a more effective specialist photographer, graphic designer or illustrator. At a time when boundaries between these disciplines are changing – and in some cases dissolving – this is particularly important. On successful completion of the course, your increased confidence and abilities will be clearly evident in the portfolios you've developed. Through contact with sector leaders, you'll be ready to move into industry, perhaps in a design agency or as a freelancer.

Outline:

This Design Master’s runs over one year and is divided into three trimesters.

Trimester one:

We encourage playfulness and risk-taking, and ask you to respond to a range of instructions in ways that will allow you to interrogate how you work – without threatening your approach. Right from the start, you'll begin to gather primary and secondary research that will feed into your assessments. We introduce a range of key issues in design and communication practice and allow you to explore how your specialist approach relates to the wider field. You’ll be encouraged to pay greater attention to the way in which your project functions and engages its audience.

Trimester three:

A self-directed, double practice module leads to your final Degree Show. You’ll establish a line of enquiry, working to a proposal of your devising, which positions your work within your specialist discipline.

• Research Methods
• Theory and Professional Context
• Practice 1 (Design)
• Research Practice
• Theory and Professional Practices
• Practice 2 (Design)
• Master's Project

Assessment:

Your progress is evaluated by formative assessment (throughout the duration of the course) and summative assessment (at the end of each trimester), through a mixture of exhibitions, verbal/visual presentations, research folders/blogs and written assignments.

Teaching:

You’ll learn through lectures, talks, taught sessions, individual and group tutorials, and studio critiques and seminars. Visiting lecturers, and seminars with external professionals and internationally renowned designers and artists, will help you determine where your current practice sits within the industry. Your learning is also supported by specialist librarians.

Careers:

Graduates from this department have become designers, illustrators, photographers and photo editors for design agencies, architectural and engineering practices, the MOD and other specialist areas. Many work in conjunction with fine artists. The research elements of the course also lay the foundations for a teaching career or further study.

• Specialist technical workshops across all of art and design
• Access to studio space where you can work on projects and refine your practice

2024 entry Student Annual tuition fee UK full time £9,520 UK part time £4,760 International full time £17,760