Program Overview

Graphic Communication BA (Hons)

Ignite your passion for exploring visual ideas and brand communication from real-world problems to commercial briefs, across print and digital.

Key Information

• Course duration: 3 or 4 year options
• Course options: Integrated Foundation Year, Diploma Year
• Typical offer: 104-120 UCAS Tariff Points
• Annual fees:
  • Home (full-time): £9,535
  • Overseas (full-time): £18,500
• UCAS code: W213 (3 Year), W214 (4 Year)
• Institution code: N39
• Course start: September 2025

Course Overview

Our BA (Hons) Graphic Communication is a cutting-edge brand communications degree that will equip you with the skills to design everything from visual identities and advertising campaigns to websites, apps, motion, film and animation. Typography, copywriting, imagery, motion, digital and print applications are all integral components of the programme.

Why Study with Us

• Share your first year with other graphics students, and continue to work alongside each other, allowing for a unique cross fertilisation of knowledge, skills and experience.
• Develop skills in typography, layout, photography, motion graphics, copywriting, screen design, design research and idea generation.
• Learn technical skills in various design-related digital software such as InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, After Effects, and Figma.
• Become expert at understanding and deciphering a brief, researching, and generating ideas, problem-solving, developing the most successful concept and executing and presenting the final work.
• Create clever ideas-based solutions for organisations and brands, ‘design for good’ and advertising campaigns that aim to address global problems.
• Explore printed, digital and spatial formats, including books, posters, brochures and reports, websites, apps, user interfaces, user experience design and 3D/spatial super-graphics.
• Participate in workshops and classes run by external professionals, undertake project briefs initiated and taught by designers from industry, and enter national and international design competitions judged by the design industry.

Course Details

Integrated Foundation Year (optional)

Our Integrated Foundation Year is designed to equip students with the necessary skills, knowledge and confidence to thrive in their chosen degree subject. The course provides a comprehensive introduction to various disciplines, blending critical thinking and creative problem-solving with practical hands-on experience. This year serves as a bridge to undergraduate studies, allowing students to explore their interests within a supportive and inspiring environment, while familiarising themselves with the campus, workshops, and tutors.

Year 1

• Core Units:
  • Creative Learning (40 credits)
  • Explore and Experiment (80 credits)
• Core Projects:
  • Wayfinding Week
  • Make it Manifest(o)
  • Interchange Week

Year 2

• Core Units:
  • Global Contexts (80 credits)
  • Collaboration (40 credits)
• Core Projects:
  • Wayfinding Week
  • Make it Manifest(o)
  • Interchange Week

Diploma Year (optional)

Students have the opportunity to spend a year after the second of their degree (or the third year if studying for a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year) enhancing their employability options through a Level 5 Diploma. They can choose from courses designed to provide:

• opportunities to gain industry insight, developing employability skills through a series of supported experiences, expanding professional networks and building confidence in the workplace, or
• an introduction to creative computing, building an understanding of how coding skills can be used to advance and complement creative practice.

Final Year

• Core Units:
  • Research and Preparation (40 credits)
  • Resolution and Career Development (80 credits)
• Core Projects:
  • Wayfinding Week
  • Make it Manifest(o)
  • Interchange Week

Learning and Teaching

This course is taught through a mixture of learning and teaching methods including:

• Group briefings
• Academic tutorials
• Group tutorials
• Workshops
• Critiques (crits)
• Seminars
• Lectures

Assessment

Assessment for this course is entirely coursework-based, meaning there are no exams. Your progress will be evaluated through the projects and assignments you complete for each unit. Throughout the year, you’ll receive ongoing feedback to help you refine your work and develop your skills. To support your learning and ensure you achieve the course outcomes, we use a variety of assessment methods, including:

• Finished pieces of work
• Presentations
• Written work
• Your research
• A reflective journal

Entry Requirements

• Home:
  • A/AS Levels (GCE): 3 A-level qualifications at grades BCC (104 UCAS Tariff points) or above
  • BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF): Distinction, Merit, Merit in an art, design or media related subject
  • T Levels: A T Level in any subject with overall grade A* to C (Pass)
  • UAL Extended Diploma: Merit
  • UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design: Pass
  • UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design: Pass
  • Foundation Diploma in Art and Design: Pass
  • Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design): Pass
  • International Baccalaureate Diploma: A minimum of 26 points
• International:
  • We accept qualifications from all over the world. To find our entry requirements from a specific country, please check our dedicated international pages.
  • English language qualifications: Most international students are required to hold an English language qualification. Applicants are required to have a minimum UKVI approved IELTS exam score of 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each section. Equivalent English language qualifications are acceptable such as, IB English language syllabus A or B/English Literature (Grade 4).

Fees and Funding

• Home:
  • Tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year: £9,535 per year
  • Fees for subsequent years: Tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with inflation, subject to government regulations.
  • Funding your study: Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for a bursary, scholarship or loan to help fund your study and enhance your learning experience.
• International:
  • Tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year: £18,500 per year
  • Fees for subsequent years: For Overseas students starting in 2025 inflation will be applied to your fees in later years. We will confirm this in advance to you of each academic year, and we will limit the increase to no more than the Office for Students’ recommended inflationary measure.
  • Funding your study: Please take a look at our International students page for information about fees, scholarships for international students, visas and much more.

How to Apply

• All applications for undergraduate courses will need to be made via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
• You’ll need our university UCAS code (N39) as well as your course code which you’ll find on your course page.
• When you register with UCAS you will need include your previous and current qualifications information, personal statement, and reference.
• Once we receive your application form through UCAS, we will email confirmation that we have received it and will give you access and instructions for logging into the applicant portal. Our decision will be communicated via UCAS.

Related Courses

• Graphic Design BA (Hons)
• Design for Publishing BA (Hons)
• User Experience Design BSc (Hons)
• Photography BA (Hons)