Program Overview

Overview

The Graphic Design MA is part of the School of Art and Humanities MA Art & Design Suite, an innovative approach to postgraduate taught education that brings together disciplines from across art and design to produce a collaborative programme of courses that foreground the shared practices, processes and values of art and design in the 21st century.

Graphic Design is at the forefront of the design world – creating brand imagery and curating a global audience. Graphics is made up of many different creative processes and inhabits a multitude of contexts.

The Masters course provides an opportunity for you to hone your professional approaches to the discipline. In the creation of graphic design for different commercial and creative platforms, the world of the designer occupies both physical and digital arenas. Increasingly innovative and dynamic modes of production shape our communication tool of the future. The course offers continuing students or graduates from creative art and design subjects with an opportunity to enhance their knowledge, creative skills and employment prospects.

Our course aims to enable you to:

• Critically appraise the importance of social, ethical, technological and cultural dimensions of graphic design as applied to your personal practice and that of others.
• Evidence advanced knowledge and understanding of graphic design and its current and emerging global applications such as, but not limited to, signage, branding, packaging, online communication, user-experience, motion graphics.
• Systematically plan, negotiate and implement topical research to substantiate a coherent body of advanced graphic design practice.
• Contribute to the principles and processes of graphic design in supporting innovation within commercial or creative industries.
• Evidence awareness and relevance of your work in relation to professional standards in graphic design practice such as through high-quality proposals and presentation responding to design problems, client expectation or market opportunity.

Key Information

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for this course are normally:

• An Honours degree (2:2 or above) in a relevant subject or an equivalent professional qualification.
• Alternative qualifications and/or significant experience may be accepted, subject to approval.
• International students with qualifications in 'creative' or 'practice' subjects should submit a digital portfolio (pdf) of work with their application.
• All suitably qualified applicants are normally invited in for an informal chat with a portfolio or considered for admittance under alternative arrangements.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent.

Start dates

• 22 September 2025
• 12 January 2026

Duration

1 year full-time

Course Detail

• Modules
  • Research Methods and Project Proposal
  • Creative Innovation and Entrepreneurship
  • Creative Studio
  • Professional Platforms Art and Communication
  • Graphic Design Major Study
• Teaching and Assessment
  • The course is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, practical workshops and a programme of design projects.
  • Your module specification/course handbook will provide full details of the assessment criteria applying to your course.
  • Feedback (usually written) is normally provided on all coursework submissions within three term time weeks – unless the submission was made towards the end of the session in which case feedback would be available on request after the formal publication of results.

What can I research?

Research plays an important role in informing all our teaching and learning activities. Through research and enterprise our staff remain up-to-date with the latest developments in the field, which means you develop knowledge and skills that are current and highly relevant.

Facilities

Discover our facilities, in the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Huddersfield. Dedicated to exploration, students across the School of Arts and Humanities have the opportunity to cultivate, curate and showcase in a range innovative spaces, utilising extensive and purpose-built facilities. These include 3D printers for rapid prototyping and modelling, laser cutters, the virtual reality cave, print and dye capabilities, photography studios, digital print centre, specialist film studios including industry-standard equipment, and so much more.

Fees and Finance

• Tuition Fees - full-time
  • In 2025/26 the full-time tuition fee for UK postgraduate students on this course will be £8,900 (Band 2).
  • Tuition fees for UK students will cover the cost of your study at the University. For more information about funding, fees and finance for UK students, including what your tuition fee covers, please see our Fees and Finance. Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years of study may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X).
• Materials
  • You will need to cover the cost of manufacturing and printing your work during the course. You will need to consider how you document and back up your work. You will also need to supply your own materials, which may include drawing (sketchbooks, pens, specialist papers) or craft materials and specialist tools. The approximate cost of these items in recent years has been approximately £500. However, given the nature of the Masters course, where your own project design is the driving focus for specific outcomes, these costs are approximations only. There is no limit on the amount you may wish to spend. It may be that, depending on the nature of what you intend to produce, the costs may increase or decrease. The costs vary depending on the materials you choose, the specialist area you pursue and how you present your work.

Career Support

We know you’re coming to university to undertake your course, meet new people and broaden your horizons. However, we also help you to focus on life after you have graduated to ensure that your hard work pays off and you achieve your ambition. So while you’re here (and even after you graduate) the Careers and Employability Service offer professional help, support and guidance, including industry-supported workshops, careers fairs and one-to-one guidance sessions.

Research Excellence

Our researchers carry out work that makes a real difference to people's lives:

• We are in the top 50 UK universities for Research Power.
• Three quarters of all our research is world leading and internationally excellent.
• Over 60% of our research environment was classified as world leading and internationally excellent, especially in Music, Biological Sciences, Architecture and Built Environment, Social Work and Social Policy, History and Communication and Media Studies.