About Illustration BA Honours in Middlesex University

Overview

Why study illustration with us

Not all illustration courses are created equal. By choosing to study illustration with us, you’ll not only develop your creativity but also get all that you need to start an exciting career.

Our course is independent and studio-based, specifically focused on developing your skills as a professional illustrator and finding your style. The course has a strong focus on drawing, from the communicative and expressive sides. You’ll work on this in classes based on life and observational drawing each week throughout the three-year degree.

Our facilities are state-of-the-art and you’ll be based in The Grove, an £80 million learning facility with art editing and digital publishing labs. A number of illustrators, agents, publishers, and designers visit the campus to discuss your portfolios. Some students even get the opportunity to get their work published before they graduate.

Our north London campus is perfectly located for you to explore museums and galleries to gain inspiration. In previous years, illustration students have also visited Edinburgh and Lisbon to be inspired by new surroundings.

We ensure that you graduate from our course with the specialist skills you’ll need to approach agents, set up studios, and produce a website as you start on your career path. Many of our students go on to work in magazine publishing, editorial illustration, advertising, animation, and more. We have strong industry links with art and design employers. Industry partners sponsor final students as well as give visiting lectures while hundreds of agencies and organisations attend the final degree show each year.

Our course is unique as we’ll provide you with an individual workspace that you can treat as your own studio throughout your studies. Previous students have told us that this helped them with feeling creatively fulfilled. You’ll also have access to our amazing workshops with illustration students often using the printmaking and digital media workshops, photographic studios and 3D and laser-cutting workshops.

In your second and third year, you'll be entered for competitions such as the Macmillan's Children's Book Prize. Past graduates have won many yellow pencils in the D&AD while others have been shortlisted for the Folio Society and Macmillan children’s book prize.

On BA illustration you will be taught specific creative skills and processes such as, printmaking, animation, bookbinding, relevant digital programmes and drawing both life and location. The course concentrates on contemporary applications and traditional illustration processes and the success of our graduates in both international competitions and employment in the creative industries is testament to this approach.

In your first year your projects and workshops are centred on exploration, interpretation, and communication. These core activities are supported by sessions on printmaking, animation and observational drawing. By your second year you will be well placed to begin expanding your knowledge of illustration through professional and personal projects so you can develop an individual visual language. The final year's emphasis is on consolidation of skills and the production of a professional portfolio.

Middlesex University has a flexible and personalised approach to admissions and we accept applications from students with a wide range of qualifications and a combination of qualifications.

Applications from mature candidates without formal qualifications are welcomed, provided they can demonstrate appropriate levels of relevant ability and experience.

If you are unable to meet the entry requirements for this course you may still be eligible for our Foundation Year in Visual Arts course. This is an extra year of study to prepare you for the full degree. You may also be interested in our Intensive Foundation in Art and Design, successful completion of which will guarantee a place on a nominated degree. This is a twelve week course, running from June to September, to prepare you for degree-level study.

Middlesex University Highlights

Middlesex University Average Tuition Fees And Other Expenses

Middlesex University International Student Admissions

Middlesex University accepts students from all around the world and currently has over 160 international partnerships.

Application fee: 40 GBP

Academic Documents:

• Transcripts and certificates of all the educational institutions previously attended by the applicant.
• References
• CV or Resume
• Personal statement
• Language proficiency test scores
• Interviews, portfolio and auditions might also be required for some courses.

The transcripts must be either copy of the original documents on letter headed paper or with a stamp from the academic institution. Applicants must provide their permanent details like post address or email address. If applicants are looking for a research degree, they must also include a research proposal along with their application. This must outline their research plans and highlight which is of research interests them.

English Proficiency Test Score Required for International Students

The applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit one of the following test scores to Middlesex University. The minimum test scores required for both UG and PF courses are as follows:

Visa Process for International Students

• All international applicants need to have the Tier 4 visa clearance for six months.
• Applicant must be at least 16 years old in order to apply for a Tier 4 visa.
• Financial and documentation requirements need to be fulfilled by the applicant.
• Passports, travel documentation and a tuberculosis test result are required when applying for Tier 4 visa.
• A minimum of 40 points are required for Tier 4.
• Out of these 40 points, 30 points are for a valid CAS from a Tier 4 sponsor, which will be Middlesex University.
• 10 points are for financial means for college tuition, living costs and application fee.
• A CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) is sent to the applicant when he/she is admitted at the university.
• This CAS contains a reference number that must be stated on the visa application form.
• The validity of the visa depends upon the duration of the course taken by the applicant.