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Undergraduate

Visual Communication (Level 6) BA (Hons)

University of Gloucestershire

What is Visual Communication (Level 6) BA (Hons)?

You’ll become a multi-skilled designer and exhibit work in London and complete a work placement at a prestigious agency.

You’ll build on your existing knowledge, skills and qualifications to develop vocationally-oriented creative portfolios to gain a full BA honours degree qualification. As a home or international student, you’ll have completed a Level 5 or equivalent qualification, higher education diploma or foundation degree, and will progress to study on this course alongside students specialising in a range of design subjects.

You’ll be able to pick modules in advertising, graphic design and illustration to suit your background and ambitions. Graduate with a broad range of specialist skills from branding to publication layout to storyboarding and pitching. You’ll make essential contacts and gain valuable experience even before you graduate.

Join our award-winning students

You will have the opportunity to enter national and global design awards. So far in 2022 our students have won first place at the Penguin Cover Design Awards, JKR Global Student Design Award and are on the longlist for the 2022 World Illustration Awards.

Study style

You’ll be actively engaged with design projects and real-world assignments, addressing a wide variety of creative challenges. Depending on your chosen pathway, you may have the chance to exhibit through our links with the D&AD’s New Blood Exhibition in London and enter the Yellow Pencil award, which previous Visual Communication students have won.

You’ll have practical, real-world design and advertising assignments, develop your creative portfolios, undertake individual research and presentations, write essays and proposals, plus write an 8,000-word dissertation.

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Entry requirements

    • Applicants should possess an HND, Diploma of Higher Education or Foundation degree.

    • We welcome applications from mature students (aged 21 and over) and do not necessarily require the same academic qualifications as school leaving applicants, although some entry requirements may still apply for Professionally Accredited Courses. We accept Access to Higher Education Diplomas and make offers on an individual basis.

    • English Language or Literature and Maths Grade 4/C in GCSE (or equivalent) are normally required.

    • Selection for this course is by interview. Please refer to our interview guide for further information.

Course modules

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Fees and costs

See the further details of fees and potential extra costs when studying a course at the University of Gloucestershire.
Start date Location UCAS code Fee (UK)
Fee per year
Fee (international)
Fee per year
Sep 2024 Hardwick, Cheltenham W213 £9,250 £16,600
Sep 2025 Hardwick, Cheltenham W213 TBC TBC

Ready to apply?

UoG Career promise

At UoG we create a climate for bravery and growth. We instil confidence in all our students, so you can graduate career-ready and meet your ambitions.

96% of our graduates are in work or further study*, but if you’re not in a job 6 months after graduating we’ll guarantee you 6 months of free support, followed by the offer of a paid internship to kickstart your career – plus we’ll commit to lifetime career coaching. Eligibility conditions apply**

Discover our promises

Careers

Our strong connections enable students to gain real-world experience through placements with brands such as Saatchi & Saatchi X, Ogilvy & Mather, Factor 3, Tangible, Kraft, McCanns, BBH, Gravitas, Superdry and IPA.

You’ll also have the opportunity to exhibit at D&AD’s New Blood Exhibition in London and our own Art and Design Festival.

Graduates from this course can go into a range of careers, including roles such as account managers, advertising creative/art directors, brand managers, directors of photography, illustrators, moving image designers, production designers, branding and packaging designers, graphic designers and demo producers.

 

Become a multi-skilled communicator

You’ll be able to pick modules in advertising, graphic design and illustration to suit your background and ambitions. Graduate with a broad range of specialist skills from branding to publication layouts, storyboarding to illustrating.

Exciting work placement opportunities

Make essential contacts and gain valuable experience, even before you graduate. Students on selected modules have worked for prestigious companies including Saatchi & Saatchi X, Ogilvy & Mather, Factor 3, Tangible, Kraft, McCanns, BBH, Gravitas, IPA, Jones Knowles Ritchie, Taxi Studios, The Allotment, Rufus Leonard, Fitch and Superdry.

Gain exposure through exhibitions and design competitions

You’ll be actively engaged with design projects and real world assignments, addressing a wide variety of creative challenges. You’ll be encouraged to exhibit through our links with the D&AD’s New Blood Exhibition in London. Our students won the Yellow Pencil award at the show last year.

Placements

Make essential contacts and gain valuable experience, even before you graduate. Students on selected modules have worked for prestigious companies including Saatchi & Saatchi X, Ogilvy & Mather, Factor 3, Tangible, Kraft, McCanns, BBH, Gravitas, IPA, Jones Knowles Ritchie, Taxi Studios, The Allotment, Rufus Leonard, Fitch and Superdry.

As part of your course you can gain valuable experience on an optional placement year.

  • Duration – 12 months, full-time (minimum 35 hours a week)
  • Location – popular destinations include the UK, USA, China and Europe
  • Visa – you may need a visa if you’re on placement abroad
  • Finance – your tuition fee is reduced for your placement year – and you can still apply for a maintenance loan and get money advice
  • Placement support – we’ll help you find a great placement and get the most out of the experience

"I won a Chip Shop award while at uni and I’m now working for JWT in Malaysia."

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do career-wise when I started the course. We were able to choose modules based on what we were interested in. I particularly enjoyed the Creative Portfolio module where we had lectures from creative directors from agencies like McCann Bristol and Publicis London. They gave us briefs, sometimes even live ones and every two weeks we presented our ideas and got feedback. I did a placement at Oakwood agency which ultimately made me realize I wanted to work in advertising.”

Syaza-Abdur Rahman, Visual Communications student

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