Our Illustration BA (Hons) course scored 96% for academic support in the National Student Survey 2023.
We are a community of illustrators that tell stories through images. We emphasize curiosity and innovation in our approach to illustration, and we embrace mistakes as part of our process.
We are members of the professional body, the Association of Illustration (AOI).
View our students’ work and find out more about BA (Hons) Illustration
The first year is an open approach to learning that will allow you to find what drives your practice. The second year explores audience, the wider world, and your place in it as an artist. In the third year students develop practice-based research methods and bring to life an independent project for the degree show.
Our modern design facilities include printmaking studios, an Apple Mac suite, Risograph machine, letterpress workshop and book-binding equipment. We encourage students to explore illustration through all kinds of media and you can also learn on our laser cutters, 3D printers, and have access to our woodshop and ceramics studio.
We teach to develop students into autonomous learners, where curiosity leads the work that you do. Our studio provides a desk for each student and you can expect to be in the studio 30 hours a week.
You’ll also begin preparing for industry, developing your expertise in self-publishing and promotion. You’ll be equipped with the creative, technical and enterprise skills you need to progress into the creative industries on graduation.
This course is available to study with an integrated foundation year – an extra, introductory year at the beginning of the full degree. If you don’t meet the stated entry requirements or you’re returning to education, it could be a great option that enables you to study this course.
As well as an introduction to your subject, it will help you to develop valuable study skills, and communication, teamwork and problem-solving techniques, giving you the confidence and skills set you need to progress.
If you’re applying to study as an international student, an integrated foundation year can also support you to improve your English language skills alongside your studies.
To apply for this course with an integrated foundation year, select the ‘With foundation year’ study type from the options at the top of this page before clicking ‘Apply’.
96 – 120 UCAS tariff points, CCC – BBB at A levels, MMM – DDM at BTEC, or a Merit in your T-Level.
Entry to this course is by interview. Check out our Interview Guide to learn what to expect and help you prepare.
We welcome applicants with a pass in a relevant Foundation or Extended Diploma (Level 3 or 4).
English Language or Literature and Maths Grade 4/C in GCSE (or equivalent) are normally required.
This course is available with an additional integrated foundation year. This four year option has lower entry requirements – see below – than the other study type/s available.
Typical offers
48 UCAS tariff points, DD at A levels, PPP at BTEC or a Pass in your T Level.
GCSEs
Grade C/4 in English Language/Literature and Mathematics, or equivalent (e.g. Level 2 Functional Skills).
To apply for the integrated foundation year degree, select the ‘With foundation year’ option from the study types listed at the top of this page before clicking ‘Apply’.
See course overview for more information about the interated foundation year option.
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.
Please read the entry requirements for your country – and you’re welcome to contact our admissions team if you have questions.
Here's an example of the types of modules you'll study (the contents and structure of the course are reviewed occasionally, but it is unlikely that there will be significant change).
Module information is not available for this programme.
| Start date | Location | UCAS code |
Fee (UK) per year |
Fee (international) per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2024 | Francis Close Hall, Cheltenham | W220 | £9,250 | £16,600 |
| Sep 2025 | Francis Close Hall, Cheltenham | W220 | TBC | TBC |
|
International students can benefit from a range of scholarships and bursaries across many undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. |
Find out more | |||
Our graduates work in many fields:
Our Illustration BA (Hons) course scored 96% for academic support in the National Student Survey 2023.
Our students have worked with ELCAF (East London Comic & Arts Festival), London Book Fair, BD Angouleme, and Cheltenham Literature Festival. We invite publishers, agents, and working illustrators throughout the year including Jelly London, NoBrow Press, and Handsome Frank.
We provide the platform for you to publish, exhibit and sell your work under the university’s imprint, Pittville Press. Students produce a publication for the imprint in the second year, and also have the opportunity to do their part-time placement with Pittville Press. The Press tables at a variety of festivals and expos through the year and students can attend and learn how to promote, market, and sell their work.
Pittville Press also runs the international illustration competition the Cheltenham Illustration Awards. It’s an international competition aimed at emerging and professional illustrators that attracts over 700 submissions from more than 20 countries worldwide. World-famous illustrators jury the awards and speak to students. Past invited illustrators include Shaun Tan, Rebecca Green, Kristyna Baczynski, Stephen Simpson, and Selina Alko.
Explore and collaborate with creatives from across the spectrum. We offer the perfect environment to practice your craft and prepare you to graduate career-ready.
A part-time placement is a core component of the Entrepreneurship module in the second year. You will be supported in finding a part time work placement that will broaden your knowledge of what you can do after graduation. Students share their experience in the module so you will learn from your peers as well as your own placement.
You can also study abroad during the second year. We help you find an international experience that will deepen your studies and expand your horizons.
Can students catch creative concentration from their teachers? Kim explores this topic in the academic zine she published with Pittville Press in 2022 called Teaching/Not Teaching. It is in the collection and travelling exhibition of the zine library at Washington University, St. Louis.
Her research on how we teach and learn through drawing is presented as a zine, which is a lo-fi publication that’s meant to be accessible rather than academic. She explores artists and writers like Lynda Barry (a comics artist), Liz Lerman (a choreographer), Eleanor Duckworth (a psychologist), and bell hooks (an academic writer) to consider how teachers and students might work more collaboratively in the classroom to make the learning process better for all.
Kimberly Ellen Hall, Academic Course Leader for BA (HONS) Illustration
I moved to the UK in 1991. After working as an animator with the likes of Duran Duran and Channel 4, I joined Redkite Animations and worked on a number of projects with DC Thompson.
In 2008, I undertook a residency at La Cité Internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de l’image in Angoulême, France. Since then I have chosen graphic novels and comic books as my main creative outlets and my current project is a reflection on natural disasters in Japan, including the aftermath of 2011’s tsunami.
Teaching is a great passion of mine, especially supporting young talents to develop their own unique artistic voices in various contexts, such as animation, graphic novels and children’s books.”
Fumio Obata, Comic Book Author, Visual Artist and Lecturer of Illustration
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