BA (Hons) Graphic Communication

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BA (Hons) Graphic Communication

Institution code: N39
Course 3 Year UCAS code: W213
Course 4 Year UCAS code: W214
Course length: 3 or 4 year options

All courses run as a blend of on-campus and digital teaching and learning, and follow current UK government safety advice. Applicants and students will be notified directly if any changes need to be made.

Your passion for exploring visual ideas and brand communication across all platforms will be at the heart of your time at NUA studying on our award-winning Graphic Communication course.

Our BA (Hons) Graphic Communication degree is closely aligned to industry and you will work on a wide variety of briefs set by staff, professional design agencies and external competitions.

You will engage in work that explores traditional formats as well as emerging digital technologies such as augmented and virtual reality. Your knowledge and skills will grow in branding, identity, advertising, motion graphics, interaction/UX design, whilst developing strong skills in creative thinking and ideas-led communication solutions.

Design solutions to real world problems

You’ll be challenged to engage with real-world problems, controversies and commercial briefs through research, design and technology.

Your original ideas are as likely to play out through an app, website or augmented reality experience as a printed poster, pamphlet or journal.

Design industry skills

As you hone your craft, you’ll get to meet leading practitioners from the creative industries and work on commercial briefs.

We’ll help to prepare you for a successful career as you compile your professional portfolio based on your own design interests.

Thanks to our strong links to industry, recent graduates are highly-employable and have found full-time employment in leading design studios, working in areas such as branding and digital, motion and cross-platform advertising.

You will be taught by passionate and experienced tutors, as well as many visiting professional designers, whose reputation for nurturing talent means that leading design groups and agencies actively recruit graduates from the course.

Graduates work in a broad range of careers including

Graphic Designer
Digital Designer
Website Designer
App Designer
Branding Designer Advertising Creative

Promotions Designer
Brand Strategist
Copywriter
Printmaker/Printer
Filmmaker/Animator

You’ll also get specialist creative careers advice from our team in the Ideas FactoryNUA to help support you as you plan your career.

Graphics at NUA

Course specifications
Three year degree
Four year degree
Course costs

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Course content

Year 1
Develop skills in typography, printing, layout, photography, design research, idea generation, visual narrative and storytelling
Learn technical skills in various design-related digital media such as InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator
Explore print, paper, material, format and hand-craft/making skills
Develop your ability to design solutions for presenting complex data and information through editorial design and infographics.

Year 2
Focus on branding and identity, advertising and promotion, digital/screen design, app design, film and animation, corporate communications, infographics, design within the environment and large-scale graphics (super graphics), exhibition design and experience design
Explore printed and digital formats, including books, journals and magazines, brochures and reports, as well as websites, apps, user interface design and user experience design
Collaborate with others in a competitive presentation and/or pitch environment, and across courses with other NUA students.

Year 3
Create a professional portfolio of work
Explore new territories for graphic design, including new and traditional media
Advance your core skills in 2D and 3D design, specifically in typography, layout, image usage and editing, print/physical and screen based digital technologies
Take part in projects, including competition briefs and other professionally-focused projects
Complete a Research Report that provides broad contextualisation to your practice.

Student work

Tap to expand

Tom Horbury - A bike storage locker and promotion poster design for Bright Hire bicyles

Tom Horbury - App design concepts showing different menus of a bicycle hire app

Tom Horbury & Chloe Kilgariff - Branding and gift card design for Firefly bookstore concept

Mansi Katta - Magazine cover design by BA Graphic Communication student Mansi Katta. A close up photo of a woman's lips, vertically, is the cover image. The masthead says 'Read My Lips', a concept around female sexual pleasure

Mansi Katta - Editorial design by BA Graphic Communication student Mansi Katta. A mockup of a double page spread, showing abstract imagery with written text, and large typography saying 'glaciers have thinned and speeded up leading to a jolt in increasing sea level', with water bubbles above some letters distorting the font.

Mansi Katta - Editorial design by BA Graphic Communication student Mansi Katta. Raising awareness over climate change, a vertical double page spread shows an abstract halftone blue, white and black background with the words '165ft Glaciers' in large capitals.

Mansi Katta - Abstract design for a poster by BA Graphic Communication student Mansi Katta. A black and white poster, with large blown up and blurred typography creating a patterned background. On top is the word 'persuaders' in lower case sans serif font, and the word 'hidden' deconstructed and repeated behind it.

Kirsty McKinlay - Promotional poster for Durex and breaking the taboo around disability and sex, by BA Graphic Communication student Kirsty McKinlay. A black poster with white and pink text playing on sexual innuendos breaking the taboo of disabled people and sex

Kirsty McKinlay - A mockup of a pink paper bag with the 'Britney Shears' branding by BA Graphic Communication student Kirsty McKinlay

Kirsty McKinlay - A bundle of appointment cards for 'Britney Shears', a hair donation scheme concept by BA Graphic Communication student Kirsty McKinlay. On a pink background are a bunch of scattered business cards. Some are pale pink with blue images of hands holding up some hair and scissors, some a blue image close up of hair saying 'Britney Shears', and another pink close up of hair saying 'Britney Shears'.

Jamie Greengrass - Website design for Wild Paths music festival in Norwich, by BA Graphic Communication student Jamie Greengrass. A person has a laptop open on a cream and green coloured website saying 'Wild Paths' with links to the full lineup.

Jamie Greengrass - Editorial design by BA Graphic Communication student Jamie Greengrass. A double page spread on sustainability. Black an white images and text printed on natural grain paper, bound by orange thread

Corrina Mark - Branding for 'Daisy' by BA Graphic Communication student Corrina Mark. A photograph of a bunch of daisies, with a digital pale green promo card in the middle, with a hand drawn daisy on.

Corrina Mark - Bus shelter poster design raising awareness for miscarriages, by BA Graphic Communication student Corrina Mark. A white poster with pale mint green writing saying 'Don't be mislead by miscarriage'

Chloe Turner - Poster design about Co2 emissions by Chloe Turner, BA Graphic Communication. A typographic poster, partially obscured by a black smoke-like patch. Made using hydrothermic ink that dissolves when heated

John Miller - Poster design for Mother Mama by BA Graphic Communication student John Miller. A blue poster with a large floral M, with pink body copy above. The poster is framed and photographed on a white floor next to a bunch of pink flowers.

Sophia Brandt - Typographic poster promoting Kieler Woche, a German boating festival by BA Graphic Communication student Sophia Brandt. A black poster with warped white typography. Kieler Woche is repeated across the poster and warped to look as if it's under water.

Eliza Fudge - Promotional poster for Durex raising awareness of STIs, by BA Graphic Communication student Eliza Fudge. Black poster with white typography saying 'The quiet ones are always the dirtiest'.

Jonathan Leonard, Jake Gilbert, Alice Twydell -

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Convention

Entry requirements
Portfolio guidance
Fees and funding
Four year degree

Typical UK offers

A / AS Levels – GCE
GCE A/AS Levels 3 A-level qualifications at grades BBB. Where candidates are not taking 3 A-levels, NUA will consider combinations of A-level/AS-level and other Level 3 qualifications.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction, Merit, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction*, Distinction* in an art, design or media related subject

UAL Extended Diploma
Merit

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Merit

UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Merit

Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)
Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma
A minimum of 27 points

NUA welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds. Your application will be primarily assessed through your portfolio, responses to questions asked and personal statement, so even if you have no formal qualifications or do not meet our typical offers it can still be worth applying.

If you are studying at the time of your application and your application is successful it is likely that you will receive a conditional offer.

If the qualification that you are studying is not shown, do not worry as we are able to accept other pre-entry qualifications as well as combinations of different qualifications. Please do contact our Student Recruitment Team if you have any queries.

International applications

We accept qualifications from all over the world. To find our entry requirements from a specific country, please check our dedicated international pages.

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).

We also accept some alternative English qualifications. Learn more about our English entry requirements.

You can email us on international@nua.ac.uk if you’d like to discuss your application individually.

BA (Hons) Graphic Communication degree portfolio guidance

Your portfolio should be relevant to this course, but you can include a wide range of work that shows your creativity, technical competence and understanding of innovative communication.

You may wish to include some of the following:

Visual identity, logos and branding
Digital, motion design and interactive design
Advertising projects/ campaigns
Work created using Adobe Creative Suite or other appropriate design software
Web design
Typography
Photography
Editorial work and poster designs
Drawing Skills
Suggestions for context: branding, corporate communications, advertising, digital/interactive design

Further portfolio advice and tips

Get more advice on presentation formats, layouts and when to submit your portfolio in the application process.

Fees and Funding

The cost of your course is determined by your status as either ‘UK or ‘International/EU’, so it’s important to check your fee status. If you’re unsure, the UKCISA website will help you determine whether you’re eligible to pay a UK fee (also called a ‘home’ fee). If you’d prefer to speak to NUA directly, please contact student.finance@nua.ac.uk

UK students are eligible for a tuition fee loan from the UK government, meaning you won’t have to pay your fees up front. Further details about tuition fee loans are provided below. International students are not eligible for the UK government tuition fee loan.

2021/22 Tuition Fees for new entrants

Citizen status	Course	Fee
UK	Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree)	£9,250

International (including EU)

Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree)

£15,900

Fees will remain the same for each year of your course.

International students

Find out more about 2021 fees for international students and the scholarships and support available.

Financial support for UK students

Tuition fee loans and loans for living costs are available, as well as non-repayable NUA bursaries that take into account family income. Find out how to apply for funding.

Tuition Fee Loan for undergraduate study – 2021/22

Tuition fee loans are available for UK students.

Available to cover the full cost of your tuition
You don’t have to pay for your course up front yourself
Only start paying back when you are earning over £26,575 per year

Maintenance Loan for undergraduate study – 2021/22

Student Maintenance Loans are available from Student Finance England for UK students to help with living costs such as accommodation, food, clothes, travel and course expenses. The amount students receive is dependent on household income and any maintenance grant received.

A loan of up to £9,203 may be available if you live away from home.
A loan of up to £7,747 may be available if you live with your parents.

Different figures may apply if you are currently based in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

How can you find out more?

To learn more about loans, repayment calculations and other financial support, visit Student Finance. If you have any questions about fees, please email us: student.finance@nua.ac.uk

Scholarships

Find out about scholarship programmes available to NUA applicants.

Bursaries

For new entrants whose household income is assessed as £25,000 or less, the university will offer a contribution towards the costs of studying at NUA (such as equipment, materials and other course-related costs). Find out more about bursaries at NUA.

NUA alumni, staff and feeder staff discount

All NUA alumni are eligible for a £1,000 discount on NUA postgraduate degree fees. All NUA staff and staff from feeder institutions are eligible for a £500 discount on NUA postgraduate degree fees.

Four year degree – BA (Hons) Graphic Communication

Four year degrees offer students a chance to build on their experience within their undergraduate course of choice.

Year 0 will help to build confidence and develop subject specific practical, creative and conceptual skills – making full use of University studios and workshops.

Typical UK offers and entry requirements for Year 0 entry

GCE A/AS Levels
2 A-level qualifications at grades CC or higher.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Merit, Merit, Pass in an art, design or media related subject

BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

UAL Extended Diploma
An overall Pass

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
An overall Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass

Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)
Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma
A minimum of 24 points

If you are studying at the time of your application and your application is successful it is likely that you will receive a conditional offer.

Find out more

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Rhys Stawiska

"My work brings together the use of colour, typography and imagery to demonstrate important messages. You'll see this in my ‘No Pride in Poland’ project, with a custom made font and colours picked straight from the country’s flag – it highlights the injustices LGBT+ people face in Poland."

BA (Hons) Graphic Communication

Discover Rhys's work

Tsu-Ann Wong

"Having access to technical workshops and speaking with the courses’ guest lecturers has made me realise that there are so many different ways to approach a project. It’s important not to restrict yourself – exploration helps me realise the best way to communicate ideas."

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