Sequential Design/Illustration MA

Course structure

You can study on a part-time or full-time basis.

• Part-time, for two years, is designed to fit in with your professional life and allows more time for reflection. Part-time students work on the course for two days a week – one day on site and one day working independently.
• Full-time, for one year, is an intensive year of study. You work four days a week: two days with the course and two days independently.

Lectures, seminars, reviews and assessments are held at fixed times on Wednesdays. Other patterns of attendance vary according to individual circumstances. During holidays you will be engaged in independent study.

Your work will be predominantly project based, which may comprise of one or more parts focusing on a central theme or idea. A single project or investigation will in most cases sustain a student through the entire duration of the course, but at stage assessment, in consultation with tutors, it may naturally evolve into a new or related area of study.

The nature of the subject demands the continual interaction between research, analysis, and practical realisation, as well as an extended period of development for ideas to become fully meaningful. Throughout this investigation you will receive support and guidance from the course tutors.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through our applicant portal.

Areas of study

As the course develops, there is increasing opportunity for independent and self-directed work, though each student is allocated a personal tutor who oversees the planning and content of individual projects. Besides practice-based work, the course also includes a written element in which you will be asked to reflect critically on the research and development of your project.

The Visual Narrative module includes lectures, themed group events and small practical activities such as the Surprise Project, where you are asked to deliver a surprise though a sequence of six images or objects, with the module group as your target audience. From this experience, you learn the nature and importance of surprise in basic storytelling and develop a vocabulary for narrative. In scheduled theme day events, such as Modern Cautionary Tales, you work in groups to challenge your quick-thinking skills in the invention, planning and presentation of a story.

While students accepted on the course should come with the technical skills necessary to fulfil their projects, access to the diverse workshops facilities – for example in bookbinding, letterpress, printmaking and photography – will be made available as appropriate to your project. There is also a substantial specialist library and a full range of computer facilities.

In order to bring together a variety of students and approaches, this course coexists with the Arts and Design by Independent Project MA. Both are based at our Grand Parade campus.

Stage 1

• Sequential Project(s)
• Visual Narrative
• Research and Investigation

Stage 2

• Major Sequential Project(s)
• Project Report

Visiting lecturers

We arrange a programme of weekly lectures by a range of practitioners and academics to broaden your experience and understanding of professional issues and activity. Lecturers describe their practice and professional experience, sharing insights about their research methods and discoveries.

The programme is organised to relate to specific stages of the course and varies on a two-year cycle, so part-time students have access to a different set of events in each of their two years of study.

Previous guest lecturers include:

• Anna Deamer Installation/set designer
• David Pearson Typographer and book designer
• Dr Solveigh Goett Textile designer and researcher
• Fred Baier Furniture designer
• Jonathan Rosen Artist, illustrator and filmmaker
• Prof Brendan Walker Interactive designer and performer
• Prof Calum Colvin Fine art photographer
• Rachael Matthews Artist and author
• Rick Poynor Writer, critic and curator
• Riitta Ikonen Interdisciplinary collaborative artist.

Staff profiles

Interested in storytelling through images, objects, folklore and outsider art, Margaret Huber examines drawings developed from random ephemera. Her most recent work explores the line between representation and invention in natural history illustration.

Karen Morgan is a graphic designer specialising in design for print. Her enthusiasms are typography, ephemera, collecting, artists' books and picture books of all types. She enjoys both collaborative and self-initiated projects with other designers, illustrators, historians and writers.

Graham Rawle is a writer and collage artist whose visual work incorporates illustration, design, photography and installation. His worldwide success with Woman's World added to his celebrity as the creator of the Lost Consonants series.

Margaret Huber, course leader for the Sequential Design/Illustration MA and the Arts and Design by Independent Project MA

International equivalencies

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Project proposal

You are required to write a 600-word project proposal to accompany your application form. The following headings should assist you:

• title (or working title) and any subtitle of the project.
• the form the project might take: book, comic/graphic novel, digital, film, interactive, etc
• the editorial limits of the project (number of pages, running time etc)
• who is the project designed for and what are its intended objectives?
• a description of what the project will involve
• how you would start work on the project
• possible technical requirements
• in what way do you feel the project is designed to be sequential?
• any information you think is relevant.

This proposal represents a project that you would choose to do. It is useful as an example of your thinking. However, many students change their projects by agreement either after interview or on joining the course. In some cases, students may prefer to do more than one project on a theme. If this is the case, write a brief summary about why you would want to take this approach.

Portfolio

Your portfolio, together with the project proposal, will enable us to assess your abilities to carry out your chosen project. It should demonstrate evidence of:

• completed projects: it is essential that at least one of these projects should be accompanied by all its development work; you will also be required to explain the nature of the tasks or briefs in relation to these finished pieces
• an ability to use maps, plans, diagrams and rough sketches to discuss large projects before you start them
• scrapbooks, sketchbooks, notebooks that show your ability to visually research any subject
• independence (projects and work other than those required by academic or client demands)
• interests outside your particular subject or discipline.

You do not need to start the project you have proposed or have work in your portfolio that relates directly to it. We feel able to assess an applicant’s potential by looking at the work they choose to present at interview.

Fees

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2019–20.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Location

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Grand Parade campus map