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Postgraduate

MA Design for Visual Communication (Online)

Student work showing abstract shapes and colours.

College
London College of Communication
Start date
September 2024
Course length
20 weeks

MA Design for Visual Communication provides an exciting and unique opportunity for students from diverse academic backgrounds to develop, refresh and extend their practical skillset in visual communication practices while developing a foundation for professional development.

Applying for more than 1 course

You can apply for more than 1 postgraduate course at UAL but we recommend that you apply for no more than 3. Find out more in the Apply Now section.

Why choose this course at London College of Communication

  • Build a distinctive portfolio of personal and research-based projects.
  • Opportunity to pursue an individual path in an area of specialism.
  • Develop your confidence in critical design with a wider contextual approach.
  • The course supports you as an individual in areas such as exhibition design, data visualisation, cross-media, publication design and branding.
  • You’ll be taught by experienced staff and will have the chance to collaborate with visiting tutors.
  • Support your development of a professional portfolio and prepare you for future careers.

Open Evenings

The next Open Evening for this course will be announced soon.

Course overview

As a current student or graduate of Postgraduate Diploma Design for Visual Communication, you can apply to the optional MA Design for Visual Communication – an additional 60-credit unit where you’ll be supported by tutors to pursue a self-directed project and achieve a Master’s award upon completion.  

This unit will enable you to advance your portfolio even further with advanced critical skills that demonstrate a high level of design research and practice. Delivered online to accommodate flexible learning while enabling you to develop your own self-structured learning journey, you’ll engage with the course through tutorials, peer-to-peer feedback, workshops and community building sessions.   

You’ll also be encouraged to pursue a project that can be achieved in collaboration with a company, charity, cultural institution or other organisation.   

What to expect

  • The 20-week MA unit provides an exciting, challenging and unique opportunity for current PgDip students and graduates to engage with an extended, research-led period of practical study.   

  • You'll build on a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of design in practice with critical, contextual design thinking and research in an applied context.  

  • Supporting the focus and diverse ambition of our students towards purposeful and applied practice, this phase will provide scope for you to specialise more intensely in a subject area of your choice that you’ll develop in consultation with your tutor.

  • Core teaching and learning methods include one-to-one tutorials; asynchronous workshops and lectures; synchronous community events, presentations, seminars and workshops; and supervised technical workshops.   

  • You’ll also have access to LCC's facilities including the library, Academic and Language Support, Enterprise and Employability, Digital Space, Creative Technology Lab among others.

  • You’ll be prepared to use your design skills and literacy in the context of business, policy, strategy, social activism and creative directorship, in addition to other leadership roles that value critical and creative thinking grounded in practical and technical skills.

Who is this course for?  

If you’re a current PgDip student or recent graduate, you may be interested in taking this higher qualification to:  

  • Deepen the specialism you developed on the Postgraduate Diploma, or through relevant work experience  

  • Develop a larger collaborative project with an industry partner or organisation 

  • Work on this self-directed, practice-led design research project towards further research study.  

Mode of Study 

MA Design for Visual Communication is in Part Time mode which runs for 20 weeks over the Autumn and Spring terms. You will be expected to commit 30 hours per week to study. 

Course units

We are committed to ensuring that your skills are set within an ethical framework, and we have worked to embed UAL’s Principles for Climate, Racial and Social Justice Principles into the curriculum and in everything we do. 

As part of this initiative, we’ve shaped our courses around social and environmental sustainability principles that ensure learning outcomes reflect the urgent need to equip you with the understanding, skills, and values to foster a more sustainable planet.  Our aim is to change the way our students think, and to empower you to work towards a sustainable future.

MA Design for Visual Communication involves one unit, totalling 60 credits. The unit takes place over the Autumn and Spring terms (1 and 2), and you'll have the opportunity to apply during the Summer term (Term 3) of your Postgraduate Diploma.   

MA Unit (60 Credits)  

This unit will support a broad range of practical and research ambitions by enabling you to develop both a practice project and a critical report or /thesis which that reflects on your area of specialism or study.  

It facilitates a broad range of practical and research ambitions, and will encourage you to inform your research and development work through collaboration, relevant professional practice, and participatory research and interdisciplinary methods.   

Supported by a personal tutor who can offer guidance on both the theoretical and technical aspects of your work – alongside additional help from staff and peers across LCC - you’ll develop your self-directed project in an identified and agreed area of specialist practice. You may decide to explore practical and social challenges in areas such as: the role of design in civic management, the Climate Crisis, social change, information design and visualisation, health and social care, accessibility, education, and urban life.  

Learning and teaching methods

All elements of this course wil be taught online through:

  • Workshops
  • Demonstrations
  • Group discussions
  • Tutorials
  • Synchronous online discussion and image forums
  • Student/Tutor Presentations
  • Set and self-initiated project work
  • Research and development techniques
  • Asynchronous online materials.

Facilities

  • A close-up of the moveable type available in the Letterpress area.
    Image © Lewis Bush

    Printing and Finishing

    Discover our printing techniques, from Lithographic Printing to Print Finishing and Bookbinding.

  • A tutor in the process of producing a print.
    Image © Lewis Bush

    Printmaking

    This workshop offers a wide-range of expertise in everything from etching to lithography.

  • Library Services at London College of Communication, LCC

    Library Services

    We have a whole range of collections, services and facilities to support your written and practice-based work. Find library locations and opening times across UAL.

  • Student reading a book in between two bookshelves in the Library
    Students in the Digital Space. London College of Communication, UAL. Photograph: Alys Tomlinson

    The Digital Space

    The Digital Space is an open-plan, creative hub with computers set up with specialist software.

Staff

Fees and funding

Home fee

£3,560

This fee is correct for 2024/25 entry and is subject to change for 2025/26 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£7,620

This fee is correct for 2024/25 entry and is subject to change for 2025/26 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

Scholarship search

Entry requirements

You must have completed and passed the PG Diploma in Design for Visual Communication within the past 3 years.

The MA unit will be made based on the following selection criteria:

  • Successful completion of the PG Diploma Design for Visual Communication, with 120 credits 
  • IELTS score of 6.5 (or equivalent) with a minimum of 5.5 in each of the four skills 


The application must consist of: 

  • A study proposal which should include an outlined timeline and project objectives, and detail opportunities for research and collaboration.
  • The study proposal should be a visual .pdf presentation document with supportive comments on how you intend to develop and progress.
  • Your Study Proposal must be a designed, visual, A4 landscape presentation document saved in a PDF (.pdf) format. It should also feature supportive comments throughout the document (500-750 words) on how you intend to develop your project, along with your methodology.

Selection criteria

Applicants are expected to demonstrate: 

  • Demonstration of self-direction, an eagerness to experiment and engage in new ideas and a confidence to explore them in applied contexts consummate with MA level study 
  • Enthusiasm to further develop specialist practice and contribute original knowledge to design and visual communication through active engagement with their peers and collaborators or partners

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Decision outcome

Round 1:

End of March 2024

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)
3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
End of June 2024

All applications received by 3 April will be treated equally. If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Read more about deadlines

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Decision outcome

Round 1:

End of March 2024

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)
3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
End of June 2024

All applications received by 3 April will be treated equally. If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Read more about deadlines

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How to apply

Follow this step-by-step guide to apply for this course

Step 1: Initial application

You will need to submit an initial application including your personal statement, CV and study proposal.

Personal statement advice

Your personal statement should be maximum 500 words and include:

  • your reasons for choosing the course
  • your current creative practice and how this course will help you achieve your future plans
  • any relevant education and experience, especially if you do not have any formal academic qualifications.

Visit our personal statement page for more advice.

CV advice

Please provide a CV detailing your education, qualifications and any relevant work or voluntary experience. If you have any web projects or other media that you would like to share, please include links in your CV. If English is not your first language, please also include your most recent English language test score.

Study proposal advice

Please provide a summary of your study proposal (300-500 words).

It should:

  • follow the guidance set out in the study proposal guidance book
  • outline your intentions for your major project in your chosen field of visual communication and design research. It can be a development of a previous Diploma project or a new area of enquiry.
  • describe your area of enquiry, research methods and objectives as well as how you intend to develop your project
  • outline your projected timeline · include any potential collaboration opportunities
  • be an A4 landscape presentation that illustrates your applied skills in design aesthetics and structure
  • be saved and uploaded as a PDF.

Please note, your proposal serves to inform your application and we understand that your ideas will develop and change throughout your studies.

You also need to know

Communicating with you

Once you have submitted your initial application, we will email you with your login details for our Applicant portal.

Requests for supplementary documents like qualifications and English language tests will be made through the applicant portal. You can also use it to ask questions regarding your application. Visit our After you apply page for more information.

Applying to more than 1 course

You can apply for more than 1 postgraduate course at UAL but we recommend that you apply for no more than 3 courses. You need to tailor your application, supporting documents and portfolio to each course, so applying for many different courses could risk the overall quality of your application. If you receive offers for multiple courses, you'll only be able to accept 1 offer. UAL doesn't accept repeat applications to the same course in the same academic year.

Visas and immigration history check

All non-UK nationals must complete an immigration history check. Your application may be considered by our course teams before this check takes place. This means that we may request your portfolio and/or video task before we identify any issues arising from your immigration history check. Sometimes your history may mean that we are not able to continue considering your application. Visit our Immigration and visas advice page for more information.

External student transfer policy

UAL accepts transfers from other institutions on a case-by-case basis. Read our Student transfer policy for more information.

Alternative offers

If your application is really strong, but we believe your strengths and skillset are better suited to a different course, we may make you an alternative offer. This means you will be offered a place on a different course or at a different UAL College.

Deferring your place

We do not accept any deferral requests for our postgraduate courses. This means that you must apply in the year that you plan to start your course and you will not be able to defer your place to start at a later date.

Application deadlines

For postgraduate courses at UAL there are 2 equal consideration deadlines to ensure fairness for all our applicants. If you apply ahead of either of these deadlines, your application will be considered on an equal basis with all other applications in that round. If there are places available after the second deadline, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Careers

Students have gone on to find employment within high profile agencies, they have progressed to work as art directors, senior designers, creative directors in areas such as interaction, branding, exhibition, editorial and information design.

Graduates of the course have gone on to work at:

  • Signal Noise
  • Browns
  • SEA Design
  • Interbrand
  • Pentagram