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Postgraduate

MA Graphic Design Communication


MA Graphic Design Communication, Camberwell College of Arts, UAL
College
Camberwell College of Arts Start date
September 2023 Course length
15 months (full time)

MA Graphic Design Communication at Camberwell College of Arts encourages a broad and diverse approach to thinking and practice. This helps you shape engaging and imaginative design solutions through material, media, technologies and systems of public engagement.

Course overview

MA Graphic Design Communication at Camberwell aims to align current social and cultural issues alongside emerging design practices. It will provide you an introduction to the debates and methodologies that are at the forefront of contemporary design. You will learn how to challenge and expand this knowledge within your personal design practice.

These 3 themes frame the course:

  1. Proximities and Encounters – devising and creating interactions, transitions, and encounters within new and familiar sites of practice;
     
  2. Mobilising the Studio – discourses and practices around co-created knowledge as a consequence of designers becoming mobile;
     
  3. Materiality and the Post Real – considers new definitions of materiality arising through hybrid forms and the impact this has on lived experience).

The course will enable you to become an advanced thinker and versatile practitioner. You will be a designer with the ability to respond to both familiar and unfamiliar challenges.

What to expect

  • A practice led course underpinned by critical design thinking and exploration
  • To work in a variety of spaces in proximity to technicians, subject experts and your peers
  • To contribute to a community of peer learners at master's level with emphasis on the collaborative study components and tasks of the course
  • To study themes in contemporary design practice and discourse including habitable and material worlds, environmental ecologies, new desires, aesthetics and the exchange between digital and material cultures
  • To develop a rigorous design process. This will provide you with the means to use critical thinking, shape materials and forms, generate and communicate content, develop prototypes and engage with audience testing
  • Access to library and special collection resources, shared studios and exhibition spaces
  • To seek knowledge from tutors, college wide lectures, UAL postgraduate community events and London’s cultural industries
  • To have access to Camberwell's shared workshops that include printmaking, photography, film, moving image, digital, plastic, ceramics, wood and metalwork. View the Camberwell facilities

Mode of study

MA Graphic Design Communication is offered in full-time mode and runs for 45 weeks over 15 months. You will be expected to commit an average of 40 hours per week to your course, including teaching hours and independent study.

Contact us

Register your interest to receive information and updates about studying at UAL.

Contact us to make an enquiry.

Course units

Unit 1 - Exploring emergent design contexts and practices

This unit is an introduction to your course, the college and the university.

  • Inductions to learning resources and workshops
  • To be introduced to the 4 key elements of the course - research folder, portfolio of practice, study proposal and critical writing
  • To develop your observational, research and analytical skills
  • To be introduced to critical thinking within design-based practice
  • To be introduced to research methods in design which considers the role, purpose, structure and process of research. 
  • To look at the impact social, cultural, ethical and economic factors have studio on graphic communication design
  • To submit work in progress including an annotated bibliography and a 1,500-word project proposal
  • To be introduced to the three research themes: Proximities and Encounters, Mobilising the Studio, and Materiality and the Post Real

Unit 2 - Developing a design framework: critical and practical

In this unit you will start to build your individual project proposal. It will be a period of creative exploration and academic discovery.

  • To look at existing and emerging design theory and practice
  • To develop a design framework from which to work from
  • To contribute to a working peer group identified by a shared theme
  • To be able to communicate how you situate your practice in relation to other practitioners
  • To formulate a clear direction for you practice and writing
  • To take part in cross MA Design courses collaborations and learning opportunities
  • To submit work in progress and a 3000-word document

Unit 3 - Designing modes for communication and engagement

The final unit of the course will focus on the production and dissemination of your personal project appropriate to the specialist audience and context you have chosen. Additionally, the shared MA Design courses graduate event at the end of the course requires you to organise, design and celebrate the communications of your new design ideas to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

  • To refine your outcomes in relation to a specific audience
  • To consider the terms communication, engagement, interaction and participation
  • To present work at the graduate end of year event
  • To submit a professional statement, a resolved body of work, a design publication and a 5000-6000-word document

Note: 120 Credits must be passed before the final unit is undertaken.

Learning and teaching methods

  • Collaborative field work and practice
  • Design briefs
  • Independent research and practice
  • Individual and group tutorials
  • Workshops
  • Peer group feedback
  • Self-initiated project briefs
  • Talks, lectures and seminars
  • Technical support and courses

Student work

  • Chelsea-MA-Graphic-Design-Communication-Juhi-Vishnani-1860.jpg
    Repositioning the role of print publications in India - Juhi Vishnani - MA Graphic Design Communication
  • Chelsea-MA-Graphic-Design-Communication-Sean-Murphy-2-1860.jpg
    Sean Murphy - MA Graphic Design Communication
  • Chelsea-MA-Graphic-Design-Communication-Christian-Witternigg.jpg
    Data driven installation - Christian Witternigg - MA Graphic Design Communication
  • Chelsea-MA-Graphic-Design-Communication-Xiyuan-Chen.jpg
    Discrete messaging within community locations - Xiyuan Chen - MA Graphic Design Communication
  • Chelsea-MA-Graphic-Design-Communication-2-text-experiments.jpg
    Typographic diary
    MA Graphic Design Communication, Camberwell College of Arts, UAL

Ellis van der Does

Yanenxi Hu

Ayuko Tanaka

Chenghao Lee

Staff

Technical staff

Fees and funding

Home fee

£12,700

This fee is correct for 2023/24 entry and is subject to change for 2024/25 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

£25,970

This fee is correct for 2023/24 entry and is subject to change for 2024/25 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.

Students from countries outside of the UK will generally be charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about tuition fees and determining your fee status.

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Entry requirements

The standard minimum entry requirements for this course are:

  • BA (Hons) degree or equivalent academic qualifications
  • Alternative qualifications and experience will also be taken into consideration
  • Personal statement - within the personal statement you should discuss your professional and academic background. You should provide a clear explanation of your goals whilst on the course and afterwards, and how the course is suited to supporting these goals. This statement should address one of the 3 research themes. Limit your statement to 500 words
  • Portfolio of work

Each application will be considered on its own merit, but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case.

Entry to this course will also be determined by the quality of your application, looking primarily at your portfolio of work and personal statement.

APEL - Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning

Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:

  • Related academic or work experience
  • The quality of the personal statement
  • A strong academic or other professional reference
  • A combination of these factors

English language requirements

All classes are taught in English. If English is not your first language you must provide evidence at enrolment of the following:

Selection criteria

We look for:

  • Evidence of creative, expressive and analytical responses to projects
  • A willingness to explore graphic design communication beyond traditional thinking and practice
  • An eagerness to utilise the university MA community as part of personal creative and professional development
  • Sufficiently strong verbal and written skills to fully participate in the course
  • An understanding of how context informs practice in a variety of ways, and a willingness to progress this knowledge and associated skill set

Apply now

Home International

Apply

Home students apply by direct application.

Apply

Personal statement

This should be about 500 words long and include:

  • Your reasons for choosing the course, specifically what attracts you to the research themes which the course offers.
  • Your current creative practice and your goals to develop this during the MA and beyond.
  • Any relevant education and experience if formal academic qualifications are not included in this application.

Portfolio advice

  • A maximum of 30 pages showing a range of project topics or contexts of work.
  • Evidence of exploration and research processes with written notes explaining the direction taken and feedback from peers.
  • Prototypes, material testing, technique choices; the development of your studio knowledge.
  • Selective supporting art and design references used for the projects showing your personal vision and passion for the subject.
  • Final project outcomes commenting on your new learning/discoveries.

For more support, please visit our Portfolio advice page and PebblePad advice page.

Video task

  • We'd like you to submit a 2-3 minute video to help us learn more about you
  • Please speak clearly in English and face the camera
  • Your video task is submitted along with your portfolio. Read our guidance for how to submit your video task and which file types we accept

As part of your video task please respond to the following questions:

What examples of graphic design communication practice are emerging in your country that move away from the limits of traditional commercial practice? Find one example and describe the new concept (45 seconds). Discuss how it influences your practice (60 seconds).

What happens next

Communicating with you

After you’ve submitted your application, you’ll receive a confirmation email providing you with your login details for the UAL Portal. We’ll use this portal to contact you to request any additional information, including inviting you to upload documents or book an interview, so please check it regularly.

Initial application check and selection

We check your application to see if you meet the standard entry requirements for the course. If you do, you will be invited to submit a digital portfolio through UAL’s online portfolio review system. These will be reviewed by the academic team.

Following the review of the digital portfolio, a small number of applicants will progress to the interview stage. All interviews are held online and last 15 to 20 minutes. For support with your interview, visit our Interview tips page.

How we notify you of the outcome of your application

You will receive the final outcome of your application through the UAL portal.

Applicants for this course may be given an alternative offer. This decision will be based on our assessment of your creative and potential interests.

Feedback requests:

If you would like to request feedback please contact us through the UAL Portal using the Contact Us button in your My Application(s) tab.

Deferring your place

Read our Admissions Policy for details, and request your deferral by contacting us through the UAL Portal using the Contact Us button in your My Application(s) tab.

Transfers

If you are currently studying at another institution and if you have successfully completed 60 credits in the equivalent units/modules on your current postgraduate course and wish to continue your studies at Camberwell College of Arts, you can apply to transfer. The Admissions Tutor will consider applications on a case by case basis, subject to places being available. You must apply directly to the course via the course webpage as early as possible. Please check our Student Transfer Policy for more important information and be ready to provide us with your current course handbook and transcripts.

Please be ready to provide an official document (translated into English if necessary) from your current university, explaining the learning outcomes of the units you have completed.

Application deadline

19 December 2022 and 3 April 2023

For postgraduate courses at UAL there are 2 rounds of applications. This is to ensure equal consideration and fairness for all of our applicants. You must apply for 19 December 2022 for Round 1 or by 3 April 2023 for Round 2.

The round 1 deadline has been changed to 19 December to give you more time to make your application.

When you'll hear from us

If this course requires a digital portfolio as part of the application process, we will contact you to invite you to submit this through UAL’s online submission tool, PebblePad. For Round 1 applications, you will need to submit your portfolio by 9 January 2023 at the latest and by 20 April 2023 for Round 2.

This course receives a high volume of applications. We need to make sure that we give all applications equal consideration, so the course team will review them in 2 rounds, after each application deadline date. This means you won’t hear from us about the outcome of your application until after the relevant application deadline date. Outcomes for Round 1 will be released by (at the latest) end of March and outcomes for Round 2 will be released by end of June 2023.

Remember to check the outcome of your application in the UAL Portal. If you apply in Round 1 and don’t hear back from us, we will consider your application within Round 2.

Find out more about what happens after you apply.

Apply

There are 2 ways international students can apply to a postgraduate course:

Apply

Read our immigration and visa information to find out if you need a visa to study at UAL.

You can only apply to the same course once per year. Any duplicate applications will be withdrawn. Read the UAL international application advice for further information on how to apply.

Personal statement

This should be about 500 words long and include:

  • Your reasons for choosing the course, specifically what attracts you to the research themes which the course offers.
  • Your current creative practice and your goals to develop this during the MA and beyond.
  • Any relevant education and experience if formal academic qualifications are not included in this application.

Portfolio advice

  • A maximum of 30 pages showing a range of project topics or contexts of work.
  • Evidence of exploration and research processes with written notes explaining the direction taken and feedback from peers.
  • Prototypes, material testing, technique choices; the development of your studio knowledge.
  • Selective supporting art and design references used for the projects showing your personal vision and passion for the subject.
  • Final project outcomes commenting on your new learning/discoveries.

For more support, please visit our Portfolio advice page and PebblePad advice page.

Video task

  • We'd like you to submit a 2-3 minute video to help us learn more about you
  • Please speak clearly in English and face the camera
  • Your video task is submitted along with your portfolio. Read our guidance for how to submit your video task and which file types we accept

As part of your video task please respond to the following questions:

What examples of graphic design communication practice are emerging in your country that move away from the limits of traditional commercial practice? Find one example and describe the new concept (45 seconds). Discuss how it influences your practice (60 seconds).

What happens next

Communicating with you

After you’ve submitted your application, you’ll receive a confirmation email providing you with your login details for the UAL Portal. We’ll use this portal to contact you to request any additional information, including inviting you to upload documents or book an interview, so please check it regularly.

Initial application check and selection

We check your application to see if you meet the standard entry requirements for the course. If you do, you will be invited to submit a digital portfolio through UAL’s online portfolio review system. These will be reviewed by the academic team.

Following the review of the digital portfolio, a small number of applicants will progress to the interview stage. All interviews are held online and last 15 to 20 minutes. For support with your interview, visit our Interview tips page.

How we notify you of the outcome of your application

You will receive the final outcome of your application through the UAL portal.

Applicants for this course may be given an alternative offer. This decision will be based on our assessment of your creative and potential interests.

Feedback requests:

If you would like to request feedback please contact us through the UAL Portal using the Contact Us button in your My Application(s) tab.

Deferring your place

Read our Admissions Policy for details, and request your deferral by contacting us through the UAL Portal using the Contact Us button in your My Application(s) tab.

Transfers

If you are currently studying at another institution and if you have successfully completed 60 credits in the equivalent units/modules on your current postgraduate course and wish to continue your studies at Camberwell College of Arts, you can apply to transfer. The Admissions Tutor will consider applications on a case by case basis, subject to places being available. You must apply directly to the course via the course webpage as early as possible. Please check our Student Transfer Policy for more important information and be ready to provide us with your current course handbook and transcripts.

Please be ready to provide an official document (translated into English if necessary) from your current university, explaining the learning outcomes of the units you have completed.

Application deadline

19 December 2022 and 3 April 2023

For postgraduate courses at UAL there are 2 rounds of applications. This is to ensure equal consideration and fairness for all of our applicants. You must apply for 19 December 2022 for Round 1 or by 3 April 2023 for Round 2.

We recommend you submit your application as early as possible before these deadlines to allow the Admissions team to resolve any initial queries about your application as quickly as possible.

When you'll hear from us

This course receives a high volume of applications. We need to make sure that we give all applications equal consideration, so the course team will review them in two rounds. This means that offers won’t be sent to successful applicants until after the relevant application deadline date. Outcomes for Round 1 will be released by 31 March 2022 and outcomes for Round 2 will be released by 30 June 2022.

Remember to check the outcome of your application in the UAL Portal. If you apply in Round 1 and don’t hear back from us, we will consider your application within Round 2.

Find out more about what happens after you apply.

Careers

Many graduates are employed in interdisciplinary design studios and as senior designers in graphic and communication design companies. Graduates have also founded their own design studios working across digital environments and physical spaces as well as specialist publishing and new forms of graphic content.

Alumni

  • André Arruda - Partner, Papanapa, São Paulo, Brazil
  • Ana-Maria Grigoriu - Co-founder LOOT studio, Bucharest, Romania
  • Mayuko Hari - Art Director, Grey Advertising, New York, United States of America
  • Alistair Owen - Senior Designer, Forth, London

Find out how careers and employability helps our students and graduates start their careers.

Camberwell College of Arts

Contact

Telephone

+44 (0)20 7514 6302
Address
Camberwell College of Arts
45 - 65 Peckham Road
London
SE5 8UF