Graphic Design BA (Hons) Canterbury

In your final year, you’ll undertake a self-directed research and design project and will create your final major project.

You’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with your fellow students to present your work, preparing you for a career in industry.

We also offer Year 3 as a top-up year through the internal progression arrangement for students from the Barking & Dagenham Foundation Degree course. It's also open to students from other courses and circumstances, as long as you meet the entry requirements. Please contact us for further details.

Critical Research and Practice
This unit involves the research, development, and construction of a self-directed research and design project. This will take into account your knowledge, understanding, skills, experience and interests that you have gained over the duration of the course. Here, the theoretical and practical are entirely intertwined and you will be encouraged to develop an experimental approach, employing research to inform practice, and practice to inform your research, so that you develop an original and innovative approach to both.

Major Project
You will research, develop and realise a major self-initiated project of your own choosing. You'll draw up a written project proposal which effectively and succinctly communicates the key elements of your conceptual, technical, aesthetic and theoretical concerns and intentions. Then, you'll produce a body of work which demonstrates a high level of maturity through its clarity and focus and the synthesis of previously learned practical and theoretical knowledge. You'll also present your work, and this will open up opportunities to collaborate with others, if appropriate.

This course offers the opportunity to study abroad for part of your second year. To find out more about studying abroad as part of your course please see the Study Abroad section:

• Study abroad information

Tuition fees
The course fees per year for September 2021 and February 2022 entry are:

• UK students - £9,250 
• EU students - £9,250 (see fee discount information)
• International students - £16,950 (standard fee)
• International students - £16,270 (full early payment fee)

Additional course costs

In addition to the tuition fees please see the additional course costs for September 2021 and February 2022 entry. 

Further information

Find out more about our course fees and any financial support you may be entitled to:

• UK course fees
• International & EU course fees
• General additional costs for students

These fees are correct for the stated academic year only. Costs may increase each year during a student’s period of continued registration on course in line with inflation (subject to any maximum regulated tuition fee limit). Any adjustment for continuing students will be at or below the RPI-X forecast rate.

With a staff of experienced professional designers, our course enjoys strong links with respected names across the industry.

Calling on our connections, we have a full programme of visiting designers and lecturers that give valuable insight into Industry and professional practice such as recent guests Bob and Roberta Smith, Le Gun and Why not Associates.

Studying Graphic Design with us will give you a highly transferable set of skills which are desirable across a broad range of creative industries.

Many of our graduates have landed exciting, fulfilling positions, including:

• Graphic and packaging designers
• Art directors
• Picture editors
• Information designers
• App developers
• Web and broadcast designers.

You may also like to consider further study at postgraduate level.

The standard entry requirements* for this course are:

One of the following:

• 112 new UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
• Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
• Distinction, Merit, Merit at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
• Merit at UAL Extended Diploma
• 112 new UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
• 27-30 total points in the International Baccalaureate Diploma with at least 15 IB points at Higher level, see more information about IB entry requirements.

And four GCSE passes at grade A*-C and/or grade 4-9 including English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2).

Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.

*We occasionally make offers which are lower than the standard entry criteria, to students who have faced difficulties that have affected their performance and who were expected to achieve higher results. We consider the strength of our applicants’ portfolios, as well as their grades -  in these cases, a strong portfolio is especially important.

To view the equivalent entry requirements for your country please select it in the list below.

• Non-UK equivalent qualifications
• English language requirements

For this course, you’ll be required to submit an online portfolio via your UCA Applicant Portal. We’d like to assess your creative potential, so your portfolio should include completed project work, sketchbooks or blogs and other preparatory or process work, printed outputs, and screen-based work. Further information on how to compile and upload your portfolio will be provided once you have applied. If you receive an offer, you’ll be invited to attend an Offer Holder Webinar where you can meet the course team and learn more about the course.

More portfolio advice