MA Design

Follow a chosen design discipline, including Animation, Fashion, Games Art, Graphics, and Illustration.

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A close up of a student designing an animation on Wacom Cintiq screen

Start date/study mode:

Course codeCID156

Duration1 year

Fee(s)View fees

LocationOn campus

Course summary

MA Design is a flexible postgraduate course ideal for creative professionals and design graduates looking to deepen their skills, refine their portfolio, and expand career opportunities in the design industry.

Whether your background is in animation, graphics, illustration, fashion, or games art, this course allows you to tailor your studies to your creative interests. You’ll work on self-directed projects supported by expert tutors and industry standard facilities, developing both practical and critical design skills.

You’ll join a diverse community of designers and benefit from a collaborative studio environment, engaging with contemporary design practice and theory. The course supports progression into a range of careers, such as graphic design, illustration, motion design, UX/UI, and creative direction or further study at PhD level.

If you're already working in a creative field or looking to break into the industry, this MA offers a strong platform for professional growth and innovation.

What you'll study

Many of our courses include a range of modules you can choose from. Some of these options may only be available if you’ve already studied specific required modules. If you’re not sure what you need before picking a module, your course leader can help.

Postgraduate module credits should total 180. If optional modules are available alongside core modules on your course, you should choose an amount that totals 180 credits.

How you'll learn

Compared to an undergraduate course, you'll find that this MA course requires a higher level of independent working. The course aims to stretch your creativity and maximise your sense of personal fulfilment.

You'll be taught via lectures and seminars, with regular weekly one-to-one or group feedback. There are also additional workshops, demonstrations and external speakers to fully enrich your learning.

You can express your learnings in a multitude of ways. We use a range of assessment methods including critical essays, presentations, evaluation reports, research journals, and practical work via different forms of visual communication (depending on the pathway that you choose).

Entry requirements

We usually require a good honours degree (2:1 or above) in a design-related discipline such as graphics, illustration, animation, or digital media. You may also be considered if you have relevant experience and can demonstrate your suitability for the course.

Portfolio requirements

We'd like to see evidence of your creative potential. You'll be expected to prepare a portfolio of your creative work which shows what you have done so far and what interests you. We're not looking for perfection as we appreciate you're still developing work.

Your portfolio should be a PowerPoint presentation, ZIP file or links to websites or videos. Here are some of our top tips:

Remember it's about quality not quantity – aim for between 10-20 pieces of your work.
Display a range of styles and techniques.
Show us work completed in or outside of your studies.
Include ideas that didn't work.
Demonstrate your research, for example, design sheets or sketchbooks/scrapbooks of things that inspire you.
Include photographs of 3D or large 2D work.
We also like to see uncompleted or work in progress.

If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.

If you're studying at a study centre, please contact the centre directly for more information on their specific requirements and equivalent qualifications from outside the UK.

Fees and finance support

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See all course tuition fees.

If you're studying at a study centre, please contact the centre directly for information on fees.

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Start date/study mode:

UK students

Full-time October 2026
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International students

Full-time October 2026
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Disclaimer

We want to make sure you have clear and accurate information about our courses. Our website always shows the latest updates. If you’ve applied and been offered a place, we’ll contact you in writing if anything important changes.

View our programme specifications(opens in new tab) for further information about what the course covers, learning outcomes and the skills you'll gain when you graduate.