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This is a four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Graphic Design course, with an integrated foundation year. Excel as a creative visual thinker. Impress with your abilities to communicate with audiences. Become a highly professional presence in the world of graphic design.
Our passionate and highly experienced staff understand how to nurture talent and are dedicated to building your confidence, knowledge, and design skills that'll help you to succeed within the creative industries. We have fantastic facilities, award-winning students and alumni, and a focus on employability and cutting-edge professional skills.
The Graphic Design team combine teaching with professional practice in a variety of fields including graphic design, branding, illustration, exhibition and experience design, editorial, print, web and mobile interface, packaging, 3D (digital/physical/Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality), animation, and motion graphics. Each bring their industry insights and experience directly into teaching and, when coupled with influential guest speakers, enriches your student experience and ensures that the course meets the needs of an exciting and dynamic industry.
In the first year – the foundation year – you'll study five modules. After completion of this foundation year, you'll then move onto the Graphic Design honours degree course.
Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, group work, and e-learning. We encourage you to develop independent study skills. You'll also have opportunities to present ideas to other students and develop concepts within groups. Teaching takes advantage of the University’s specialist computer laboratories.
We don’t currently display entry requirements for United States. Please contact the Student Admin team on studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk or 0191 515 3154.
Entry requirements are provided for guidance only and we may offer you an entrance interview which will help us determine your eligibility for your chosen degree. This enables us to consider making you an offer if you're perhaps a mature student who's been out of education for a period of time, or you've gained significant knowledge and skills through employment rather than traditional education.
Eligible entry qualifications:
If you're unsure of whether you think you might be suitable for the course, please contact us.
**If you've studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade, you'll need to achieve a grade 4 or above. Equivalent alternative qualifications are also accepted, such as Level 2 Key Skills in Communication and Application of Number.
If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.
The annual fee for this course is £9,535 if you're from the UK/Ireland/EU settled/pre-settled.
Undergraduate fees are set according to rules from Government in line with forecast inflation. The fee for your first year of study for 2025/26 will be £9,535. You will pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.
If you're a full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled student, you may be eligible to receive financial support to cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan.
Please note, this course isn't available to international students.
Learn more about settled status, pre-settled status, special discounts, visa requirements, and Common Travel Area (CTA) agreements for the Republic of Ireland applicants in our Help and Advice article.
Take a look at the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.
This information was correct at the time of publication.
Throughout the course, we'll support you to launch your design career. You'll develop a creative and industry-ready portfolio, access work placements, attend employability days, and put your designs on show to the public.
On modules such as ‘Graphic Design and Professional Practice', you'll also receive valuable advice on a variety of work-related topics. These range from costing and business plans to going freelance, self-promotion, self-employment, enterprise, careers, networking, and copyright issues.
You'll also develop a professional engagement document. This highlights all your self-development activities and engagement with industry, as well as other factors that give you an edge compared to other graduates.
Our graduates have gone on to work all over the globe in graphic design, editorial, infographics, motion graphics, advertising, web, packaging, and interactive design. Our graduates boast employment at Everything Different, Ordinance Survey, MTV, Sitel Group, Newcastle Football Club, Sports Direct, Initials Marketing, Cravens, Blumilk, Frontier (games), and SEGA. Most work in the creative industries of publishing, design consultancies, and advertising design, while others prefer self-employment.
This creative degree can also open doors into many other careers, such as teaching, or further study to master's or doctorate level.
We encourage you to participate in competitions and award schemes including those run by the Design and Art Directors Association (of which we are a corporate member). Such competitions are part of building up a compelling creative portfolio.
In your final year, you'll display your work at our annual Degree Show, attended by industry experts and potential employers. You may also have the opportunity to take your work to London.
In addition, our academic team organises visits to arts venues across the UK and in cities such as Edinburgh, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, and New York. Our London campus hosts a visit each year, providing access to the varied museums and galleries and opportunities to visit studios such as JRK Global, Anyways, and Ogilvy.
We hold specific ‘employability days’ to help give our students that essential cutting edge. We invite graduates and employers to come into the University in order to look at student portfolios and give advice.
Through our links with industry, we also attract professionals in graphic design to come in and give talks throughout the year. These help you gain valuable insights and contacts in the world of work. Our creative spaces and conferences attract acclaimed guest speakers from across the design world, such as Andy Altmann (Why Not Associates) and Andy Sandoz, an honorary graduate and former president of the internationally influential Design and Art Direction. To find out more about our guest speakers visit Creative Lives.
Creative Industries Week gives everyone in the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries the opportunity to participate in a range of projects, workshops, talks, industry visits, and career events. This exciting week encourages interdisciplinary working and broadens your experience to build your confidence and help develop your career path.