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- BA (Hons) Illustration
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BA (Hons) Illustration
- Duration: 3–5 years full-time
- Placement year: Optional 1 year
- Course code: W220 (UCAS)
- Institution code: A66 (UCAS)
BA (Hons) Illustration course information
On BA (Hons) Illustration, you'll learn to experiment, test, and develop your work through the diverse world of illustrative practices in our studio environments.
In our dynamic studio environments, you’ll learn to experiment, test and develop your illustration practice. You can explore a range of processes and strategies from drawing, painting, and printmaking, towards photographic image, digital painting and image, moving image and motion graphics, CGI, interactive media and more!
Integrated Foundation year
On BA (Hons) Illustration, you have the option to take a specialised Integrated Foundation Year, or Year 0.
The Integrated Foundation year allows you to explore and develop your skills and knowledge at an introductory level, gaining a better understanding of what the subject area has to offer before joining the degree.
Placement year
All undergraduate courses at AUB offer an optional placement year, to be taken between your second and third years of study.
If you’re unsure about this optional placement, you don’t need to decide now. Once you’re here and studying with us, the course team will discuss the placement options with you, so when the time comes, you can make a decision that’s right for you.
Exchange and international summer programmes
Students on BA (Hons) Illustration have the chance to broaden their horizons through exciting exchange and international summer programmes. These opportunities allow you to study abroad at one of our brilliant partner institutions, experience different cultures, and enhance your academic journey.
Level 4 (first year)
Level 4 is all about experimentation and taking creative risks as you're introduced to the diversity of illustration.
The emphasis is on learning through gaining practical experience and critical reflection, in order to form your own unique visual vocabulary. You’ll attend workshops led by our dynamic group of tutors, as well as visiting lecturers with expertise in specialist areas.
You'll undertake independent learning to help you develop ideas and outcomes through ongoing studio practice. You’ll test and discuss your ideas during tutorials and group critiques and benefit from regular formative feedback.
We encourage you to undertake independent research, evaluating and analysing your findings in relation to your Illustration practice.
Level 5 (second year)
At Level 5, your practice will become increasingly independent and critically reflective. You’ll develop a critical understanding of key concepts and principles. You'll consolidate your practice as developed through Level 4, with the addition of deeper technical and conceptual enquiry.
Level 5 units give you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the eclectic nature of image-making through exploring the synergy between traditional and digital modes. In doing so, we encourage you to challenge the parameters of your illustration practice.
You’ll be supported in the challenge of articulating your ideas through core strategies and concepts as they relate to audience and illustrative practices. In this process of further consolidation, you'll be encouraged to push the boundaries as they relate to your own developing practice. You will utilise your own bespoke technical framework, incorporating aspects as far ranging as printmaking to computer generated image The focus of this framework is dependent on the individual practitioner and the necessity of their practice.
In this exploration of the evolving contents for illustration and the individual place of your practice, you’ll learn the professional skills that provide the foundation for the development of an independent, audience-aware practice, ready for Level 6 study.
Level 6 (third year)
At Level 6 the emphasis is on professionalism, ambition and innovation. With the support of your tutors, you’ll be encouraged to manage your own practice, set your own goals and move into a position where you can solidify a post-degree context for your work.
Through the first part of your Level 6 experience, you’ll identify the subject matter and contexts that influence and position your practice. You'll be encouraged and supported with locating your work within an external audience; considering the possibilities of what you do as sustainable post-degree practice.
The decisions you make and the direction you discover will then be developed, tested and refined within the Major Project and Professional Practice units.
You'll be encouraged to relate your research and learning to your professional aspirations, to develop your own bespoke post-degree creative strategy. With this goal in mind, you’ll be supported in building a portfolio of work in specific awareness of your own potential career opportunities within the creative industries.
APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN
Now that you've found the perfect course, it's time to apply.
Check out our handy 'how to apply' guide and our portfolio top tips.
OPEN DAYS
Open Days are a great way to get a feel for undergraduate life at AUB. At an Open Day, you'll be able to explore the campus, talk to course teams and discover our industry-standard facilities.
Visit us on:
- 6 December
- 10 January
AUB SHOWCASE
We're proud of our alumni, and rightfully so.
Explore the incredible work of our graduates in our online AUB Showcase.
Browse work by course, student or theme.
Teaching, learning and assessment
Learning is through intellectual enquiry, research and practice. The course outcomes are met by deploying a wide variety of teaching and learning methods supervised by members of the team, visiting support staff, practitioners and consultants from industry.
Each unit is assessed separately, and the assessment forms part of the unit. Assessment both provides a measure of your achievement, and also gives you regular feedback on how your learning is developing.
In consultation with the Course Leader, Level Leaders are responsible for co-ordinating individual units of study, and for selecting appropriate methods of delivery according to subject matter and the student experience.
The study time allocated to each unit in the course incorporates a balance of formal teaching, tutorial support and independent learning.
Theoretical, contextual, studio and professional practices are embedded within all units. This integration dissolves the artificial barriers between these forms of engagement, such as recognising theory in making, allowing you to fully realise your potential and truly understand the rich relationship between these elements of practice.
The course is structured progressively to provide increased opportunities for independent learning as you reach the later stages of the course. The promotion of independent learning reflects your anticipated maturity as a student and allows you to direct your learning towards individual goals.
Importance is placed upon you acquiring the skills to be able to learn independently and to develop a critical awareness. This is facilitated through a variety of learning and teaching methods such as tutorials, group critiques, discussion groups, peer learning activity, projects, lectures, workshops, seminars, study visits, demonstrations, skills-based workshops, educational visits, on-site learning, ‘live projects’, learning agreements, exhibition and group presentation.
Contact hours include all scheduled teaching sessions, but also supervised time in the workshop or studio. In line with national guidance, we include in our calculation of contact hours all the time which is scheduled in the studio for independent study which is also supported by staff (either academic staff, or technicians).
The information provided below gives the proportion of your study time which constitutes contact hours. Where there are optional routes through the course, we have used the figures for the most popular option.
For every unit of your course, we'll inform you of what you're expected to learn; what you have to submit; how your work will be assessed; and the deadline for presenting your work for assessment. This is made available through Unit Information, which is on your course blog.
You'll receive a final mark for each unit in the form of a percentage, which will be recorded on your formal record of achievement (transcript). Each component of assessment is graded using a notched marking scale, whereby only certain marks are used within each grade. The only marks available within any ten-point band are *2, *5 and *8 (e.g. 62, 65, 68). These marks correspond to a low, mid, and high level of achievement within each grade band.
All learning outcomes must be passed to successfully complete the unit.
On successful completion of your Honours degree course, you'll be awarded a degree classification based on your unit marks. The final classification is determined using all unit marks at Levels 5 and 6 using two different algorithms, which are detailed in the HE Student Regulations. If the two algorithms produce different results, you'll be awarded the higher class of degree.
If you have joined Level 6 through either the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) route or having completed a Foundation Degree (FdA), the final classification is determined using only your unit marks at Level 6.
For further information on assessment, progression, awards and classifications, please visit viewpoint.aub.ac.uk.