You should hold at least a 2.2 Bachelors degree with honours.
The MA in Illustration gives you the opportunity to navigate your practice within a supportive creative community, build confidence in your work, develop visual storytelling skills and succeed with a sustainable creative profession.
You'll have access to excellent creative facilities and your own studio space to question, challenge and explore your image-making skills.
Underpinning the course is visual storytelling, as well as practice-as-research. Students are encouraged to take their work in their own idiosyncratic directions. There is no predetermined outcome – it is part of the course to develop your own themes and creative inquiries. The drawing and practical experimentation is framed as practice-as-research to provide structure and a theoretical rigour to your work.
We are home to the Cheltenham Illustration Awards (CIA), an international illustration competition that leads to a touring exhibition of highly commended entries, presenting an opportunity to exhibit your work nationally. Alumni have begun successful businesses such as The Potthouse Collective, have worked at Meri Meri, Jelly Armchair, and Inky Little Fingers, become freelancers, or moved into doctoral study.
Follow our current postgrad students and alumni news on Instagram.
Teaching is primarily workshop based and practical. There are also lectures as part of the Research and Context module, as well as guest speakers. The course runs across 2 days a week if full-time and 2 half days if part-time. Definitive information on the timetable can be requested from the Academic Course Lead (see staff section for email address).
Illustrators are encouraged to collaborate across courses and take part in illustrating the Creative Writing Anthology organised annually by MA Creative Writers. You will be supported to show your final work in a degree show to celebrate your work and present it to potential clients and employers. We have a careers service called Student Futures which supports professional practice in various ways from exploring your working preferences, to CV writing and interview preparation, to mentorship and business expertise.
Day trips are often run to Gloucester, Bristol and London and there are also biannual opportunities to go on international trips. We have connections with Cheltenham Literature Festival and work with the illustration department's Pittville Press to create publications which are sold at print, zine and illustration fairs. There are also opportunities to sell your work at illustration and print festivals such as Fine Lines, which is run at UoG's Park Campus.
Students explore a diverse and exciting range of ideas, skills and technologies on the course, and we can't wait to see what you create.
You should hold at least a 2.2 Bachelors degree with honours.
You will be required to attend an interview. Please refer to our interview guide for further information.
The portfolio may include a variety of work including but not limited to past academic work, professional work and/or personal projects, as well as sketches and roughs. Our postgraduate illustrators arrive from many disciplinary backgrounds so there is no real limitation on what you can send for consideration, if in doubt, please email the course leader: [email protected]. The portfolio can be sent as a PDF or URL link to an online collection of your work. Please include around 6 – 12 examples of work with a brief description of the projects/content. We look forward to seeing your ideas and discussing your work with you.
EU and international students need IELTS 6.5 overall (with a minimum of 6.0 in writing and 5.5 in any other component) or equivalent.
Please read the entry requirements for your country – and contact our admissions team if you have questions.
Here's an example of the types of modules you'll study (the contents and structure of the course are reviewed occasionally, but it is unlikely that there will be significant change).
Module information is not available for this programme.
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Students usually support themselves through a postgraduate loan, private savings, family support or sponsorship from an employer. For advice and guidance on your funding options, contact the Money Advice team at [email protected] or call 01242 714535.
UoG graduates receive 15% off postgraduate tuition fees. Terms apply.
| Start date | Location | Course code |
Fee (UK) Total fee |
Fee (international) Total fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | Francis Close Hall, Cheltenham | — | £8,475 | £17,950 |
| Sep 2026 | Francis Close Hall, Cheltenham | — | TBC | TBC |
| Sep 2027 | Francis Close Hall, Cheltenham | — | TBC | TBC |
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International students can benefit from a range of scholarships and bursaries across many undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. |
Find out more | |||
At UoG we create a climate for bravery and growth. We instil confidence in all our students, so you can graduate career-ready and meet your ambitions.
96% of our graduates are in work or further study*, but if you're not in a job 6 months after graduating we'll guarantee you 6 months of free support, followed by the offer of a paid internship to kickstart your career – plus we'll commit to lifetime career coaching. Eligibility conditions apply.
*Graduate Outcomes Survey published 2024 and based on 2021/22 leavers
Discover our promisesGraduate career-ready and discover a range of exciting roles in illustration. Work independently as a freelance illustrator, design for graphic novels, games art, animation, storyboarding and visualisation for production design.