Skip navigation
Graphic Design [with Foundation Year] at Anglia Ruskin University - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
Apply

Anglia Ruskin University has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Open days

23Nov
Anglia Ruskin University - Undergraduate Open Day - Cambridge
Undergraduate
23Nov
Anglia Ruskin University - Undergraduate Open Day - Chelmsford
Undergraduate
23Nov
ARU Peterborough - Undergraduate Open Day
Undergraduate

Course summary

Develop your understanding of graphic design and visual communication, solve challenging design briefs and prepare for a career as a designer with our BA (Hons) Graphic Design degree.

  • Benefit from our close connections with a number of creative agencies, graphic design studios and publishers, including Cambridge University Press, CPL, The District, and Onespacemedia, who will set you "live briefs" as well as providing lectures and one-to-one feedback.
  • Graduate with a professional portfolio, showreel or website, ready to go out into industry.
  • Show your talent to the public and industry reps at our final-year Graduate Showcase, and local and national exhibitions.
  • Enter national and international competitions, as well our as own – our school’s students and alumni have a rich history of winning top prizes.
  • Receive dedicated support from our expert technicians, who'll show you how to use the latest tech and facilities or find that design solution.
  • Take advantage of access to all our facilities, including our Printmaking Studio and Futures Lab.
With its vibrant studio culture, our Graphic Design degree will encourage you to push boundaries and challenge existing thinking by developing innovative design solutions as well as a keen understanding of professional practice. You’ll experiment with print-based design as well as digital commercial practices including site-specific, interactive, motion graphics, mobile media, app design (UX/UI), web and multimedia work. While studying our BA (Hons) Graphic Design degree, you’ll develop your skills in information design, visual identities, packaging and promotion, cross-platform advertising and design for the web, as well as experience design systems. Working in our dedicated Graphic Design Mac suites and base room, you'll bounce ideas off other student designers while receiving guidance and support from the course team, all of whom have worked in the design industry for clients including Tesco, Lotus Cars, Manchester United, Saatchi & Saatchi, The NUS, and the UK Film Council. You’ll also work closely with a number of graphic design studios, including Cambridge University Press, CPL, The District, and Onespacemedia, who will set your live briefs as well as providing lectures and one-to-one feedback, ending with a final review that can often lead to work placements, internships and long-term professional relationships. Our students recently took part in a live brief with the University of Cambridge Museums (UCM), creating an identity for their relaunched Bridging Binaries LGBTQ+ Tours across online and offline promotional platforms. Our course options allow you to take a placement year as part of your course as well. You’ll also enter design competitions, including Penguin Random House Student Design Awards and D&AD. There’s even the chance to study abroad for a semester, with funding on offer to help cover the costs. As a Graphic Design student at ARU, you’ll have access to all our facilities including: Dedicated Mac and PC suites with the latest software including Adobe Creative suite Wide-format printers and scanners Ruskin Gallery, a professional digital art gallery Life drawing studio Specialist printmaking workshop including etching, screen-printing, and lithography 3D workshops for physical media including wood, plastic, metal, and clay Photography and media facilities including darkrooms; studios; film processing; digital printing suite; video editing; and professional equipment loans. Our BA (Hons) Graphic Design will prepare you for a career as a graphic designer, as well as for design-related roles in digital graphics, online media, communications and marketing, publishing, and advertising. Our students have gone on to work with design studios or media and communication companies, producing advertising, corporate identities and promotions, packaging and branding, informational design, editorial and book design, web designs and interactive media.

Modules

Year 1 core modules: Interactive Learning Skills and Communication; Information and Communication Technology; Creative Workshops 1; Composition and Style; Approach to Design; Critical and Contextual Studies; Creative Workshops 2; Specialist Project. Year 2 core modules: Design Process; Graphic Design: Histories and Ideas; Introduction to Type Media; Introduction to Web Design. Year 3 core modules: Design Practice 1; Design Practice 2; Graphic Design: Media Specialisms 1; Graphic Design: Media Specialisms 2; Professional Studies in Design; Ruskin Module. Year 4 core module: Graphic Design: Final Project. Year 4 optional modules: Working in the Creative Industries; Research Project. Modules are subject to change and availability.

Assessment method

Assessment is ongoing and includes one-to-one feedback, group crits and class design presentations, so you can be sure you’re receiving structured, insightful feedback throughout your degree course.

How to apply

29Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
W201
Institution code:
A60
Campus name:
Cambridge Campus
Campus code:
C

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

5 GCSEs at grade D, or grade 3, or above and evidence of two years post-GCSE study at Level 3. If you have achieved at least grade E in one A level, or equivalent, you are exempt from the two years post-GCSE study requirement, but you still must meet the GCSE requirements. Applicants who do not meet the two years post GCSE study at level 3 may be considered based on their satisfactory employment history, which must be a minimum of two years full time employment supported by employer evidence and deemed appropriate by the University for meeting the course of study applied for.

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)5.5With minimum 5.5 in each component

Equivalent English Language qualifications, as recognised by Anglia Ruskin University, are also accepted.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
75%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
80%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £9250 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9250 Year 1
Scotland £9250 Year 1
Wales £9250 Year 1
Channel Islands £9250 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9250 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

https://www.aru.ac.uk/student-life/preparing-for-university/help-with-finances
Graphic Design [with Foundation Year] at Anglia Ruskin University - UCAS