Skip navigation
Illustration at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
Apply

There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

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

Course summary

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. Overview Redefine the world with a pencil or stylus on this BA (Hons) Illustration degree course. You’ll challenge convention in all spheres: from exploring illustration from new perspectives, to delving into its social, political and historical significance. You'll explore traditional and contemporary illustration techniques and the business essentials of the art form – and you can gain extra professional experience through a one-year placement, client projects, and entering design competitions. At the end of this course, you'll become an all-encompassing illustrator that stands out among competitors in the creative industries. Course highlights

  • Raise your professional profile by taking on live projects with local and international clients such as Anglepoise
  • Catch potential employers' eyes by exhibiting your work at national exhibitions and our annual Graduate Show
  • Have the chance to win eminent awards by entering international competitions like Design & Art Direction (D&AD), The Macmillan Prize, and the V&A Illustration Awards
  • Enrich your practical and industry experience by taking an optional one-year placement – either with a company or by setting up your own
  • Showcase your Adobe expertise to industry peers by gaining Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) qualifications
  • 90% Graduates in work or further study (HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey conducted in 2019)
Careers and opportunities The creative and technical abilities you develop on this course – in sequential storytelling, character animation, and visual storytelling – could lead to a variety of creative roles in design and media. You can also continue your studies at postgraduate level. Graduate areas Areas previous graduates have gone on to include:
  • artist book making
  • children’s book illustration
  • narrative illustration
  • print making
  • art direction
  • teaching
Ongoing careers support Get experience while you study, with support to find part-time jobs, volunteering opportunities, and work experience. You can also venture into freelancing, or set up and run your own business with help from the University Startup Team. Towards the end of your degree and for up to five years after graduation, you’ll receive one-to-one support from our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy to help you find your perfect role.

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • Introduction to Professional Practice (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Visual Culture (Illustration) (20 credits)
  • Line, Colour and Development (40 credits)
  • Research and Narrative (40 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules in this year include:
  • Book Arts (20 credits)
  • Graphic Medicine (20 credits)
  • Sequential Illustration (20 credits)
  • Social Awareness (20 credits)
Optional modules in this year include:
  • Comic Book Industries (20 credits)
  • Engaged Citizenship Through Interdisciplinary Practice (20 credits)
  • Professional Experience (20 credits)
  • Professional Skills Development (20 credits)
  • Student Enterprise (20 credits)
  • The Hidden Lives of Things: Material Culture in the Early Modern World (20 credits)
  • Visions of the Past: the Artist/Designer As Historian (20 credits)
  • Visual Culture: Issues of Representation (20 credits)
  • Visual Culture: the Body in Practice (20 credits)
Year 3 Core modules in this year include:
  • Applied Illustration Practice (20 credits)
  • Illustration Professional Practice (20 credits)
  • Illustration Project Review (20 credits)
  • Illustration Self-Directed Project (40 credits)
Optional modules in this year include:
  • Visual Culture: Dissertation (20 credits)
  • Visual Culture: Research Project (20 credits)
Placement year (optional) On this course, you can do an optional work placement year after your 2nd or 3rd year to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year. We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment method

You’ll be assessed through:

  • written coursework
  • creative design group projects
  • self-led projects from initial concept to finished product
  • project presentations
  • sketchbooks and portfolio
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future. The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:
  • Year 1 students:100% by coursework
  • Year 2 students:100% by coursework
- Year 3 students:100% by coursework

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:
W220
Institution code:
P80
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

This course may be available at alternative locations, please check if other course options are available

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

Additional entry requirements

Portfolio

All applicants will be asked to provide a digital portfolio of work.

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
PTE Academic62An overall score of 62 with a minimum of 59 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
90%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
100%
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

EU £9535 Year 1
England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1
International £17200 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

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad (at the time of publishing for 2025/26): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,430 EU – £1,430 International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. Please check the course page on our website for the most up to date fee information All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
Illustration at University of Portsmouth - UCAS