MA Design for Art Direction

The MA Design for Art Direction course welcomes proactive, contextually aware and curious thinkers from a broad range of backgrounds, from all over the world.

Applicants may come from a range of disciplines such as graphic design, photography, moving image, set design, curating, art practice and related fields with an Honours degree course in a relevant field, or have other equivalent qualifications.

The course team also welcomes students with relevant technical/ practical background experience who show a commitment to critical thinking and ambitious project development, as well as those who may have previously worked in industry, or non-traditional backgrounds, or be already in employment.

Educational level may be demonstrated by:

• Honours degree at 2:1 or first-class
• Possession of equivalent qualifications;
• Prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required;
• Or a combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning which, taken together, can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.

APEL (Accreditation of Prior Learning)

Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:

• Related academic or work experience
• The quality of the personal statement
• A strong academic or other professional reference
• OR a combination of these factors

Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case.

Language requirements

All classes are conducted in English. If English is not your first language, we strongly recommend you let us know your English language test score in your application. If you have booked a test or are awaiting your results, please indicate this in your application. When asked to upload a CV as part of your application, please include any information about your English test score.

• IELTS 6.5 (or equivalent) is required, with a minimum of 5.5 in each of the four skills.
• If your first language is not English, you can check you have achieved the correct IELTS level in English on the Language Requirements page.

For further details regarding international admissions and advice please visit the International Applications page.

Offers will be made based on the following selection criteria, which applicants are expected to demonstrate:

• Sufficient prior knowledge and experience of and/or potential in area of visual communication and project management to be able to successfully complete the programme of study and have an academic or professional background in design
• Willingness to work as a team player, good language skills in reading, writing and speaking, the ability to work independently and be self-motivated
• Enthusiasm for the subject area of art direction and capacity for research-led design, intellectual inquiry and reflective thought through: contextual awareness (professional, cultural, social, historical); evidence of research, analysis, development and evaluation (from previous academic study and employment) and a grounded understanding of the world of visual and multi-disciplinary networked culture as well as the ability to engage with and contribute to critical discussion
• Portfolio of diverse examples of visual communication that is conceptual and research-based, evidencing your thinking and making process in variety of media, whilst demonstrating your curiosity to explore, test and experiment
• Whilst candidates are not expected to demonstrate particular software skills their suitability will be evaluated on evidence of diverse use of medium in generating visually compelling outcomes effectively communicating with audiences (portfolio) and evidence of project management demonstrating ability to manage time, negotiate outcomes, work to deadlines, and take responsibility for deliverables (CV).