MA Comics and Graphic Novels at Teesside University

Programme overview

A master's degree for graduates, creators and professionals who want to advance in comics and graphic novels. It develops personal style, pitching and presentation skills, digital capability, understanding of comics audiences and markets, and embedded research. Students work on live briefs for organisations such as Streetwise Opera and the NHS and take collaborative modules with students from other MA subject areas.

Department: Art & Design | Duration: 1 year full-time (September start) or 16 months (January start); part-time 2 years (September start) or 28 months (January start) | Intake: January or September | Study mode: full-time, part-time | Location: Middlesbrough, England, United Kingdom

What you will study

Core modules: Adaption and Interpretation for Comics, Developing a Personal Voice in Comics, Engaging with the Comics Industry, The Connected Practitioner and Masters Project. Teaching is mainly through keynote lectures and tutorials using case studies, with guest speakers from industry, and assessment is mainly project-based, through portfolios of work.

Career pathways

Graduates may work as comic book artists, scriptwriters for film, television, comics or games, concept artists, book illustrators, graphic novelists, storyboard artists, character designers, cover artists or teachers and lecturers, or as interdisciplinary collaborators in fields where visual communication is essential.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

A first degree (2.2 minimum) in any subject. Applicants are expected to be confident, independent learners with a good understanding of the design process, idea development and critical thinking, and to present a portfolio of work or a completed project showing the development of their work, or an ongoing project showing progression and direction. International students need IELTS 6.0 or equivalent.

Domestic applicants: GBP 8,365 a year (2026/27). Full-time Source

International applicants: GBP 17,000 a year (2026/27). International one-year postgraduate taught master's (MSc/MA); tuition only Source

Intake: January or September

Duration: 1 year full-time (September start) or 16 months (January start); part-time 2 years (September start)

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