MA Illustration at Teesside University

Programme overview

This highly practical master's explores how illustration is created and applied across commercial, editorial, authorial, sequential, multiform and participatory practice. Students produce work for print and publishing, competitions, children's picture books, zines and graphic novels, and study within a School led jointly with MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art).

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

What you will study

Core modules: Illustration for Communication, Integrated Practice, Speculative Illustration Practice, The Moving Image and a Masters Project. Research, theory and applied practice ground the development of an individual practice-based approach.

Career pathways

Graduates work as freelance or in-house studio illustrators across print, publishing and digital or screen, supported by tutors' industry networks and MIMA's visiting speaker programme.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Normally a first degree in a related discipline (2.2 minimum), or relevant experience or equivalent qualifications. Applicants are expected to be confident, independent learners with a good understanding of the design process, idea development and critical thinking, and present a portfolio of work or a completed or ongoing project showing the development of their work. International students require IELTS 6.0 or equivalent.

Domestic applicants: GBP 7,710 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 (September start) or 16 months (January start) full-time; part-time 2 years (September) or 28

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