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Postgraduate

MA Illustration

Illustration of a girl with a lollipop and a fish bowl with fish swimming outside the bowl and spacemen swimming in the bowl by Wei Guo - MA Illustration.
Wei Guo.,
MA Illustration, Camberwell College of Arts, UAL
College
Camberwell College of Arts Start date
September 2025 Course length
15 months (full time)

MA Illustration at Camberwell College of Arts is a broad, inclusive and experimental course that enables individual practitioners to develop sustainable creative models that respond and contribute to the expanding field of contemporary illustration.

Course summary

Apply to start in September 2025

This course has places available for UK applicants only. We are no longer accepting applications from international students for 2025/26 entry to this course. International applications for 2026/27 entry will open in autumn 2025.

Course location

From September 2025, Camberwell College of Arts will move Illustration courses to its Wilson Road building. This location is a short 5-minute walk from our Peckham Road site.

The building offers a variety of studios, maker spaces and social areas specifically for the Illustration programme. We have designed these to encourage collaboration and interdisciplinary practice.

Subject to re-approval

This course is undergoing re-approval. This is the process by which we ensure the course continues to provide a high-quality academic experience. During re-approval there may be some changes to the course content displayed on this page. Please contact us if you have any questions about the course.

Applying for more than 1 course

From October 2024, you can only apply for a maximum of 3 postgraduate courses each year at UAL (excluding online or low-residency courses and Graduate Diplomas). Find out more in the Apply Now section.

Course overview

MA Illustration enables you to build on your visual practice in a variety of conventional and non-conventional contexts. You’ll develop your visual thinking, research and storytelling abilities.

You’ll be working on ambitious projects alongside students from diverse creative and cultural backgrounds. This will help you to extend the range of your practice to adapt to a rapidly changing professional landscape.

What to expect  

  • Dynamic learning: Build a deep understanding of the practice of illustration through active workshops, discussion groups and one-to-one tutorials.
  • Research community: Become part of a critical mass of around 450 illustration students and staff who actively cultivate knowledge and critical discourse in the discipline.
  • Expert speakers: Learn from creative practitioners from a wide range of disciplines with our lecture programme, practitioner visits and seminars. 
  • Creative facilities: Access to Camberwell's shared workshops, including printmaking, photography, film, moving image, digital, plastic, ceramics, wood and metalwork. View the Camberwell facilities. 

Industry experience and opportunities

Our London location means we can attract some of the most high-profile practitioners to work with our MA Illustration students, whether on a regular basis or for one-off projects. 

You’ll benefit from the experience of visiting practitioners from many different disciplines, such as illustration, graphic design, craft practices, journalism, anthropology, animation and UX design.

Mode of study  

MA Illustration is offered in full-time mode and runs for 45 weeks over 15 months. You will be expected to commit an average of 40 hours per week to your course, including teaching hours and independent study
 

Contact us

to receive information and updates about studying at UAL.

Contact us to make an enquiry.

Course units

Unit 1 - Locate, identify and position  

This unit is an introduction to your course, the College and the University. You’ll identify, map and develop your methods as an illustrator. You’ll expand your visual approaches by exploring a range of materials and media. Your written work will articulate your position as an illustrator. You’ll have an introduction to enquiry and practice methods and a programme of critical and theoretical study. 

Unit 2 - Intersect, converge, focus, trajectory 

You will focus on your own enquiry and consider how to build sustainable momentum in your practice. You’ll work with a group of peers to create a collective publication on a topic that is of shared importance . Contemporary practice will be explored through a visiting speakers programme. Seminars, tutorials and workshops will deepen your knowledge of illustration.  

Unit 3 - Realisations 

The final unit of the course will focus on the production of your major project. You’ll take part in professional development and practice workshops, seminars and a series of lectures and visiting practitioner talks.

Note: 120 Credits must be passed before the final unit is undertaken.

Programme specification

Download course specification (PDF File 352.3 KB)

Learning and teaching methods

  • Group seminars, critiques and individual tutorials
  • Guided process workshops
  • Lectures and visiting practitioner talks
  • Progressive and inclusive assessment model
  • Reflection and self-evaluation
  • Student led community of enquiry meetings
  • Studio based teaching

Assessment methods

  • Contextual and evaluative writing
  • Presentations
  • Project proposal
  • Reflective journal
  • Research portfolio
  • Writing on critical practice

MA Illustration - Course introduction

Film

MA Illustration

UAL Showcase

Staff

Fees and funding

Home fee

£14,000

This fee is correct for 2025/26 entry and is subject to change for 2026/27 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Students from countries outside of the UK will generally be charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£29,990

This fee is correct for 2025/26 entry and is subject to change for 2026/27 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Students from countries outside of the UK will generally be charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about tuition fees and determining your fee status.

Additional costs

You may need to cover additional costs which are not included in your tuition fees, such as materials and equipment specific to your course. For a list of general digital equipment you may need (and how you can borrow equipment), visit our Study costs page.

Accommodation

Find out about accommodation options and how much they will cost, and other living expenses you’ll need to consider.

Scholarships, bursaries and awards

If you’ve completed a qualifying course at UAL, you may be eligible for a tuition fee discount on this course. Find out more about our Progression discount.

You can also find out more about the Postgraduate Masters Loan (Home students only) and scholarships, including 拢7,000 scholarships for Home and International students. Discover more about student funding.

If you’re based in the UK and plan to visit UAL for an Open Event, check if you’re eligible for our UAL Travel Bursary. This covers the costs of mainland train or airline travel to visit UAL.

How to pay

Find out how you can pay your tuition fees.

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Entry requirements

The standard minimum entry requirements for this course are:

  • BA (Hons) degree or equivalent academic qualifications
  • Alternative qualifications and experience will also be taken into consideration
  • Personal statement
  • Portfolio of work

Entry to this course will also be determined by the quality of your application, looking primarily at your portfolio of work and personal statement.

APEL - Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) 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
  • A combination of these factors

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

English language requirements

All classes are taught in English. If English isn't your first language you must provide evidence at enrolment of the following:

Selection criteria

We look for:

  • An interest and involvement in visual arts
  • Demonstrable skills in your existing practice
  • The ability and capacity for self-reflection
  • Ambition and research interest
  • Aspiration for a higher level of practice
  • Quality of work

Information for disabled applicants

UAL is committed to achieving inclusion and equality for disabled students. This includes students who have:

     
  • Dyslexia or another Specific Learning Difference
  • A sensory impairment
  • A physical impairment
  • A long-term health or mental health condition
  • Autism
  • Another long-term condition which has an impact on your day-to-day life

Our Disability Service arranges adjustments and support for disabled applicants and students.

Read our Disability and dyslexia: applying for a course and joining UAL information.

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

10 December 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

26 March 2025 at 1pm (UK time)

Digital portfolio and video task deadline

Round 1:

8 January 2025 at 11.59pm (UK time)

Round 2:

9 April 2025 at 11.59pm (UK time)

Decision outcome

Round 1:

21 March 2025

Round 2:

20 June 2025

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
10 December 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
26 March 2025 at 1pm (UK time)
Digital portfolio and video task deadline
8 January 2025 at 11.59pm (UK time)
9 April 2025 at 11.59pm (UK time)
Decision outcome
21 March 2025
20 June 2025

This course is still open to applications from UK students and will remain open until all places are filled.

Read more about deadlines

Apply to UAL

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

10 December 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

26 March 2025 at 1pm (UK time)

Digital portfolio and video task deadline

Round 1:

8 January 2025 at 11.59pm (UK time)

Round 2:

9 April 2025 at 11.59pm (UK time)

Decision outcome

Round 1:

21 March 2025

Round 2:

20 June 2025

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
10 December 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
26 March 2025 at 1pm (UK time)
Digital portfolio and video task deadline
8 January 2025 at 11.59pm (UK time)
9 April 2025 at 11.59pm (UK time)
Decision outcome
21 March 2025
20 June 2025

We are no longer accepting applications to this course for 2025/26 entry from international applicants. Applications for 2026/27 entry will open in autumn 2025.

Read more about deadlines

How to apply

Follow this step-by-step guide to apply for this course

Step 1: Initial application

You will need to submit an initial application including your personal statement and CV.

Personal statement advice

Your personal statement should be maximum 500 words and include:

  • your reasons for choosing the course
  • your current creative practice and how this course will help you achieve your future plans
  • any relevant education and experience, especially if you do not have any formal academic qualifications.

Visit our personal statement page for more advice.

CV advice

Please provide a CV detailing your education, qualifications and any relevant work or voluntary experience. If you have any web projects or other media that you would like to share, please include links in your CV. If English is not your first language, please also include your most recent English language test score.

Step 2: Video task and digital portfolio

We will review your initial application. If you have met the standard entry requirements, we will ask you to submit a video task and digital portfolio.

You’ll need to submit these via PebblePad, our online portfolio tool. Please submit your video task on the first page followed by your portfolio.

Video task advice

We’d like you to submit a 2-3 minute video to help us learn more about you. When recording your task, please face the camera and speak in English.

What to include in your video task
  • Choose 1 project from your portfolio and explain how it challenged you and your understanding of illustration.
  • Tell us how this experience inspired you to apply to MA Illustration at Camberwell College of Arts.

Read our guidance for how to submit your video task and which file types we accept.

Digital portfolio advice

Your portfolio should consist of recent work that reflects your creative strengths.

It should:

  • be maximum 30 pages, including your video task
  • include a range of work that best illustrates your creative practice and diverse skillset
  • include work in progress and examples of your research and development as well as finished pieces
  • be clearly annotated with explanations to give context to your work, including indications of the size and media used. If you include any group projects, please explain your role.

For more support, see our Portfolio advice and PebblePad advice.

Step 3: Interview

You may be invited to an interview following our review of your application. All interviews are held online and last 15 to 20 minutes.

For top tips, see our Interview advice.

You also need to know

Communicating with you

Once you have submitted your initial application, we will email you with your login details for our .

Requests for supplementary documents like qualifications and English language tests will be made through the applicant portal. You can also use it to ask questions regarding your application. Visit our After you apply page for more information.

Applying to more than 1 course

From October 2024, you can only apply for a maximum of 3 postgraduate courses each year at UAL. This excludes online or low-residency courses and Graduate Diplomas, which you can apply to in addition to 3 other postgraduate courses.

If you apply for more than 3 postgraduate courses between October 2024 and August 2025, we won鈥檛 accept the 4th application. It鈥檚 not possible to withdraw an application to replace it with another.

You need to tailor your application, supporting documents and portfolio to each course, so applying for many different courses could risk the overall quality of your application. If you receive offers for multiple courses, you'll only be able to accept 1 offer.

Visas and immigration history check

All non-UK nationals must complete an immigration history check. Your application may be considered by our course teams before this check takes place. If your course requires a portfolio and/or video task, we may request these before we identify any issues arising from your immigration history check. Sometimes your history may mean that we are not able to continue considering your application. Visit our Immigration and visas advice page for more information.

External student transfer policy

UAL accepts transfers from other institutions on a case-by-case basis. Read our Student transfer policy for more information.

Alternative offers

If your application is really strong, but we believe your strengths and skillset are better suited to a different course, we may make you an alternative offer. This means you will be offered a place on a different course or at a different UAL College.

Deferring your place

We do not accept any deferral requests for our postgraduate courses. This means that you must apply in the year that you plan to start your course and you will not be able to defer your place to start at a later date.

Application deadlines

Most of our postgraduate courses have 2 rounds of deadlines: one in December and one in March.

As long as you apply ahead of each deadline we will consider your application alongside all the other applications in that round. We always make sure to hold enough places back for round 2 to make sure we can consider your application fairly, no matter which round you apply in.

If there are still places available after the second deadline, the course will remain open to applications until all places have been filled.

Careers

Camberwell College of Arts

Contact

Telephone

+44 (0)20 7514 6302

Address

Camberwell College of Arts
45 - 65 Peckham Road
London
SE5 8UF