Any Uni Recommendations?

4

Hi everyone,
I’m currently applying to university and looking into something like BA Illustration, Visual Communication, or a course that combines both as I am just really passionate about the arts. I enjoy being experimental and love working across different media within my A- Levels as lately I’ve been exploring photography and stippling in my Fine Art and Photography lessons. I’m hoping to find a course that supports creative freedom and personal style development, but also offers strong industry links or a placement year to help prepare me for after graduation. If you’ve studied a similar course, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience, what you enjoyed about your uni, and any recommendations you might have.

Thanks so much in advance.

Reply 1

UoW Joseph

Official Rep

7

Original post

by Molm_

Hi everyone,
I’m currently applying to university and looking into something like BA Illustration, Visual Communication, or a course that combines both as I am just really passionate about the arts. I enjoy being experimental and love working across different media within my A- Levels as lately I’ve been exploring photography and stippling in my Fine Art and Photography lessons. I’m hoping to find a course that supports creative freedom and personal style development, but also offers strong industry links or a placement year to help prepare me for after graduation. If you’ve studied a similar course, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience, what you enjoyed about your uni, and any recommendations you might have.
Thanks so much in advance.

Hi there,

Although I don’t personally study a similar course, you might want to take a look at Warwick’s BA Media and Creative Industries degree as it sounds like a great fit for what you’re describing. The course bridges creative areas like illustration, visual communication, photography and other experimental media with the more professional and practical sides of the creative industries.

You’ll have plenty of creative freedom through hands-on “Media Lab” practical work and portfolio development, while also gaining valuable insight from industry professionals through guest talks and collaborations. In your third year, there’s also the opportunity to complete a residency in industry, allowing you to apply your creative skills in a real-world setting.

Statistics from 2023 graduate show over 80% progressing into media and creative careers which is a great indicator of how well the course prepares students for the sector.

Here is a link to the course on our website: https://warwick.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/ba-media-creative/

Best wishes,
Joseph (UoW Official Rep)

Reply 2

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

17

Original post

by Molm_

Hi everyone,
I’m currently applying to university and looking into something like BA Illustration, Visual Communication, or a course that combines both as I am just really passionate about the arts. I enjoy being experimental and love working across different media within my A- Levels as lately I’ve been exploring photography and stippling in my Fine Art and Photography lessons. I’m hoping to find a course that supports creative freedom and personal style development, but also offers strong industry links or a placement year to help prepare me for after graduation. If you’ve studied a similar course, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience, what you enjoyed about your uni, and any recommendations you might have.
Thanks so much in advance.

Hi,

It sounds like you have a strong creative vision and a clear idea of what you’re looking for in a course. While I don’t study it, if you’re interested in a programme that combines illustration with the freedom to experiment, you may want to consider Graphic Design and Illustration BA (Hons) at LJMU.

The course encourages creative exploration across a variety of media and provides opportunities to build industry connections through placements, live projects, and collaborations with professional designers and illustrators. It’s designed to help you develop your personal style while preparing for a career in the creative industries.

Some key highlights of the course include:
•Ranked 10th in the UK for Graphic Design (The Guardian University Guide 2025)
•98% of students say teaching staff explain concepts clearly and challenge them to achieve their best (NSS 2025)
•Covers graphic design, illustration, printmaking, photography, animation, motion graphics, and interactive design
•Access to industry-standard Adobe Creative Cloud software and spacious, well-equipped studio spaces
•Opportunities to work on live projects, collaborate with peers, and connect with professional designers and illustrators
•Strong links with the creative industries through placements, internships, and networking events
•Study abroad opportunities and prizes for overseas travel
•Supportive, inclusive, and studio-based environment that nurtures creativity, research, and personal growth

You can find more details about the course here https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduates/2026/33376-graphic-design-and-illustration-ba-hons

Hope this helps, please do let me know if you have any other questions.

Tayba
Student Rep

Reply 3

Kingston Grace

Official Rep

13

Original post

by Molm_

Hi everyone,
I’m currently applying to university and looking into something like BA Illustration, Visual Communication, or a course that combines both as I am just really passionate about the arts. I enjoy being experimental and love working across different media within my A- Levels as lately I’ve been exploring photography and stippling in my Fine Art and Photography lessons. I’m hoping to find a course that supports creative freedom and personal style development, but also offers strong industry links or a placement year to help prepare me for after graduation. If you’ve studied a similar course, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience, what you enjoyed about your uni, and any recommendations you might have.
Thanks so much in advance.

Hi @Molm_

There is a great illustration animation course here at Kingston, I will add a link to a post another Kingston rep did about their experience studying the course My experience studying BA Illustration Animation at Kingston - The Student Room

You would be based at the Knights Park campus - An Overview of Knights Park Campus - The Student Room
Which is great as it has a range of workshops such as printmaking, woodwork, ceramics as well as photography and film studios that any student can use no matter what they study. This means you will be able to really experiment with different mediums.

I would really recommend coming to an open day to get a chance to see it for yourself. Plus a good chance to talk to current students and staff. You can sign up for the next open day on the website Open Days and events | Kingston University London

There is also an opportunity to do a placement year on this course and there is a placement team and careers centre which can help you with cv and cover letter writing, finding a placement and interview prep. Also being based so close to central London is really helpful as there are so many opportunities there. I am currently on placement year in London and also did an internship the summer after first year in London.

If you are interested in a range of art mediums I would also recommend a foundation year as you get to try a huge range of mediums at a higher level and more time to figure out what you want to do long time, research and attend open days.

I hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to ask :smile:

-Grace (Kingston Rep)

Reply 4

Kingston Vee

Official Rep

12

Hi @Molm_ I study illustration animation at Kingston university and I am currently completing my work placement at the moment. If you are interested feel free to check out my day in the life blog here for more insight.

Hope this helps,

Vee (kingston rep)

Reply 5

McGinger

20

If you have not decided which area you want to pursue, then a Foundation in Art and Design (FAD) could be useful. Its a one-year course, available at numerous local colleges and some Unis, and it would give you time to explore a wider variety of art forms, with access to the best resources, facilities, and staff expertise. Its a vey common entry route for those heading to degrees in all aspects of Art and Design.

Examples :
UAL Art & Design Foundation… | York College & University Centre
UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (Design and Media) | Ravensbourne University London
Foundation Diploma in UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design at Oxford Brookes University
etc

Reply 6

ARUStudents

Official Rep

14

Hi @Molm_,

Hope you’re doing well! Kyle here, photography student at Anglia Ruskin University. Choosing where you're going to study is tricky, and like you I didn’t know too much about where I wanted to go!

Eventually I decided to study here at ARU. Based across four campuses in Chelmsford, Peterborough, Writtle, and Cambridge, we have some great courses with strong industry links. Don't just take my word for it - we won THE University of The Year in 2023, and we have great facilities, including our printmaking suite, darkrooms, TV studios, art studios, photography studios – you name it! Our creative courses are based in Cambridge, in our very own Cambridge School of Art.

In terms of courses, we offer a wide range here at ARU, from the likes of Photography all the way to Interior Design. We also offer a BA in Illustration, a combined Illustration and Animation course, and Fine Art too.

I really like our Photography course, because we have super facilities (3x photography studios, a black and white darkroom, and a colour darkroom) and we’ve also got access to tons of great equipment, including Digital SLRs, 35mm/120 film cameras, and new cutting edge tech including 360 cameras and VR equipment! As a student at ARU, you’d have access to all of this as part of your degree. We usually rent by a week at a time, but this could be extended if you need the equipment for a specific project.

We also have small class sizes, and that means we receive more focused learning in our own disciplines and 1-2-1 time with our lecturers. Because we’re based within the art school, we also have access to printmaking workshops, 3D printing workshops, sculpting workshops… plus much much more! Even though we’re not studying that as our specific course, we have access if we so choose, because it allows us to fully immerse ourselves in art.

In terms of a course for you, like I say - we’ve got lots to tickle your fancy, but we also have a course called Digital Media Production. I don’t study this course personally, but having seen the third years’ work at our recent graduate exhibition, it is so ridiculously creative! This course allows you to experiment with all the art-based media, to eventually focus your practice. Students in the past have graduated with graphic design work, video editing work, photography, and even virtual reality and AI based research. You can take a look at students' work via our Creative Showcase site.

Lots of our degrees also offer optional placement years and study abroad options. In Photography, we have both, having recently established a study-abroad option for second years to do an exchange and go to Prague for a trimester! We also run extra-curricular trips every couple of years - we've just come back from Greece this January.

We have so much to offer you here at ARU. I honestly couldn’t recommend it more!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask us anytime! You’re also able to contact our course leaders through our website, and there’s a space you can connect with other students to learn about their experiences. They may have studied some of the courses you’re looking at and can answer course-specific questions.

We've also got an upcoming Open Day on the 22nd of November, which you are more than welcome to sign up to! You'll be able to meet with the course leaders, attend a course talk, and even meet some of your potential coursemates. More info here.

I hope this helped, and the best of luck in your uni search! 😃

Kyle
2nd Year Photography
Cambridge School of Art, ARU

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