Visual Communication BA(Hons) (Online)
Get ahead in the vibrant, ever-evolving field of visual communications.
Course overview
Drawing on Falmouth’s acclaimed Graphic Design, Photography and Illustration courses, this Visual Communication degree will give you the practical skills and critical understanding to become an original practitioner across a range of platforms and sectors. You’ll learn to create impactful visual content with the power to shift mindsets and inspire action.
You’ll learn from practising creatives and gain the latest industry insights through guest lectures and industry briefs, working with tutors and students from across the globe to build your networks and connections.
You will:
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Learn from a broad range of creatives and industry professionals, including multidisciplinary designers, illustrators, animators and photographers – direct from their studios to yours
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Define your passions, skills and ambitions to help locate your practice and build a sustainable and dynamic creative career
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Build essential networking connections with guest lecturers and industry partners
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Hone your craft and develop your skills to industry standards
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Develop your complex problem-solving and ideation skills to enable you to experiment, take risks and produce innovative visual solutions to briefs and weekly tasks
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Underpin your creative practice with a solid understanding of visual communication techniques and contextual awareness
Interested in studying this online degree? Join our virtual course Q&A on 22 January
Find out moreCourse details
On this accelerated online Visual Communication degree, you’ll have the opportunity to gain a BA(Hons) degree over two years full-time or three years part-time.
You'll have the opportunity to develop skills in graphic design, photography, video, illustration and animation to create innovative visual content for a range of platforms.
You'll graduate from this Visual Communication course with a varied professional portfolio of creative work and a keen sense of entrepreneurship - developed through live briefs and our guest lecture series.
Through practical work and critical investigations, you'll be encouraged to experiment with and disrupt visual practices and processes. Working within an immersive community culture, you'll develop your understanding of audience, explore all areas of the creative process and learn core visual language skills, including type & image, storytelling, craft and production.
As you work on live briefs, you'll be introduced to branding, consumer culture, typography and information hierarchy, the ethics and responsibility of creative practice, design for society and the importance of collaborative practice. You'll also gain an understanding of the history and theories of visual communications.
Modules
Play
This module aims to orientate learning, build organisational skills and develop an understanding of the elemental principles of visual communication through the application of a range of processes, building technical competence and analytical skills.
Industry
This professional practice module introduces you to the creative industries and asks you to begin to identify where your own practice might situate itself.
Relay
Develop industry skills in collaboration and refine your professional communication skills to enable you to work efficiently together to produce outcomes.
Form
This workshop-based practice module develops your specialist craft skills and refines your use of materials, process and techniques.
You'll work on a range of projects to challenge your emerging fields. Throughout these projects you'll hone your core skills, reflect critically on your strengths and explore alternative models of practise to help define your design future beyond the Visual Communication course. Undertaking self-selected briefs, technical learning activities and presentations, as well as collaborative exercises and independent research, you'll continue to strengthen and provoke speculative, experimental and industry process models.
Modules
Shape
Develop your ability to shape your ideas, and your outcomes, to find sustainable solutions for the specific needs of your intended audience.
Find
Work collaboratively to develop your use of a range of research methods to underpin the conceptual development of projects and find solutions to complex problems.
Break
This self-directed practice module aims to develop your ability to generate innovative visual communication strategies, underpinned by the development of your critical analytical skills.
Share
Develop collaborative industry-focussed ways of working to generate complex and ambitious creative projects.
Finally, you'll refine the detail and depth of existing projects, or work on new initiatives to cement your final visual communications identity, so you're ready to head into industry or go to further study. You will underpin your final portfolio through undertaking a reflective research project and exploring alternative models of practice to give you the essential skills you need for a successful career in the creative industries.
Modules
Jump
Evolve and refine a specialist body of creative practice and identify a future career pathway in the creative industries. It is the first stage in portfolio development that will build towards your professional identity and practice for when you graduate.
Sprint
This entrepreneurial module aims to situate your practice within industry and prepare you with the business skills you need for a successful career in the creative industries.
Launch
Develop an innovative final portfolio that demonstrates a high level of professionalism and industry level finish appropriate for your career ambition.
Reach
This module asks you to contextualise your practice and identify future audiences for your work.
The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Course Leader.
Work by Visual Communication BA(Hons) (Online) first-year students
From module information to course aims and assessment criteria, discover the full course details:
Resources & support
Is Online Study for Me?
The creative culture at our core is not confined to our Cornwall campuses; with our online degrees, ...
Online Learning Support
You'll have access to a range of support throughout your studies with us to help you thrive and deve...
Online Learning Community
Discover learning support services available to online students.
Parents & Carers Guide to Online Study
See how you can support a student considering an online degree at Falmouth.
Resources and Support
- Dedicated easy-to-use virtual learning environment (VLE)
- Accessible online audio / visual content
- A Student Advisor to support you throughout your studies and access to our Student Support Services
- Access to our Employability Service
- 24/7 access to Falmouth's extensive online library of contextual books, journals and resources
- Access to online software tutorials at LinkedIn Learning
- Students' Union community
- Optional face-to-face events
- Invitation to attend alumni events
Although online students don't have access to on-campus facilities as part of the course, you can hire equipment and access facilities by paying a charge. Find out more about availability and prices here.
How you'll learn & be assessed
This practice-based Visual Communication degree is underpinned by creative and technical tuition. We offer a truly multidisciplinary syllabus designed to meet the demands of visual communication within the creative industry.
What will my study hours be?
Depending on your choice of full-time or part-time study, you'll spend between 27-50 hours a week developing dynamic creative processes and contextual understanding. You'll be taught in online lectures, webinars, forums and design activities by staff with a wide range of industry experience, while developing your own direction and specialisms.
What does accelerated study mean?
An accelerated degree condenses your degree modules into two years on the full-time route, or three years on the part-time route. This means you'll be working across three study blocks per year, instead of two, including through the summer. Typically, there is a break of around two weeks between submitting your final assignment for each module and the start of the next study block. You will also get breaks on public holidays, for around two weeks at Easter and for around three weeks in December.
The BA(Hons) Visual Communication degree employs a variety of assessment strategies over the course of the year. These include the submission of portfolios of practical work, presentations, verbal reports and a major practice project.
Your summative (final) assessments occur at the end of each module, usually at the end of the study block. You may also have interim formative assessments part way through a module as well. These assessments help ensure that you remain on track with your work.
You will receive continuous written and/or verbal feedback on all your work throughout the year. At the end of the module you will receive detailed feedback in written form.
You'll be able to check in with your online tutor to discuss your progress and ask any questions you have about your course.
Stories from our community
Explore student projects, graduate successes, staff news and industry insights
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08 March 2023
Meet the Falmouth University tutor behind feminist photo series Cheer Up Luv.
Fine Art student’s mum rediscovers her own creative spark through online study
01 June 2022
Blossom Chambers is a print designer and student on our BA Visual Communication (Online) course. Her...
What is Visual Communication?
03 May 2022
Visual communication is all around us but how do we use it and why does it matter?
“You are good enough”: Why I chose to study Visual Communication online
10 February 2022
This piece was written by Visual Communication BA(Hons) (Online) student Rosie George BA Visual C...
How an online degree in Visual Communications is helping this student navigate a career change
15 November 2021
After being forced into a medical retirement from his previous job as a plumber and multi trades wor...
Connect on Instagram
Finding purpose and direction through online study
Be inspired by Visual Communication BA(Hons) (Online) student Alan as he shares his creative work and tells us how studying online has opened up new doors for him.
Watch the videoStaff
Our staff team is made up of experienced academics and subject experts. We pride ourselves on our global community of innovative graphic design, illustration, and photography professionals at the forefront of creative production. This connectivity provides essential networking opportunities for our students and graduates and helps inform and shape our future-focussed curriculum.
Sarah Langford
Course Leader, Visual Communication BA(Hons) (Online)
Multidisciplinary Graphic Artist and Course Leader for BA(Hons) Visual Communication (Online) Sarah ...
Alexandra Lethbridge
Module Leader, Visual Communication BA(Hons) (Online)
Alexandra Lethbridge is a conceptual artist working with photography and installation. Her practice ...
Lily Hayes
Online Tutor, Visual Communication BA(Hons) (online)
A multi-disciplinary designer and musician, Lily's work centres around the relationships between typ...
Grace Lister
Online Tutor, Visual Communication BA (Hons) (online)
Grace Lister is a multidisciplinary designer and educator. Grace works as creative producer and desi...
Claire Scully
Online Tutor, Visual Communication BA(Hons) (online)
Claire Scully is a multi-disciplinary professional Illustrator, author and educator specialising in ...
Eliza Hatch
Online Tutor, Visual Communication BA(Hons) (online)
Eliza is a photographer, facilitator, speaker and gender rights activist. After graduating from The ...
Some members of staff only teach on specific modules, and your course might not feature every staff member who teaches on the course.
Careers
As a Visual Communication graduate, you could have a career as:
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A graphic designer, photographer, animator or illustrator
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A multidisciplinary creative
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A filmmaker, director or content producer
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A communications strategist or brand manager
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An art director or advertising creative
How to apply
Application advice & interview information
Go to ToolkitWe consider all applications on their own individual merit and potential. We invite all applicants to an online interview to give them the opportunity to demonstrate this along with what inspires and motivates them in their field. Applicants will also be able to show their portfolio or give a performance depending on the course. We welcome applications from all subject backgrounds, whether you've specialised in STEM, the arts or humanities.
Applying with UCAS points
| Course route | Entry requirements |
|---|---|
| BA/BSc(Hons) degree | 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points |
Check the title of your course to see if it's a BA or BSc award. UCAS Tariff points will primarily be from Level 3 qualifications such as but not limited to A-levels, T Levels, a BTEC/UAL Extended Diploma or a Foundation Diploma.
Check how many points your qualifications are worth
Applying without UCAS points
We'll welcome your application if you have formal or 'certified' learning (such as training courses not run by universities or colleges) and learning from work experience or self-study. This is called Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL), and should have been gained within the last five years, and be equivalent to the learning outcomes of our minimum entry qualifications. Find out more about APL.
For applicants whose first language is English we require you to have or be working towards GCSE English Language Grade 4 (C), or equivalent.
If English is not your first language you will need to meet the same standard which is equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.0 overall score, with at least 5.5 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. We accept a range of in country equivalencies and approved tests.
If you need a student visa to study in the UK, you may need to take a recognised language test. You can read our English Language Requirements for more information.
For starting your studies in 2024
Applications for these courses remain open whilst there are spaces available. We encourage you to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
The academic start date is 23 September 2024*.
Please note:
*Virtual Welcome Week begins the week before the academic start date. During this time, our Student Advisor team will host Welcome Webinars and be in touch with practical information on how to study online.
Fees, costs & funding
Tuition fees
| Annual tuition fee | Student |
|---|---|
| £10,400 per year | 2 years accelerated full-time |
| £6,935 per year | 3 years accelerated part-time |
| Annual tuition fee | Student |
|---|---|
| £10,400 per year | 2 years accelerated full-time |
| £6,935 per year | 3 years accelerated part-time |
Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.
The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs
Typical course costs
You will need to purchase a laptop/desktop computer. It is an essential piece of equipment that you will need right from the start of the course. Our students use both PCs and Macs.
When considering your purchase of a laptop, the most important things to look out for is the CPU/RAM/graphics card, as we use software that needs a large amount of power. We recommend one with as fast a processor as you can afford (8GB of RAM minimum) and a reasonably sized screen (13" minimum, 15" is optimum), plus the following absolute bare minimum computer specifications:
Windows:
- Windows 10
- At least an i7 processor
- No less than 8-16GB Ram
- Graphics Card (nVidia 1080 minimum, not Intel Iris integrated graphics) with at least 2GB
- 256GB hard drive space minimum
- 1920 x 1080 display resolution or higher (most displays offer a higher resolution than this)
- Mouse with a scroll wheel and two buttons
Apple Macbook Pro:
- Mac OS 10.15 or newer
- At least an i7 processor
- No less than 8-16GB Ram
- Graphics Card
- 256GB hard drive space minimum
- 1920 x 1080 display resolution or higher (most displays offer a higher resolution than this)
- Mouse with a scroll wheel and two buttons
- A dongle to plug things into the laptop is also required for all modern apple laptops
In general, it is cheaper and more cost effective to buy a Windows Laptop. A good spec Windows machine can be sourced from places such as Dell or PC World. Windows laptops do tend to be heavy for carrying about though. A good rule of thumb is if your laptop is capable of running a modern 3D computer game then it should generally be suitable for the kind of graphical work you will doing.
Anything in the MacBook Pro range will be suitable for your work and light to carry around. A USB dongle is a wise purchase with an Apple laptop as you can then plug in mice, keyboards, usb sticks, digital projectors etc. Avoid the MacBook and MacBook Air as they are small and underpowered for the work you will be doing.
Recurring annual costs
£100-£200 - Studio kit (outlined in your Welcome Letter)
Recurring annual costs
£100-£200 - recommended reading throughout your course including books and publications.
Face-to-face events (optional)
£100-£400 - As an online student you will be given the opportunity to attend up to two events per academic year to meet your classmates and tutors in person. Dates and location of the events will vary.
Study trips (optional)
£100-£400 - for optional study trips which will be outlined in your Welcome Letter.
Other digital equipment/software:
- 16 -32 GB memory stick so you can back up your work regularly (approx. £10-20)
- Wireless or Bluetooth mouse (approx. £15)
Adobe Creative Cloud
You will need access to Adobe Creative Cloud. You may be eligible for discounted licenses through Adobe's education pricing and Falmouth University seeks to provide further discounts when possible. If any discounts are available, we will communicate these to you.
For more information please visit Adobe Creative Cloud.
Funding
For information about funding available, please visit our student funding pages.
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