Communication Design MA

Work in a studio environment to hone your communication of meaningful ideas.

Key details

Location

Falmouth Campus

Course duration

1 year

Attendance

Full-time

Course overview

Develop your individual critical voice through this transformative, studio-based Communication Design master's course. You’ll benefit from frequent industry contact and expert tutors and work in an interdisciplinary studio environment, preparing you for a range of careers in the creative industries.

Learning within an industry-focused environment, you’ll stay current by engaging with projects and insights supplied by leading global ‘provocateurs’, including writers, scientists, artists, curators and designers.

You will:

Access our purpose-built studio environment, which mirrors leading contemporary design studios
Attend lectures by award-winning designers, practitioners and agencies, which have previously included Pentagram, Lewis Moberly, Wiedemann Lampe, Pentagram, Visual Editions, Wolfe Hall, Trapped in Suburbia
Develop interdisciplinary creative skills and a portfolio relevant to multiple sectors including graphic design, branding, service design, publication design, exhibition design, UX design, design for social impact, art direction and copywriting
Learn the research skills necessary for an in-depth, critical engagement with a given subject
Gain commercial experience through industry-focused engagements

Course details

On this Communication Design MA course, you’ll go on a progressive learning journey via three study blocks: Deconstruction, Reconstruction, and Reinvention. This format allows you to unpack your existing skills and interests, and learn to answer complex communications problems by considering global issues and experimental approaches. You’ll then explore new insights and build towards your final MA project.

Process

Drawing on global, experiential and experimental insights, you’ll examine different components of the design process, and how they can support and enhance your practice.

Intersections

You’ll explore sustainability, ethics, human interaction, and how design for social change can inspire new thinking.

Boundaries

Drawing on critical design theory and catalysts, this Communication Design module allows for a more radical approach to creative practice - exploring the relationship between interdisciplinary research and making at the edges of contemporary design.

Curate and build

You’ll explore the increasing complexity of data in contemporary design problems - part of our evolving and accelerating consumer, technological and cultural landscape - and learn how meaning can be curated and revealed.

Compete

You'll engage in competitive projects set by external bodies and build professional skills relevant to your individual design development, such as publishing, presentations, funding, production and intellectual property.

MA project

This module allows you to realise your final major project in a largely self-directed semester, bringing together practice, theory and an evaluation phase at a key industry or cultural event.

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.

From module information to course aims and assessment criteria, discover the full course details

Two females in design studio in Amsterdam surrounded by design work and books

Students working together at desk, whiteboard behind them with ideas on.

Design journals on a desk in the foreground, students working out of focus in the background.

Students working in facilities with large machinery

Students working in university facilities

Students watching presentation in lecture theatre on Falmouth campus

Grayscale image of students hands writing and filling pages in front of them with ideas

Studio visit London, clocks with times from around the world on the wall.

Printing press in the printing facilities

How you'll learn

Based in the vibrant studio culture of our multi-million pound School of Communication, you’ll take on project work and competition briefs, and attend lectures and seminars from award-winning studios and professionals.

Falmouth's network of alumni, and our reputation, connects us to many of the country's leading consultancies and agencies, providing insights and reflections on various cultures and models of practice. We run study visits to studios in London and potentially abroad, which may be arranged around conferences and design festivals like the Breda Graphic Design Festival in the Netherlands.

Provocation is a continuous theme and a unique aspect to the course's design. Our annually selected provocateurs contribute through seminar sessions, critiques, lectures and project work. These include leading figures from design and the broader arts fields, and international and award-winning studios who set up debate around the similarities and differences in global practice. They also include interdisciplinary practitioners, such as writers, musicians, architects, artists and scientists, who explore process, collaboration and the origin of ideas.

Assessment methods

Individual project briefs
Competition briefs (eg. D&AD New Blood, RSA Student Design Awards, YCN Awards)
Design research journal
Essay
Individual and group presentations
Critical review or business plan

Staff

You’ll be guided and supported by tutors and industry professionals with decades of experience teaching and working for leading studios, international clients, and arts and cultural organisations.

Some members of staff only teach on specific modules, and your course might not feature every staff member who teaches on the course.

Kate Christman

Senior Lecturer

Kate is a Senior Lecturer in Graphic Design within the School of Communication at Falmouth Universit...

Kate Christman

Bryan Clark

Head of Graphic Design

Bryan leads the subject of Graphic Design at Falmouth and is responsible for the undergraduate degre...

Bryan Clark

Andy Neal

Senior Lecturer

Andy's career began as a musician; composing and performing material with Detritus, and recording th...

Andy Neal

Ashley Rudolph

Senior Lecturer, Graphic Design

Ashley is a Senior Lecturer in Graphic Design within the School of Communication at Falmouth Univers...

Ashley Rudolph

Facilities

Dedicated MA studio space.
Negotiated use of other facilities such as 3D printing, prototyping, film, photographic, textiles and product design studios.
Digital printing facilities, Risograph machine, woodblock printing and presses, workshop, and negotiated access to screen-printing studios.
Lecture theatres, design lab, break out spaces and meeting rooms.
Apple suite, with Adobe CS and full collection of Monotype typefaces.
Extensive library facilities and digital collections.

Take a virtual tour

Careers

Communication design is a broad field of study, and your career choices will depend on your own personal project focus. These can include graphic design, branding, service design, publication design, exhibition design, UX design, design for social impact, criticism and writing, teaching, research and PhD study. You can also enter related fields like television, advertising, and the heritage and cultural sectors.

How to apply

Get in touch

To find out more about this course, how you'll learn and what funding is available, get in touch with our Course Advisors. Click below to submit a form and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

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About applying to this course

Once you’ve applied, you’ll receive a Falmouth Applicant Portal login, where you’ll find details about next steps. These usually include attending an interview either in-person at the school, online via Skype or by phone. You'll be asked to present an outline of your key interest or Master's proposal and/or a portfolio of work.

We welcome applications from those with revelant equivalent Level 6 qualifications. Our typical applicants hold an undergraduate degree of 2:2 or above, or equivalent experience and an demonstrable interest in the subject.

We'll also 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 (APEL), and should have been gained within the last five years, and be equivalent to the learning outcomes of our minimum entry qualifications.

APEL applicants using experience to apply should note there is a £200 application fee for entry with advanced standing or with exemption from specific modules or credit.

If English isn’t your first language, you'll need to demonstrate English language skills that are sufficiently developed for successful completion of your studies. We accept a range of recognised English language qualifications that are equivalent to the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic minimum score of 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.

International applicants who require a student visa to study in the UK must take a recognised language test that is approved and vouched for by the University. Our Applicant Services Team can help with any questions you may have about study visas or suitable language tests.

What we're looking for

We aim to recruit a global and interdisciplinary mix of students in every year group. Most will hold first degrees in traditional entry areas like graphic design, visual communication, illustration, and interaction design. Others may come with particular professional experience, or from broader areas of arts practice, media, performance, or sciences - where subject interest can be clearly identified.

Fees, costs & funding

Tuition fees

£8,950 per year - full-time UK (£250 acceptance fee payable. This is deducted from tuition fees.)

£17,460 - full-time EU/international (acceptance fee up to £1,000 payable, dependent on nationality. This is deducted from tuition fees)

£8,950 per year - full-time UK (£250 acceptance fee payable. This is deducted from tuition fees.)

£17,460 - full-time EU/international (acceptance fee up to £1,000 payable, dependent on nationality. This is deducted from tuition fees)

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

£540 - Recurring annual costs
£400 - One-off costs for the course duration (compulsory trips, final portfolios or shows etc)
£250-£500 - Optional study visits and placements for the course duration

If you need to bring equipment or materials with you, these will be outlined in your Welcome Letter.

Postgraduate funding

There are loans, awards, graduate discounts and alternative funding sources for postgraduate studies. Read about them on our Postgraduate Funding page.

Find out about funding

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From course details and academic support, to the social scene and settling in, our students are ready and available to answer any questions you might have. Simply set up your account, send them a question and they'll get back to you within 24 hours.

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