A BA (Hons) Illustration degree is about making images that carry meaning, usually in service of a text, a product or an idea. It is closer to graphic design than to fine art in its purpose, because an illustrator almost always works to a brief, and closer to fine art than to graphic design in its methods, because the image is made rather than assembled.
Contemporary illustration spans editorial work, publishing, packaging, animation, comics and graphic novels, character design, surface pattern and increasingly motion and interactive work. Courses generally encourage you to work across media and to develop a recognisable personal voice, since that voice is what commissioners buy.
What you study
Three years, studio based, with continuous project work and critique.
- Year one: drawing and observation, visual narrative, print and reproduction processes, materials and media experimentation, and contextual studies.
- Year two: editorial illustration, publishing and book work, sequential narrative, digital illustration and colour, and live or competition briefs.
- Year three: a self-directed body of work, professional practice covering commissions, licensing, agents and pricing, and portfolio and degree show preparation.
Competition briefs run by professional bodies are worth entering from year one. A published or shortlisted piece carries real weight.
Entry requirements from Nepal
The figures below are what most of our partner universities ask for. They are not fixed, and individual universities set their own thresholds each intake, so treat this as a guide and let us confirm the exact position for the courses you shortlist.
- Academic: +2, A-Levels or IB at roughly 60 per cent and above, with the portfolio weighted heavily.
- English: IELTS 6.0 overall with no band below 5.5 is the common requirement. Many of our partner universities also accept PTE Academic, Duolingo, or a Medium of Instruction letter from Tribhuvan, Pokhara or Kathmandu University. See our IELTS score comparison and the routes that do not require IELTS.
- Portfolio: this is the requirement students from Nepal most often miss. Creative courses assess a portfolio alongside your grades, usually submitted digitally and sometimes followed by a short online interview. Fifteen to twenty pieces that show your thinking, including rough work and development, count for more than a small number of finished images. Start assembling it months before you apply and we will review it with you before it goes anywhere.
- Sketchbooks: illustration tutors want to see sketchbooks as much as finished pieces. They show how you think, and a portfolio of only polished final images is generally a weaker application than one showing process.
- Study gap: most universities accept a gap, commonly up to five years and sometimes up to ten, as long as you can account for the time.
- Finance: the student visa requires evidence of your first year tuition plus living costs, currently 1,529 pounds a month for London and 1,171 pounds a month elsewhere, held for nine months. Our page on UK university fees for international students sets out the detail.
Where the degree leads
- Editorial illustration for magazines and newspapers
- Book publishing, particularly children books, which is one of the larger markets
- Advertising and brand illustration
- Packaging and surface pattern design
- Comics, graphic novels and concept art
- Character design for animation and games
- Teaching and workshops
Most illustrators are self-employed or combine freelance commissions with part-time employment. That is normal in this field rather than a sign of failure, but it does mean the business modules matter.
Practical note for students from Nepal
Illustration is one of the few creative careers that works almost entirely remotely. A Nepalese graduate can take commissions from publishers and agencies anywhere in the world from Kathmandu, which changes the economics of the degree considerably compared with careers that require presence in a UK studio.
If you are weighing this against graphic design, the short version is that design has more salaried jobs and illustration has more creative freedom. Students who want steady employment should lean towards design.
Where Real Dreams comes in
We have been placing students from Nepal in UK universities since 2003. Bring us your academic documents and we will be candid about your prospects for illustration rather than encouraging you towards whichever university pays the most commission. That includes telling you when a different course would serve you better.
Counselling is free and there is no obligation. Our offices are in Kathmandu, Chitwan, Pokhara, Butwal and Bhairahawa, with our head office in London. Get in touch when you are ready, start an application, or look through the full course list.
