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Creative Futures: Illustration, MA, University of Staffordshire

the United Kingdom

University of Staffordshire

Study options for this course

The award How you will study Study duration Course start Domestic course fees International course fees
MAPart-time3 yearsJanuary, SeptemberGBP 2040GBP 0

About Creative Futures: Illustration, MA - at University of Staffordshire

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The MA Creative Futures in Illustration will enable you to explore options for earning your living within the field of illustration, whether that be through traditional or contemporary media and methods. You will have the opportunity to explore various career options and plan a career route accordingly. The Award also gives you the opportunity to network with creatives in other disciplines, and to develop your personal interests and understanding of your specific
discipline within a larger creative and business-based framework.

Creative Futures offers recent graduates and established practitioners a chance to continue to develop their chosen discipline and specialist practice at masters level. You will gain advanced creative, technical and business skills, a sophisticated understanding of the business environment and a formalised work experience placement. The aim is to enhance your appeal in the job market and/or provide you with the tools needed to set up in freelance practice or to create your own business.

Students will receive tuition in business skills that are designed and delivered specifically for creative practitioners as well as access to our extensive workshops and specialist facilities.

The course is designed to provide maximum flexibility, whether it is being studied on a full or part-time basis. All modules have an extensive distance learning component, combined with intensive, full day workshops.

Course Fees and Finance

The expected study pattern on this programme enables you to complete modules totalling 60 credits in your first year of study and the other 120 credits, split equally over your second and third years of study. If you follow this pattern of study you will pay a fee of £2,040 for your first year in 2017/18. The fee for your second and third year of study will be broadly the same, except that an inflationary uplift may apply.* You will be invoiced for the modules that you register for each year, so if your study pattern is different from the expected pattern, you will pay more or less each year accordingly.

If you would like to know more about the fees listed and what this means to you then please get in touch with our Enquiries Team.

* The fees listed are for the 2017/18 academic year only. Any subsequent years may be subject to an inflationary uplift.

Alumni Discount: If you have previously completed an undergraduate degree with us, you may be entitled to 15% off your course fee for any subsequent postgraduate taught course. For further information please contact Graduate Relations.'

Postgraduate Loans:

Providing you are studying towards a full Masters qualification you may be able to apply for a loan of up to £10,280 to help with tuition fees, maintenance and other associated costs. You won't have to start repaying the loan until you are earning more than (currently) £21,000 per year.

Course content

Modules you will study include:

Creativity and Enterprise

This module sets out to equip you with advanced techniques that will support your ability to generate new ideas, to present and communicate them persuasively and to turn them into reality. You will then learn how to present that idea in convincing and persuasive ways, explore the value of networking and practice pitching your idea to potential partners/funders/clients. You will also be guided in finding your own industry-based, academic and specialist mentors who will support you through your MA studies.

Developing Knowledge, Creative, Technical, Digital and Business Skills

This module offers the student the opportunity to explore skills-based learning in up to four personally identified areas of interest, that the student feels will best support their personal career aspirations on graduation. The learning elements offered will be within the 5 broad strands of Knowledge, Creative and/or Technical Skills, Business Skills and Digital Skills. The student will initially complete a personal reflective process on their future intentions, and from this develop a gap analysis which will identify specific areas of need for skills enhancement.

Creative Futures: Work Experience

This module provides the opportunity to reflect upon and evaluate your current experience of the professional world of work within the creative and cultural industries and the opportunity to enhance employability and the development of business skills.
You will be required to review your opportunities to build further individual knowledge and skills development and an evaluation will be made to identify any further relevant training requirements to enhance employability or business development.

Creative Futures: Masters Project

This module will provide you with an opportunity to undertake a negotiated programme of personal creative research and development leading to a substantial body of work. The chosen direction for your project should be closely allied to your career path and you would be expected where appropriate to exploit the knowledge and experience gained during work experience.


There will also be an opportunity to choose from the following option modules:

  • The Marketing Context
  • Personal Branding
  • Design Management
  • Community Arts in a Global Perspective
  • Creativity and Innovation
  • New Media and Society
  • Culture and Identity

Entry requirements

A good first degree or equivalent professional experience.

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Postgraduate pathways and pre-masters at other institutions

If you do not meet the entry requirements for this course then consider one of these postgraduate preparation courses from another institution:

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Related Information

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