Marketing materials created by graphic design professionals influence our choices every day. The University of Greater Manchester’s BA (Hons) Graphic Design with foundation will prepare you for a career in this exciting and ever-changing field of visual communication. We'll support you in developing the skills to create media for screen and print, using typography, photography and illustrative skills to grab attention and communicate ideas, values and emotions in a matter of seconds.
Every day, we read adverts, engage with websites and spend money based on choices influenced by marketing messages delivered through graphic design. We digest information on health, wellbeing, sustainability and thousands of other topics because graphic design professionals produce content for digital and traditional media. By studying for your BA (Hons) Graphic Design with foundation undergraduate degree course at the University of Greater Manchester, you can develop essential knowledge and understanding of graphic design principles and practices, ready to start your career in this exciting profession.
Our expert team will guide you as you learn to creatively combine ideation, photography, illustration, typography, and copywriting to communicate messages for clients ranging from big brands to small businesses and political parties to health providers. You'll learn how to grab your audience's attention and inform and persuade them of new information or trends.
The foundation year allows you to discover and strengthen research, design, practical and communication skills that are essential for success as you study Graphic Design. You'll explore an array of core techniques relating to the creative arts industries, including drawing, painting, sculpting, and finishing techniques, investigating both traditional and digital technologies. The foundation year also aims to build your confidence in academic skills such as literature searching, academic referencing and written and oral communication techniques.
Following the foundation level, your studies will focus on graphic design. The course is designed to help you understand the creative and technical possibilities of contemporary graphic image-making, coupled with great typography and driven by original thinking. We'll encourage you to explore the theoretical and historical elements that influence design and think critically about your own work and that of others.
Your studies will focus on graphic design. The course is designed to help you understand the creative and technical possibilities of contemporary graphic image-making, coupled with great typography and driven by original thinking. We'll encourage you to explore the theoretical and historical elements that influence design and think critically about your own work and that of others.
We'll also focus on helping you develop career-relevant skills. Creativity, technical knowledge, problem-solving, teamwork, independence, time management, and communication skills are all essential for success as a professional graphic designer.
This industry has seen massive changes in working methods, practices and media in recent years. However, the creative thought process that designers employ remains the same. Designers use words and images to communicate messages and meanings. These new developments continually add to the creative possibilities and excitement of a career in this sector, so we'll support you in developing the lifelong learning skills you'll need to adapt and thrive. You'll learn to take ownership of your professional development, maximising your potential for success and enjoyment of the creative process, all while experiencing life at our supportive, student-focused, multicultural campus.
Information about the modules offered as part of this course is available on the University of Bolton’s website.
Details of the learning activities and assessment methods for this course are available on the University of Bolton’s website.
This course is available in Clearing. If you have submitted an application, you can add this course. If you haven’t sent us an application yet, you can do this until 24th September 2026.
This is the equal consideration deadline. You can still apply after this date, but your application may not receive guaranteed consideration.
University of Greater Manchester has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.
See why these ratings were awarded
What does this TEF outcome mean?
The following entry points are available for this course:
You should also have five GCSEs at grade 4/C or above (or equivalent), including English.
You'll be required to attend an interview and provide a portfolio of appropriate work. Your portfolio should demonstrate your skills in a range of relevant creative media and styles.
The quality of the portfolio/interview is the primary basis on which applicants are selected; therefore, special consideration will be given to applicants without the above qualifications who have a strong portfolio. Relevant work or voluntary experience will also be considered. In these cases, we may ask applicants to undertake additional assessments to determine their suitability for the course.
Find out more about qualification requirements for this course.
| Test | Grade | Additional details |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 6 | If English isn’t your first language you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). |
We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.https://www.bolton.ac.uk/international/international-general-entry-requirements/
This section shows the range of grades that students who received offers were previously accepted on to this course with (learn more).
It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place.
Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.
We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.
This report uses your grades to show how students with similar results have done when applying to this course in the past. Sometimes, there isn’t data for every possible set of grades. When that happens, universities and colleges occasionally fill in the gaps for sets of grades that are typically accepted.
| Location | Fee | Year |
|---|
* This is a provisional fee and subject to change.
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.
No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Email:clearing@bolton.ac.uk
Phone:0808 2811111
Email:enquiries@greatermanchester.ac.uk
Phone:+44 (0)1204 903903
Deane Road
Bolton
BL3 5AB
At University of Greater Manchester
