Study an Illustration degree with OCA

Illustration has the power to take someone on a journey through the use of imagery. Make sense of the world and communicating information through creativity and visual storytelling. If you’re ready to learn new skills and enhance your ability, practice and confidence as an illustrator, then this is the online illustration course for you!

Our BA (Hons) Illustration degree introduces you to all different types of drawing and image-making like magazine and book illustration, editorial and commercial briefs, collage, mixed media, comics and graphic novels.

The online illustration course provides the opportunity for you to sketch, draw and create captivating imagery, interpret a brief, experiment and communicate your ideas using your own personal, visual language. You’ll become a creative problem solver, learning how to generate ideas, create narratives, undertake your own visual research and develop a fluency in all illustrative contexts.

You’ll be challenged and encouraged to expand your definition of illustration both on and offline. Throughout your online illustration course, your specialist tutor will support you and your work, enabling you to work independently, ready for the world of visual creativity.

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What is a BA (Hons) Illustration degree?

OCA’s distance learning illustration degree is open to anyone with a keen interest in illustration, regardless of previous experience or qualifications. It’s an ideal online illustration course for anyone wanting to pursue a career in illustration, graphic design, and a range of creative fields from marketing to web design. It’s also a wonderful choice if you’re simply looking to deepen your illustration skills and knowledge for your own personal development.

Distance learning online illustration courses allow you to learn at your own pace and complete an illustration degree within a flexible timeframe. This means you’ll have the time to build your artistic and creative skills in balance with your personal and professional life.

Looking for online illustration degrees? Begin your journey today with one of OCA’s online illustration courses!

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Course Structure

The degree is split into nine units; three at each Stage of study.

As a flexible degree, you can complete the programme in up to 9 years, with a maximum of three years to complete each level of the course.

Course Overview
Stage One

Stage 1 supports your creative development by examining how to generate and visualise ideas, use research to reflect upon your own work and inform creative approaches. At the end of the first stage, you will have begun to apply these skills to identify your own personal voice and to develop the content and meaning of your illustrative work.

  • Unit 1: Introducing Illustration will develop your understanding of the basic visual language of illustration, creative strategies and way of documenting your working process. You will explore mark-making and drawing, composition, visual hierarchies and colour theory, and undertake visual research and idea development through a number of engaging exercises.
  • Advancing into Unit 2: Visual Histories, you will develop an appreciation of the historical and contemporary contexts of illustration contexts (e.g. Victorian, American 20th century, technical, instructional and children’s illustration) and survey contemporary areas of practice (e.g. digital drawing, editorial and commercial illustration, graphic novels, animation and concept art).
  • The final unit of stage 1,Materials and Contexts, considers how to produce artwork for a range of physical formats and visual outcomes (e.g. posters, leaflets, magazine and newspaper illustration, book covers, comics and fanzines).
Stage Two

Stage 2 supports you to develop your practical skills, contextual and creative understanding of illustration, and enables you to start to locate your practice in a professional context by undertaking client-led projects and define your own creative voice and visual language within your work.

  • Unit 1: Visual Languages, supports your understanding of how illustration methods and techniques can be applied to contemporary areas of practice such as editorial (e.g. print & web publishing contexts such as newspaper, magazine and book illustration) and commercial, scientific and technical contexts (e.g. product packaging, fashion, medical, educational, archaeological and botanical).
  • Advancing into Unit 2: Global Perspectives, you will develop an understanding of current representational and interpretative image-making practice both domestically (e.g. in the use of metaphor, symbolism, abstraction, satire and pastiche, diagrammatic and informational illustration) and internationally (e.g. Japanese ‘manga’, Native American ‘Formlines’, ‘Afrofuturism’, Asian, Indian and European image-making). You will also consider current personal and social visual concerns (e.g. representation of LGBTQI+ communities and issues around race, sexuality, identity, diversity and neurodiversity) and expanded and specialist visual contexts (e.g. self-publishing, activism, street art and non-paper applications).
  • The final unit of this stage, Self-directed Project, supports you to apply your understanding and skills in either a client led or personal project to create an original body of work.
Stage Three

Stage 3 supports you to build on your stage 2 studies and synthesize your creative practice and research interests across self-directed bodies of work and critical thinking assignments. The units provide a framework that enables you to foster an increasingly autonomous and professional approach to your studies.

  • Unit 1: Practice and Research will introduce you to this Stage of study by supporting you to initiate and articulate your emerging creative practice, develop relevant skills and research methods, and refine your fluency in critical thinking. The unit requires the production of a body of work comprising a series of projects or larger piece of work outlining what you are interested in making together with a supporting critical thinking element in the form of an essay or presentation.
  • Advancing into Unit 2: External Projects requires a self-directed project together with a supporting critical thinking element in the form of a case study, business plan, evaluation, written essay or visual presentation.
  • The final unit of stage 3, Major Project requires the completion of a body of work together with a supporting critical thinking element reflecting on and evaluating your body of work in the form of a written essay or visual presentation.
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We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available units – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which OCA might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us. This description was last updated on 14 December 2022.

Programme Specification 2023/24 New Curriculum

This Programme Specification is for all units on the new curriculum.

Review Programme Specification here

Programme Specification 2023/24 Running Out Curriculum

This Programme Specification details the units and learning outcomes that are being taught out.

Review Programme Specification here

Illustration Accessibility Statements

Accessibility statements give an indication of the type and format of content, teaching, and learning activities on the course, and how these are ordinarily delivered.

Review Accessibility Statements here

Foundations

£1025

Per course

Level 1 (HE4)

£4,950

For the level

Level 2 (HE5)

£4,950

For the level

Level 3 (HE6)

£4,950

For the level

Total approximate undergraduate fees

Breakdown of costs...

Foundations

£1,175

Per course

Level 1 (HE4)

£5,670

For the level

Level 2 (HE5)

£5,670

For the level

Level 3 (HE6)

£5,670

For the level

Total approximate undergraduate fees

Breakdown of costs...

More Information
  • With the OCA, you can study a BA (Hons) degree in our flexible online learning model at approximately one third the cost of a degree at a traditional physical university.

    Students study and pay for the course on a unit-by-unit basis, so you only pay for the course as you enrol to each unit.

    This course is eligible for a part-time tuition fee loan from Student Finance England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or you can self-fund the course and break down costs even further through the deposit and instalment option.  Find out more about your funding options here.

  • You will require regular use of a computer or laptop and internet access. Most essential reading materials can be accessed through the digital library services and eBooks.

    Students are responsible for sourcing and, where necessary, purchasing any additional software and resources specified. These can be around £400 at Level 1, £500 at Level 2, and £550 at Level 3. Where possible, open or freeware equivalents will be discussed alongside industry standard options.

    You may be eligible for any student discounts on computer equipment and software by using your student email, and you can find out more information about student discounts here.

  • Illustration is an open access degree; this means that there are no formal qualifications or experience required to join the course. All you need is a passion for the arts, and willingness to learn.

    All OCA courses require students to be IT literate, have a good internet connection, and have a good standard of English equivalent to CEFR B2. You can review the study requirements here so you’re prepared for online study at higher education.

  • We accept enrolments for our BA (HONS) courses in monthly intakes throughout the year.

    Review the key enrolment deadlines on the link below.



  • Our part-time degree courses are completed on average between 6 and 9 years. The degree is structured into three levels (instead of three years) so you’re able manage study around other commitments.

    Once enrolled, you’ll have a maximum of 12 years to complete your degree course. There are unit and level timeframes within the overall degree time frame, and you’ll need a minimum of 10 study hours per week to keep on track. To find out more about course duration and managing your time, click here.

  • Your course materials are accessible online through the virtual learning environment, OCA Learn, where you’ll also have access to student forums, a subject space, the student handbook and the online library. You’ll work primarily from a set text of course materials and resources, but can also sign up to webinars, workshops and study groups in addition to your core learning.

    Once you’ve completed the required assignments within a course unit and received tutor feedback, you’ll submit a portfolio of work to an assessment event. This gives you the opportunity to develop your work before you have it formally assessed to achieve credits towards your degree.

  • Upon completing the BA (Hons) Illustration degree, you’ll be set with skills to help you navigate the workplace. You could use your practice as a professional illustrator, graphic designer or digital designer – the possibilities are endless. Prospects can help you with a variety of options of where your degree could take you.

    While you’re pursuing your dream of being a professional illustrator, you can find a range of options to support your work. You could use your creative and research skills to work in visual communications, marketing, and many more roles.

    In May 2022 the Department for Culture, Media, & Sport estimated there were some 2.3 million jobs in the UK creative industries, and post pandemic the Creative Industries are growing faster than the UK economy as a whole.

    Creativity is a sought-after skill in today’s job market. Learning this as part of your degree could set you apart from the rest of the pack.

  • The Academic Regulations for Subsidiary Institutions of The Open University are applicable to all taught courses offered by the Open College of the Arts (OCA).

    You can review the Academic Regulations on our policy page.

To Join

Want to join a thriving community of creatives? Enrol here, today!