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Application Guidance

Applying

Applications to the Masters in Communication Design can be made throughout the year by submitting an online application form including a personal statement (500 words maximum) evaluating your current work and indicating why you have applied for the programme at Northumbria. You should also include contact details for two referees.

Personal Statement

We would like to see evidence of creative, critical and reflective thinking in your work. Your personal statement and your examples of work will enable us to understand your motivations, skills and ambition.

This programme is focused on supporting you to extend and change your practice, so an emphasis on how you think the programme will enable you to do this would be useful to state. Below are some guiding questions to help you put your statement together:

  • Why are you applying?
  • Why are you interested in Communication Design?
  • Do you have any particular areas of interest within the field? If so, why?
  • What do you bring to the course (e.g. skills, experience, networks, personality etc.) - why should we accept you?

Portfolio Guidance

Visual evidence of your work should also be submitted in support of your application. The preferred format is to send URL links (web links) to access examples of your work online (particularly if you have video-based materials). Your portfolio needs to have between 5 - 10 projects (with at least 2 - 4 images representing each project). Please include developmental sketches and prototypes as well as images showing the final produced piece. Each project should be accompanied by short descriptions of the work (around 200 words), paying particular attention to the following questions:

  • What was the aim of the work?
  • Who was it for?
  • How have you responded to the brief? Please describe your design process.
  • What did you learn through the project?

You can also submit a digital file via email to ad.applicantservices@northumbria.ac.uk. Projects should be collated into a single PDF document and be no more than 10mb in file size.

Only complete applications together with personal statement, visual evidence and two referees can be considered. We examine portfolios, and may then invite you to have an informal chat if we have further questions. The decision to offer a place will be based on your completed application form, portfolio, the supporting statement and references.

More Information

In you would like to visit our facilities and discuss the course with staff this can be arranged by contacting the programme leader, Jamie Steane.

Apply now for Communication Design MA.

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