Illustration MA (eca)
Awards: MA (eca)
Study modes: Full-time
Funding opportunities
Programme website: Illustration
MA Illustration is a programme designed to develop, challenge and push the boundaries of what it means to be a contemporary illustrator in an international industry. A synthesis of theory and practice, this programme creates discourse around what illustration is, and what it can be.
A studio culture opens up collaborative practice, and individual development is fostered through a dedicated studio with individual work spaces. You will explore contemporary issues through traditional image making techniques to futuristic and experimental techniques.
Postgraduate study of this subject allows for a deeper analysis of themes and texts and enables you to build an innovative and focused portfolio. Often, our students have ambitions for the professional sphere, or they may wish to pursue doctoral studies. In each case, there is a sustained level of research, allied to technical ways of working and conceptual thinking.
Over the course of a busy year you are invited to find your own creative voice, fostering individual practices. You build upon this through the three semesters with tutor support.
You are supported through a range of workshops, challenges and briefs by talented staff and technicians, as well as an array of equipment and facilities.
You will write research proposals in the early weeks, describing ideas and contexts for individual projects. You will be guided in these proposals, and you will also be given set projects and collaborative tasks at various points in the academic year.
There is a Life Drawing studio with a series of classes and various digital clusters throughout the campus. The academic work naturally encapsulates traditional media and information technology.
Theoretical work underpins all studio practice at many levels, and there is a series of visiting lecturers from professional and academic worlds.
We welcome a range of approaches to illustration, and the ways in which this subject relates to design and the fine arts. Illustration masters students have also collaborated with other academic subjects in ECA and the wider community of the University of Edinburgh.
Group projects have included:
- exhibitions at the Scottish Parliament and Institut Français Écosse
- a set of finely printed postcards depicting aspects of Edinburgh for the Heart of Midlothian project * illustrations for charities such as Children of Scotland and Ocean Generation.
Recent collaborations have included the Edinburgh Filmhouse and various University publications.
Additionally, there are competitions and opportunities to exhibit at points during the year. These include:
- Penguin
- V&A
- The Folio Society
- 3x3
- Macmillan Children’s Book Competition.
Teaching
You will be taught by experienced academics, tutors and technicians with a range of specialisms. All staff are practitioners in the creative industries, bringing real world and contemporary knowledge to teaching.
Staff have specialisms in graphic novels, artists books, exhibitions, children’s books, natural history, comic books, adverting, printmaking and much more.
Teaching is delivered through a range of lessons, from lectures and seminars to individual tutorials. Workshops include:
- comic and sequential illustrations
- woodblock printing
- experimental drawing
- creative thinking
- sketchbook practice
- bookbinding
- freelancing
- digital skills
- other creative and professional development.
There are also optional courses in children’s picture books, game play, business and much more across the wider University.
Assessment
You are assessed regularly through the course with individual written feedback at multiple points, both formative and summative. You can build upon your learning at each point with direction and support from your tutors.
Assessment is focused on creative work with some written elements. The final project is a creative body of work, rather than a final dissertation.
Find out more about compulsory and optional courses
We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.
Award | Title | Duration | Study mode | |
---|---|---|---|---|
MA (eca) | Illustration | 1 Year | Full-time | Programme structure 2024/25 |
By the time you graduate you’ll be ready to progress to a wide range of exciting careers, such as:
- picture book illustrator
- designer
- freelance illustrator
- working in a leading agency.
Field trips
A range of field trips will introduce you to research and develop your practice in a range of museums, galleries and organisations. Sketchbook practice and creative investigation are encouraged, as well as opportunities for networking and collaboration.
Campus facilities
MA Illustration is based in Evolution House on the Lauriston Campus in the heart of the beautiful Old Town in Edinburgh.
You will have your own desk as well as wider studio space and seminar areas.
There are some facilities in the studio as well as other facilities in the building, including a computer suite, scanning, printing, equipment hire and digital services.
The building also hosts the famous ECA library with inspiring books and up-to-date magazines and publications. Staff are also based in the building, on hand to support students.
The rest of the campus hosts:
- lecture theatres
- life drawing rooms
- further teaching spaces
- the art shop for supplies
- the freecycle hub, for materials and equipment at no cost to students or the environment.
There is a range of printmaking, woodwork, metal workshops and other useful facilities. There is also a café, pub and a community of creative students.
Lauriston campus redevelopment
ECA are excited to be undertaking a capital redevelopment of ECA’s Lauriston campus over the next 3 years, from April 2024 to April 2027.
The project aims to maximise the use of existing space, improve accessibility, and create a vibrant campus that fosters collaboration and innovation.
The project involves refurbishing and repurposing various spaces across the Lauriston campus, including technical facilities, student and teaching spaces, and the relocation of the Reid School of Music from Alison House to the Lauriston campus. New social spaces, seminar rooms, and studios are being created to accommodate our growing community.
You can find more about the project at the below link:
Building work starts at ECA’s Lauriston campus | Edinburgh College of Art
These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.
Normally a UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in illustration or a related subject that gives appropriate grounding for postgraduate study.
You should demonstrate knowledge of the subject and its contemporary practice.
You must submit a portfolio as part of your application. Your portfolio should contain examples of work that show an understanding and level of skill appropriate to the postgraduate study of illustration, including:
observational drawing
colour, line, composition
idea development
awareness of narrative image-making and sequential image-making
awareness of print and applications of digital media
awareness of the professional practice and the cultural context of historical and contemporary illustration
Applicants from a wide range of academic backgrounds have successfully studied MA and MFA Illustration. If you do not meet the academic entry requirements, we may still consider your application on the basis of your portfolio and/or relevant professional experience.
Students from China
This degree is Band C.
International qualifications
Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:
English language requirements
Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.
English language tests
We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:
- IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
- TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
- C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 169 in each component.
- Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
- PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 59 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
- Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 6 in each component.
Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.
Degrees taught and assessed in English
We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:
We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).
If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.
Find out more about our language requirements:
There may be small additional costs that are required throughout the year for things such as print materials and gallery entrance.
Field trips are designed with as low a budget as possible. These are optional but encouraged, and are always hugely rewarding.
Award | Title | Duration | Study mode | |
---|---|---|---|---|
MA (eca) | Illustration | 1 Year | Full-time | Tuition fees |
Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.
Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:
- borrowing money
- taking out a loan
- family support
- personal savings
- income from work
- employer sponsorship
- scholarships
Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study
Featured funding
UK government postgraduate loans
If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.
The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:
- your programme
- the duration of your studies
- your tuition fee status
Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.
Other funding opportunities
Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:
- Phone: +44 (0)131 650 4086
- Contact: College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Admissions Office
- Programme Director, Amy Dover
- Phone: +44 (0)131
- Contact: adover3@ed.ac.uk
- Postgraduate Admissions Office
- College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
- 57 George Square
- Central Campus
- Edinburgh
- EH8 9JU
- Programme: Illustration
- School: Edinburgh College of Art
- College: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Applying
Select your programme and preferred start date to begin your application.
MA (eca) Illustration - 1 Year (Full-time)
Due to high demand, the school operates a number of selection deadlines. We will make a small number of offers to the most outstanding candidates on an ongoing basis, but hold the majority of applications until the next published selection deadline when we will offer a proportion of the places available to applicants selected through a competitive process.
Deadlines for applicants applying to study in 2025/26 will be published shortly.
Please be aware that applications must be submitted and be complete, i.e. all required documents uploaded, by the relevant application deadline in order to be considered in that round. Your application will still be considered if you have not yet met the English language requirement for the programme.
You must submit one reference with your application.
You must submit a portfolio as part of your application. You won't be able to submit your portfolio immediately, but you'll receive an email prompt within a few days of submitting your application that will explain how to upload your portfolio.
Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:
Further information
- Phone: +44 (0)131 650 4086
- Contact: College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Admissions Office
- Programme Director, Amy Dover
- Phone: +44 (0)131
- Contact: adover3@ed.ac.uk
- Postgraduate Admissions Office
- College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
- 57 George Square
- Central Campus
- Edinburgh
- EH8 9JU
- Programme: Illustration
- School: Edinburgh College of Art
- College: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences