Illustration MA (eca)

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.

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.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

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:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

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).

• Approved universities in 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:

• English 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.

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

• Edinburgh College of Art scholarships

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.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding