Graphic Design with Marketing (with Foundation Year) BA (Hons)

Course overview

Graphic design creative skills with marketing theory and practice combine to create multiple career options through this innovative and industry-focused graphic design and marketing degree course.

About the course

Build your career as a graphic designer with marketing expertise or in marketing with design know how, by learning a combination of skills across graphic design, illustration, visual communication, branding and marketing. Learn to develop your creative graphic design, visual selling and communication skills with an understanding of the marketing functions essential to a range of careers across the creative and design industries. You work in a studio environment with the foremost industry analogue and digital industry facilities.

What you learn

You work to live briefs, competitions and on real projects in this industry-focused programme to prepare you for a range of careers in design: artistic and technical roles, media agencies and publishing, and opportunities across the creative industries. From becoming a freelancer marketing professional or graphic designer, to working for an international company, your learning adventure unites the independent and commercial, specialisms and teamwork, deadlines and networking, traditional and digital design and marketing skills.

Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art

You study at MIMA School of Art & Design, an art school led by Teesside University and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA), an international contemporary museum and gallery. You gain a full artistic experience, learning in a social space that inspires dynamic ideas, fuels collaboration and allows you to build local, national and international networks with industry professionals for your future graphic design and marketing career.

Foundation year

The graphic design with marketing foundation year helps you develop knowledge and skills to make the transition to university study, and in particular, to gain art and design knowledge and develop academic and personal skills to proceed confidently through the remainder of the course. During the foundation year (also called year 0) you study through projects, lectures, tutorials, seminars, skills workshops and presentations. There are three modules each semester. An optional work placement year is included, at no extra cost.

Top three reasons to graphic design with marketing at Teesside University

1. The course is a combination of graphic design and marketing, offering you a multi-skilled experience.
2. Benefit from our professional design studio environment and excellent facilities.
3. Our many successful graduates have excellent and varied career opportunities and go on to work in design consultancies, publishing houses, advertising and new media studios along with freelance opportunities and commissioned arts projects.

Alongside the optional work placement year, you can gain valuable experience and engagement with the sector through our shorter work placements, internships and work experience opportunities.

Career opportunities

Our graduates have excellent and varied career opportunities and go on to work in design consultancies, publishing houses, advertising and new media studios along with freelance opportunities and commissioned arts projects. There is also the opportunity for postgraduate study.

Examples of destinations include Barker Advertising in New York, Caterpillar Books, Elmwood Design, Gardner Richardson, Great Fridays, JWT, KPMG, McCann Erickson, Pearl Fisher, Penguin Books, Radley Yeldar and Sapient Razorfish.