MA Design for Data Visualisation

The course team welcomes applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, from all over the world, who have achieved a honours degree qualification that evidences their aptitude, skill and engagement in the field of graphic design/communication or a related design practice. Applicants from non-traditional backgrounds, as well as those already within employment, are also welcome on the course.

Educational level may be demonstrated by:

• Honours degree (named above);
• Possession of equivalent qualifications;
• Prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required;
• Or a combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning which, taken together, can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.

APEL - Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning

If you do not meet these entry requirements but your application demonstrates additional strengths and alternative relevant experience, you may still be considered. This could include:

• Related academic or work experience
• The quality of the personal statement
• A strong academic or other professional reference
• OR a combination of these factors

Each application will be considered on its own merit. We cannot guarantee an offer in each case.

For fees and funding information, please see website 

Upon completion of the course, graduates will be equipped with a keen critical understanding of the field of data visualisation and will have acquired a diverse set of technical and project management skills represented in a portfolio of data visualisation work.

We expect graduates to have the skills, experience and confidence to address a range of academic or professionally focused problems within this field; drawing on specialist knowledge and experience and a familiarity with related areas such as information design, user experience design and design thinking.

Graduates will have acquired leadership skills, an entrepreneurial mind-set and the ability to tackle complex problems with insight and determination.

Career options include:

• Design Consultancy
• Exhibition Design
• Editorial
• Data Journalism
• Data Visualisation
• Self-employment/freelance
• Integration of design skills into other disciplinary areas

MA Design for Data Visualisation is driven by the intelligent interrogation of data and intensive practice-led research.

On this course you will develop the ability to translate data into creative narratives that a wide variety of audiences can understand using the most appropriate form of communication design for each project, including print, physical objects, environmental design or a screen based interaction.

What to expect

• You'll be supported in developing an independent and critical view, producing visual narratives to bring about positive change, taking a collaborative and cross-disciplinary approach through the use of data.
• You'll gain an in-depth understanding of information design within the context of communication design, acquiring a range of digital and analogue skills, underpinned by a historical, theoretical and critical framework.
• The course recognises the social, cultural and ethical dimensions of data visualisation practices and will support you in developing a highly informed understanding of the role and implications of an editorial voice.
• You'll produce work through a research-led body of enquiry that explores the power, potential, social and cultural impacts of data visualisation.