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MA Digital Comics

Why choose Herts?

  • Excellent reputation: Best Creative School in the UK, Best 2D Animation School in Europe and number two in the world and Best VFX School in the UK (The Rookies Top Global Creative Schools, 2024)
  • Course created by professionals: the course has been created with digital comic experts and industry professionals to ensure its content aligns with those required to succeed in the comics industry
  • Innovative research: University of Hertfordshire has a long track record of supporting innovative research and digital comic outcomes at the forefront of the discipline
  • Entry requirements and key information

    A degree, ideally in a relevant subject (2.2 minimum), plus a portfolio demonstrating recent engagement and creative activities in your intended study area. Accreditation of professional experience may be possible for practitioners without a first degree.  

    A minimum IELTS score of 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in any component (or equivalent) is required for those whose first language is not English.  

    For country specific qualifications, please visit our your country page.  

    If you do not have the required level of English for entry, our academic English courses can help you to achieve this level. 
     

    A selection of your portfolio/reel/previous coursework or self-initiated art. We’re looking for potential to succeed in your chosen field, good ideas that have been developed (they don’t necessarily have to be complete!) and a flair and openness toward the challenge of a master’s degree. We recommend you visit to see if we are right for you - we hold open days where you can often meet relevant staff and view the facilities.  

    A personal statement outlining why you want to pursue your chosen master's course at the University of Hertfordshire, reflecting on your current skills and experience, and detailing your ambitions for your future career. 

    Institution code

    		 H36

    School of study

    		 School of Creative Arts

    Course length
  • Full Time, 1 Years
  • Part Time, 2 Years
    		•

    Location
  • University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield
    		•
  • Employability

    Careers

    With an MA Digital Comics degree, you can pursue a career as a digital comic creator, publish your own work online and earn your income through advertising, merchandise or directly via the support of your readers. You can also seek work in the traditional publishing industry undertaking roles as a writer, artist or another associated comics production or editorial role. Expertise in the digital contexts of comic creation may also open a range of work in industries that utilise narrative creation and digital illustration skills, including new media design, videogame and animation industries. 

Professional Accreditations

The University of Hertfordshire is a member of Access:VFX the international organisation pursuing inclusion, diversity, awareness and opportunity in the VFX & Animation industries. The program leader is a member of the honorary Visual Effects Society (VES) and UK SIGGRAPH, the worldwide computer graphics association. 

Herts is also a Rookies certified school as well as a Houdini certified school. 

Being a member of industry professional bodies means Herts has the first sight of new developments in the field as well as opportunities to attend screenings and conferences. 

About the course

The MA Digital Comics course will enable you to: 

  • explore the design skills needed to visualise engaging characters, worlds, panels and pages
  • develop your storytelling skills and examine the new possibilities for comics offered by digital display
  • investigate the commercial practices behind the publication of successful work
  • write and illustrate comics with a particular focus on digital distribution and consumption
  • study a modular structure that has produced professionals across the digital comics industry 
  • have the opportunity for unique collaboration with students on other pathways and work with animators, games artists, concept artists and digital comics illustrators. 

Why choose this course?

You will complete the course having created a range of comics for different formats, audiences and contexts. You will gain an in-depth understanding of the processes of writing, designing, illustrating, distributing and promoting digital comics as well as organise and manage professional workflows and create digital and traditional comic outcomes to a high standard. You will also learn how to communicate and articulate your practice within a wide range of networks. 

The specialist teaching approach will focus on exploiting the unique qualities of digital comics as well as developing a solid set of skills equally applicable to traditional print comic publication. The course will expose you to critical and media theories that you can connect to your emerging practice to grow your repertoire of skills and stand out in the marketplace, by creating new services or lead innovation in digital comic creation. 

Talks and guest lectures by professional practitioners from across the creative industries take place regularly on campus. In semester B you will have the opportunity to engage in a live project that may involve working with a real-world client or exploring the application of an “applied comics” approach in a research or commercial setting. Opportunities for self-promotion through competition entry and interactions with comic publishers and collectives will also be explored throughout course. 

You can also increase your earning potential with an MA Digital Comics degree; the average pay in VFX at all ages exceeds the overall UK average as well as exceeding the average pay for the creative industries by a good margin find out more about the UK’s VFX workforce. 83% of the VFX industry and 93% of the animation industry are graduates, with a higher than average proportion of postgraduates.

What will I study?

In the first semester you’ll be challenged with a series of creative practical projects to stretch your imagination and skillset. This is paired with a module we call sources and significance - introducing you to some of the greatest media theorists and critical thinkers, helping you bring a new intellectual dimension to your emerging practice. Our aim is to get you thinking about innovation and working at the forefront of your field. The course starts by introducing a series of short projects to build up participant resilience and skills. You will look at a variety of popular formats of digital comic, building understanding of key concepts. 

The second semester is about locating your practice in the creative business landscape and focusing on your chosen destination. You’ll prepare and research our showreel, portfolio or exhibition- whatever your career output is. You’ll engage with an interdisciplinary project, collaborating with students across the screen disciplines and hear from a range of industry and artistic experts to help you, as well as develop your ideas towards an achievable and attractive outcome, that you will work on it the third semester. 

Armed with a strong self-initiated project, you’ll spend the whole of the summer semester working on the artefact that will be your signature piece to the world. You’ll have the opportunity to show your progress each week to your tutor and peers, and sometimes to industry too. You’ll learn to present progress and develop ideas incrementally through extensive collaboration, while also building essential team skills. 

  • Level 7
    ModuleCreditsCompulsory/optional
    Practice 1: Developing Skills30 CreditsCompulsory
    Digital Media: Sources and Significance30 CreditsCompulsory
    Practice 2: Creative Project Development30 CreditsCompulsory
    Exploring Professional Practice30 CreditsCompulsory
    Major Study: Digital Comics60 CreditsCompulsory

    • Further course information

    Course fact sheets
    MA Digital Comics Download
    Programme specifications
    MA Digital Comics Download
    Additional information

    Sandwich placement or study abroad year

    n/a

    Applications open to international and EU students

    		 Yes

    Student experience

    At the University of Hertfordshire, we want to make sure your time studying with us is as stress-free and rewarding as possible. We offer a range of support services including; student wellbeing, academic support, accommodation and childcare to ensure that you make the most of your time at Herts and can focus on studying and having fun.

    You’ll study in the award-winning FMM (Film, Music and Media) building on the College Lane campus with high spec computer labs. You’ll also have access to the software and hardware of the Learning Resource Centre. If you are a home student, you’ll be able to access the course remotely. It is a prerequisite of your visa for overseas students to study on campus, but all students are welcome on campus 5 days a week.

    Find out about how we support our students

    You can also read our student blogs to find out about life at Herts.