| Code | Faculty | Department |
|---|---|---|
| 01130106 | Faculty of Humanities | Department: School of the Arts |
| Credits | Duration | NQF level |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum duration of study: 4 years | Total credits: 530 | NQF level: 08 |
This programme qualifies candidates for entry-level positions into the mass communications industries such as graphic design, branding and advertising as well as broadcast design. With a strong social underpinning, the programme incorporates design strategies, design applications and design products in print, ambient and screen-based media and technologies.
Closing date for applications: 30 June annually
Important information for all prospective students for 2025
The admission requirements below apply to all who apply for admission to the University of Pretoria with a National Senior Certificate (NSC) and Independent Examination Board (IEB) qualifications. Click here for this Faculty Brochure.
Minimum requirements | ||
Achievement level | ||
English Home Language or English First Additional Language | APS (Grade 11) | APS (NSC/IEB completed) |
5 | 30 | 28 |
* To retain admission, you must obtain an APS of at least 28 in the NSC.
* In addition to the UP application, it is compulsory for applicants to submit an online portfolio to the Information Design division by 30 June. Those who fail to do this will end up with an incomplete application and will therefore not be considered for the selection process.
Life Orientation is excluded when calculating the APS.
Applicants currently in Grade 12 must apply with their final Grade 11 (or equivalent) results.
Applicants who have completed Grade 12 must apply with their final NSC or equivalent qualification results.
Please note that meeting the minimum academic requirements does not guarantee admission.
Successful candidates will be notified once admitted or conditionally admitted.
Applicants should check their application status regularly on the UP Student Portal at click here.
Applicants with qualifications other than the abovementioned should refer to the International undergraduate prospectus 2025: Applicants with a school leaving certificate not issued by Umalusi (South Africa), available at click here.
International students: Click here.
Transferring students
A transferring student is a student who, at the time of applying at the University of Pretoria (UP) is/was a registered student at another tertiary institution. A transferring student will be considered for admission based on NSC or equivalent qualification and previous academic performance. Students who have been dismissed from other institutions due to poor academic performance will not be considered for admission to UP.
Closing dates: Same as above.
Returning students
A returning student is a student who, at the time of application for a degree programme is/was a registered student at UP, and wants to transfer to another degree at UP. A returning student will be considered for admission based on NSC or equivalent qualification and previous academic performance.
Note:
Closing date for applications from returning students
Same as above.
Departmental selection is necessary prior to admission to this programme. Although Art as a Grade 12 subject is not a requirement, a candidate must be able to demonstrate his/her creative potential and commitment to the chosen field of study. Candidates are therefore required to submit a portfolio of work for a merit selection review and, if invited, undergo a series of tests and be interviewed by a selection committee. Contact the coordinator for more information. A student who chooses this programme must work in an appropriate design studio, approved by the coordinator, for at least six weeks during the third and fourth years.
A student must pass all the core modules to be promoted to the next year of study. The Dean may approve exceptions to these promotion requirements on the recommendation of the head of the department.
The degree is awarded with distinction to a candidate who obtains at least 75% in IOW 400 and VKK 402.
Minimum credits: 124
To be promoted to the second year of study all core modules must be passed.
Module content:
Find, evaluate, process, manage and present information resources for academic purposes using appropriate technology.
Module content:
Apply effective search strategies in different technological environments. Demonstrate the ethical and fair use of information resources. Integrate 21st-century communications into the management of academic information.
Module content:
This module intends to equip students to cope more confidently and competently with the reading and understanding of a variety of texts, to apply these skills in a variety of contexts and to follow the conventions of academic writing.
Module content:
This module equips students to understand and use a range of discipline-specific terminology; apply the strategies of critical and comprehensive reading to their own academic literacy; apply the conventions of academic writing to their own writing, using the process approach, to produce intelligible academic texts and use the correct referencing technique as required by the faculty.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
The module develops drawing skills that can be used to visually explore and create images and ideas for visual communication. An understanding of structure, form, space and lighting is developed through perceptual exploration of man-made and organic forms, supported by related theory.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Introduction to design as visual form; elements, principles and logic in design; colour and its use as a design tool; analysis, synthesis and application of selected techniques. Introduction to typography: terminology, historical development and basic text forming; typography as direct communication; typography as illustrative entity. Introduction to the design process: originality and conceptual values; research, concept development, visual articulation and design rationales; self-evaluation.
Module content:
Foundations of visual culture
This module introduces visual culture theory using a wide range of texts and ideas. The module gives students wide exposure to visual discourses and includes a variety of visual culture examples e.g. artworks, advertisements. These discourses may include: exploring what visual culture is; modes of analysis; and introducing terminology such as ideology and myth.
Module content:
Contemporary images in South Africa
This module presents an introduction into the ways in which contemporary image practices in South Africa engage with images from western art, from the Renaissance to Realism.
Minimum credits: 126
To be promoted to the third year of study all core modules must be passed.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
This module allows development of skills necessary for the conceptualisation, visualization and presentation of ideas and images with different meanings and purposes. Areas explored include interpretation of word and image relationships, visual rhetoric, characterisation, diagramming of information, instructional storyboarding and media experimentation.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Introduction to digital technology. Typography and layout: typographic expression; layout systems and structures; integration of image and text. Photography in design. Design as visual communication: expressive and utilitarian dimensions; selected techniques and media. Applications and design problem solving in visual identity, packaging, editorial and promotional design.
Module content:
Gender, sexuality and visual representation
Introduction to the representation of sex, gender and sexuality in visual culture. Gender theory related to feminism, intersectionality and queer theory are unpacked. Sexuality and gender issues across a range of visual cultural such as artworks, advertisements, fashion, music videos and films are addressed.
Module content:
Visual (Post)colonialisms
This module investigates aspects of the postcolonial which include Afrocentrism, multiculturalism, transnationalism and the African diaspora. The module studies such themes using a cross section of contemporary African visual culture. The module also focuses on the ideology of imperialism and colonialism and its influence on art and visual culture from the nineteenth century onwards.
Minimum credits: 160
To be promoted to the fourth year of study all core modules must be passed.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
This module allows for integration of imaging and visualisation with selected Information Design outcomes. Personal approaches to conceptualisation, critical reflection, autographic style and use of media are developed to visually explore and interpret deeper levels of meaning.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Computer proficiency and digital technology as design tool and design medium. Production management: technology and production systems for paper and screen-based media. Design as visual communication: content, audience, media and design strategy. Applications and design problem solving in visual identity, packaging, exhibition, editorial, advertising and promotional design. Individualised design research.
Module content:
Post/Modernities: Contemporary discourses
This module investigates Modernism and Postmodernism as the dominant aesthetic, discursive and visual paradigms of the 20th and 21st centuries. It critically evaluates Modernism as a meta-narrative of the history of modern art and engages critically with Postmodernism as a paradigm shift that emerged in the late 20th century. These concepts are explored with reference to relevant examples from visual culture.
Module content:
This module investigates culturally encoded ideas and ideologies embodied in the construction of space, place, and cyberspace. The module explores how the process of spatialisation operates on a social level and how social identities, ideologies, myths and values are encoded with specific reference to examples from visual culture such as museums, galleries, real landscapes and representations of landscapes as well as in the interactive and immersive spaces of digital culture.
Minimum credits: 120
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
Processes in design practice: planning strategies; methods for problem solving; design evaluation; communication; business principles and ethics. Integrated application of knowledge and skills through advanced design problem solving. Individualised design research.
Module content:
*Closed – requires departmental selection
This module focuses on the study of the history, theory and criticism of design. It includes the consideration of current design discourses within national and international contexts.
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