Master Arts — ILLUSTRATION

Tuition fees are 292 USD per year.

Université Bordeaux Montaigne, based in Pessac, offers a Master Arts with a track in Illustration. The program is a two-year master's degree taught in French, with an inferred September start and yearly tuition of 250 EUR. Illustration as a discipline focuses on creating images that communicate ideas, narratives, or information, spanning areas such as book and editorial illustration, graphic storytelling, and visual design for print and digital media. Coursework in an illustration-focused program typically combines studio practice, where students develop drawing, image-making, and visual narrative skills, with theoretical training in art history, visual culture, and the analysis of illustrated works. Students often build a personal portfolio while studying the techniques and traditions associated with illustrated books, comics, editorial work, and other narrative image forms. Graduates of illustration programs commonly pursue careers as freelance or staff illustrators, working in publishing, editorial media, advertising, or the comics and graphic novel industry. Others move into related creative fields such as concept art, character design, or visual communication, and some continue toward further study in illustration or visual arts. Because instruction is delivered in French, applicants need a strong command of the language for studio critiques, seminars, and coursework. Students typically enter with an undergraduate background in visual arts, graphic design, or a related creative discipline. Over the two years of study at Université Bordeaux Montaigne, the program combines studio-based practice in image-making and visual storytelling with theoretical training in art history and visual culture, aimed at developing a professional illustration practice.