Illustration Schools and Programs in Valencia, Spain
About Illustration Schools and Programs in Valencia, Spain
Illustration is the craft of making images that tell, explain or sell something: children's and trade books, comics, newspapers and magazines, advertising, packaging, video games and science communication. Students learn drawing, colour, composition and visual storytelling, together with the digital tools and print production skills the market expects. In Valencia there are several routes into illustration, from vocational art and design cycles to higher design studies and postgraduate courses.
How illustration is studied in Spain
- Higher vocational cycle in Illustration: part of the professional Plastic Arts and Design programmes (Artes Plásticas y Diseño), leading to the qualification of Técnico Superior de Artes Plásticas y Diseño. According to the Ministry of Education, students in this cycle create illustrations for fields such as science, technology, architecture, fashion, advertising, graphic design, publishing and audiovisual media. These cycles last between one and two years, most of them two, and include a work placement in companies, studios or workshops.
- Higher artistic education in Design (Enseñanzas Artísticas Superiores de Diseño): the route offered by schools of design, organised in two cycles, bachelor's and master's level, within the European Higher Education Area.
- University bachelor's degree (grado): as a general rule, bachelor's degrees have 240 ECTS credits. The ministry's Registry of Universities, Centres and Degrees (RUCT) lists only three official bachelor's degrees with "illustration" in the name, none of them in Valencia. Students who want a university degree in the city usually choose Fine Arts (Bellas Artes), which is taught in Valencia, or a design degree.
- Master's level: official master's degrees have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits, and the RUCT lists official master's degrees in illustration elsewhere in Spain. Many schools also run their own master's programmes and courses in illustration, comics or concept art; these are the school's own qualifications, not official degrees.
Where to study illustration in Valencia
One example from our directory is ESAT - Escuela Superior de Arte y Tecnología, a Valencia school that teaches in the classroom and online in artistic and technological fields. Before enrolling, ask which qualification each programme leads to: an official Spanish qualification, a foreign degree or the school's own certificate. The difference matters if you want to continue your studies and, for students from outside the European Union, when applying for a student visa.
For a university route, the RUCT lists the official bachelor's degree in Bellas Artes at the Universitat Politècnica de València.
Admission and recognition
To enter a university bachelor's degree with a foreign secondary school qualification, the usual route is UNEDasiss, the UNED service that assesses the academic records of international students and runs the tests needed to enter Spanish bachelor's degrees; students then apply to each university. The Plastic Arts and Design cycles and the higher artistic education programmes have their own admission process. Holders of a foreign university degree can ask for a declaration of equivalence (declaración de equivalencia), which certifies the academic level of the degree (bachelor's or master's).
Careers
Illustrators work as freelancers or for publishers, advertising agencies, design and animation studios, video game companies and the media. A strong portfolio usually matters as much as the qualification.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a university degree in illustration in Valencia?
Not under that name: the RUCT lists no official bachelor's degree in illustration taught in Valencia. The alternatives are a degree in Fine Arts, higher design studies or the higher vocational cycle in Illustration.
How long is the higher vocational cycle in Illustration?
Higher Plastic Arts and Design cycles last between one and two years, most of them two, and include a work placement.
Is a master's in illustration an official degree?
Only if it is an official university master's degree listed in the RUCT or a master's in higher artistic education. A school's own master's programme is not an official degree.