Master in Graphic Communication Design

Graphic Communication Design is a two year master's programme at the Royal Danish Academy, taught in English in Copenhagen. It sits under the Institute of Design and Visual Interaction, and the head of programme is Jens Dan Johansen.

What you study

The programme looks at visual communication as something that can transform how people see and act. The studies focus on complex design projects, academic inquiries and artistic research. You work with aesthetic qualities, critical dimensions and practical applications of graphic communication design.

Students develop their own agendas during the programme. The aim is a nuanced understanding of how graphic communication design can address societal challenges and be applied in new ways. Graduation projects give a sense of the range: recent titles include Beauty Marks, The Medieval Image World: Mediation and Access, Bound by Images and A Ritual Approach to Communication.

How the programme is organised

The programme runs for two years at master's level and is taught in English. It is based in Copenhagen at the Royal Danish Academy, an academy of arts, music and design. The programme belongs to the Institute of Design and Visual Interaction, and the subject area is design. The source page does not list individual modules or the number of ECTS credits.

Who it suits

This programme suits someone who wants to set their own direction rather than follow a fixed brief. You should be comfortable with complex design projects, with academic inquiry and with artistic research as ways of working. If you are interested in what graphic communication can do in society, and not only in how it looks, the programme is built around that question.

Admission, language and next steps

Teaching is in English, so you need to be able to study and present your work in English. The academy handles admission for master's programmes, and you apply directly to the institution rather than through optagelse.dk, which is the route for undergraduate applications. The source page does not state specific entry requirements, portfolio rules or deadlines, so check the academy's admission pages for master's study before you apply. Students from the EU/EEA and Switzerland study free of charge. Other students pay a fee set by the institution.

Master’s applications go straight to Royal Danish Academy - Architecture, Design and Conservation, not through optagelse.dk, and the institution sets its own deadline. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, residence permits and housing.