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Fashion Design BA(Hons)

2025-26 (also available for 2024-25)

Start date

22 September 2025

Duration

3 years full-time
4 years inc. placement year

Entry requirements

A Level - BBB-BCC

BTEC - DMM-MMM

See full entry requirements

About the course

Reasons to study

  1. The range of modules, that are integrated into the course are designed to challenge, stimulate and foster aesthetic, product, sustainable, ethical and critical thinking.
  2. Alumna Sian Gabbidon went on to win BBC's The Apprentice and is now CEO of sianmarie.com.
  3. We'll help to prepare you for a career in the fashion industry and support you in undertaking a work placement or setting up your own business through our unique Enterprise Placement Year. 

Fashion Design BA(Hons) offers a stimulating, creative programme of study to help you develop the aesthetic, intellectual and inter-disciplinary skills necessary for fashion design. It focuses on contemporary fashion design, with a marketing or textiles specialism and includes garment production techniques and methods for womenswear, menswear, and gender-neutral clothing.

You’ll learn from staff with professional experience in the fashion industry, and use cutting-edge equipment located in our purpose-built £30-million specialist building.

Why study Fashion Design BA(Hons)

The range of modules, that are integrated into the course are designed to challenge, stimulate and foster aesthetic, product, sustainable, ethical and critical thinking. Alumna Sian Gabbidon went on to win BBC's The Apprentice and is now CEO of sianmarie.com.

We'll help to prepare you for a career in the fashion industry and support you in undertaking a work placement or setting up your own business through our unique Enterprise Placement Year.

On this course, you’ll develop professional skills in fashion design, portfolio techniques, computer aided design (CAD), pattern cutting and garment construction.

We’ll also:

  • Support you in the application of a range of industry standard technology to bring your ideas to life, including software that will enable you to produce professional fashion marketing or textile materials.
  • Provide an industry-facing approach, which gives you the opportunity to undertake a placement year to help prepare you for a career in this exciting and diverse industry.

You may go on to pursue a role in fashion, art, design, environmental sustainability, clothing production, tailoring, woven textiles, crafts, and more. Computer aided manufacture, visual communication, knitwear technology, printed textiles, and fashion merchandising are also viable routes, as are fashion promotion, 3D design, and design technology.

Course detail

Core modules:

Fashion Design Practice

This module will introduce you to a range of creative and technical skills and specialist equipment to underpin the foundations of fashion design. During practical workshop sessions you will explore visual research and design approaches, fashion drawing and illustration techniques, material, and colour selection, alongside an introduction to pattern cutting and clothing manufacture processes.

Design and Realisation

In Design and Realisation you will develop a portfolio of work which explores design concepts, visual media, shape, proportion, colour and fabric selection, supported by two-dimensional and three-dimensional construction processes, to create unique fashion clothing.

Materials Processes and Practices

This module is designed to build your core knowledge in materials and processes used in a wide range of both bespoke and industrial applications. You will have the opportunity to explore how materials for the fashion, costume and fashion marketing industries continually evolve through technological developments and innovation.

Sustainable Principles

This module introduces the theory underpinning how textiles and its associated industries are responding to sustainability targets and concerns. Students will develop knowledge, understanding and critical thinking whilst exploring key principles of sustainability such as environmental and social impact, sustainable practices related to manufacturing, recycling/reuse of materials, and circular business models.

Option modules:

Choose one from a list which may include:

Textile Practices

Students will be able to apply fundamental design application skills using the Textile workshops through the specialism areas of print, knit, weave or embroidery. The syllabus is designed to develop the ability to conceptualise and produce textiles samples for a specific end use, with an emphasis on aesthetic and technical excellence.

Fashion Marketing Fundamentals

This module will introduce the fundamentals of marketing and develop the core skills, theories and processes that underpin fashion marketing. Students will explore branding, the marketing mix, understand, and use marketing research and explore the application of strategy across the spectrum of fashion businesses. A clear understanding of the consumer and how and why they buy will be explored and how this effects the decision making processes of fashion businesses.

Entry requirements

BBB-BCCat A Level or equivalent.

120-104 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications.

Merit at T Level.

DMM-MMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.

  • Pass in Diploma Foundation Studies in Art and Design combined with A Level or BTEC qualifications, to total an equivalent of 120-104 UCAS tariff points.
  • Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Merit or above.
  • 120-104 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.

Offers will be subject to a digital portfolio review, after which you will be invited to attend an Applicant Visit Day, at which you will have the opportunity to discuss and be given feedback on your portfolio. Read more about the portfolio review process on our Interviews, auditions and portfolio pages.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.

Other suitable experience or qualifications will be considered. For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

Placements


The course offers an optional one-year (36 weeks minimum) work placement after the second year, in the UK or abroad. This will give you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, insight into your chosen career and open up your graduate employment prospects. Our Placement Unit and academic staff have excellent industry links and can support you in applying for and finding your placement(s), as well as during your placement year. Students from our suite of Fashion courses have previously taken up placement opportunities with companies including: Urban Outfitters - London, ITV’s This Morning –London; Haddow Group – Bradford; Ted Baker – Leeds and Alexander McQueen – London.

You can find out more information on placements here.

The fashion industry is extremely competitive, so I knew doing a placement would help me gain real industry experience and ultimately help me get a job after I graduate. Completing a placement will also help me during my final year, where I'll be designing and making my own final collection.

Image of Fashion Design Student, Amarah Hussain

Amarah Hussain, Garment Technologist at Matalan, Fashion Design student

Student Work

A gallery of work by our Fashion Design students. Click on each image to find out more.

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Important information

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.

Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons

Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

Changes to option modules:

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes:

We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment, or pandemics.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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