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Start Dates

21 September 2026

Duration

1 year full-time

About this course

Overview

Why choose Huddersfield for this course?

  • Shape your practice through a self-directed project that reflects your artistic interests and professional ambitions.
  • Join a vibrant creative community where costume meets performance, fashion, textiles, and digital design.
  • Experiment with performance textiles, circular design, and digital fabrication to redefine how costume and textiles are created.

In a town shaped by centuries of textile innovation, Huddersfield offers a unique space to reimagine the future of costume and textiles. This master’s course invites you to build on that legacy, exploring how costume can reflect contemporary culture, performance and identity.

At Huddersfield, costume is more than garment-making. It is a form of storytelling, a way to experiment with materials, and a place where tradition meets technology. You’ll have access to specialist studios and workshops, with support from expert staff who understand both the craft and creative possibilities of costume and textile design. From sustainable garment construction to digital fabrication and performance textiles, you will be encouraged to explore, collaborate and challenge conventions.

Your studies will be shaped by a project that reflects your personal interests and career goals. As part of a creative community of artists, designers and researchers, you’ll have opportunities to collaborate and engage with wider professional networks.

This course is designed for those who want to create work that makes an impact, offering the space and support to explore costume and textiles as expansive, creative practices and develop your own professional voice.

Who can apply?

Entry Requirements

Entry requirements for this course are normally:

  • An Honours degree (2:2 or above) in a relevant subject or an equivalent professional qualification.
  • Alternative qualifications and/or significant experience may be accepted, subject to approval.
  • International students with qualifications in 'creative' or 'practice' subjects should submit a digital portfolio (pdf) of work with their application.
  • All suitably qualified applicants are normally invited in for an informal chat with a portfolio or considered for admittance under alternative arrangements.

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.

What will you learn?

Course Details

On this module you will be encouraged to explore how different research methods underpin all kinds of creative practices. The module introduces you to current research themes in art and design. In the past we have explored topics such as: developing concepts through thinking and making, using archives in creative practice, working with objects of material culture, analysing digital transformations, practising psychogeography in the urban environment, tackling the anthropocene and environmental issues of the twenty-first century. As thinkers and practitioners you will work to develop an understanding of the different research approaches you might design and use to enhance and transform your ideas. You will be introduced to a range of practice-led research methods which may include: creative and design thinking, user-centered methods, practice-led approaches, cultural analysis, historical/archival research and market-driven data capture and analysis. The module helps to equip you with a tool kit of research skills to guide you in the development of a project proposal or working brief for your Master's study. The module is made up of lectures, guided seminars and small group tutorials which will support you in building a solid foundation to lead you through your studies.

This module aims to introduce you to key features of innovation and entrepreneurship within the context of the cultural and creative industries. Depending on your future aspirations we will help you to build your knowledge and understanding of different approaches to creative innovation (social, ethical and sustainable aspects), provide guidance on business start-ups, and assist you in your professional skills development (commercial awareness, self-management, problem-solving, team working, communication strategies), including searching for marketing, promotion, consultancy and funding opportunities specific to your subject. The module involves lectures, seminars and practical projects where you will experiment with the tools and techniques of creative innovation. There will be opportunities for group projects and cross-disciplinary working on this module.

This module enables you to explore a range of advanced creative concepts and practices across Art and Design working alongside other students in a mixed-discipline cohort encompassing Art and Communication, 3D Design and Fashion and Textiles. You will identify starting points for your studio practice through supported and scheduled access and interaction with a range of specialist workshop facilities and digital making processes which in turn inform the potential of material investigation as a core part of your refocused enquiry-led practice. The module comprises three discrete but interlinked phases of development: Conceptual Direction, Creative Contexts, Critical Processes.

This practice-led module will help you to question and develop the parameters of your project through a range of different directions suited to potential fashion and textile concepts, processes and contexts. You will produce a body of work supported by specialist workshops and digital resources, which will explore the established, emerging and future markets of your discipline that arise out of global cultural contexts. New paradigms of practice are evolving in the costume, fashion and textiles industries where technologies influence aesthetics and produce new modes of working, collaboration and production. Today’s designers, practitioners and specialists increasingly engage in new product development through adoption of traditional techniques, interwoven with new material technologies to generate new product and novel forms of marketing and communication. This module embraces traditional practices alongside more contemporary developments which inform end user and audience interaction and engagement. You will be encouraged to push the direction of your project through an engagement with processes of risk taking, problematisation and creative thinking for your chosen professional context. In doing so you will develop a deeper understanding of: • Professional directions • Audience and context • Process

Teaching and Assessment

Discover what to expect from your tutor contact time, assessment methods, and feedback process.

Where could this lead you?

Your Career

Graduates of Costume with Textiles can progress into a wide range of creative, technical and heritage-focused roles across theatre, film, TV and live performance. Many go on to work as Costume Designers, Costume Makers/Technicians, Wardrobe Assistants or Dressers, supporting the creation and delivery of costumes for stage and screen. Opportunities also include roles such as Costume Supervisor, Costume Coordinator, Costume Buyer, Pattern Cutter, Tailor or Seamstress, as well as specialist positions like Milliner, Breakdown Artist or Costume Illustrator. Skills are also valued in museums and heritage settings, with roles in costume conservation and textile collections, alongside freelance opportunities across the creative industries.*
*Source: Lightcast data extracted from the Graduate Career Explorer

98%
98% of the University's postgraduate students go on to work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduating.

* HESA Graduate Outcomes 2022/23, UK domiciled

1.3 million
The number of jobs supported by the UK fashion & textile industry.

* UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT)

£62 billion
Amount contributed to the UK fashion & textile industry.

* UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT)

Huddersfield stood out for its unique textiles course, warm welcome and supportive tutors. I grew in confidence, gained valuable experience as a Student Ambassador, and now teach in FE. The University helped me believe in myself and prepared me for my career.
Read More

- Amanda Lead
Textiles MA Graduate

How much will it cost?

Fees and Finance

£9,265 per year

This information is for Home students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.

Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy. 

From January 2027 the UK government is launching a new student funding system for people starting university education. Read more about the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE).

For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/study/fees/

£18,700 per year

This information is for international students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.

Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy. 

For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/international/fees-and-funding/

Scholarships and Bursaries

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Tuition Fee Loans

Find out more about tuition fee loans available to eligible postgraduate students.

What’s included in your fee?

We want you to understand exactly what your fees will cover and what additional costs you may need to budget for when you decide to become a student with us.

If you have any questions about Fees and Finance, please email the Student Finance Team.

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Why Hud

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Careers support

We know you’re coming to university to study on your chosen subject, meet new people and broaden your horizons. However, we also help you to focus on life after you have graduated to ensure that your hard work pays off and you achieve your ambition.

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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.

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Teaching Excellence

Great teaching is engaging and inspiring — it helps you reach your full potential and prepares you for the future. We don’t just teach well — we excel — and we have the awards and recognition to prove it.

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Inspiring Academics

Our researchers carry out world-leading work that makes a real difference to people’s lives. Staff within the Department of Media, Humanities and the Arts may teach you on this course.

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Research Excellence

You’ll be taught by staff who want to support your learning and share the latest knowledge and research.

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Accommodation

Looking for student accommodation? Huddersfield has you covered. HudLets has a variety of accommodation types to choose from, no matter what your preference. HudLets is the University’s approved accommodation service, run by Huddersfield Students’ Union.

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Further Study

Many of our graduates stay at Huddersfield to complete postgraduate research degrees at Masters or PhD level.

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