The fashion design course focuses on creativity and contemporary fashion design practices, which is underpinned by cultural, social, commercial, environmental, political, and conceptual ideas. Graduating with a professional portfolio ready for industry, you will develop your own fashion practice using our fashion studio in the historic Alexon House, the previous home to the Alexon fashion company.
You will create fashion collections using our industry standard manufacturing facilities, as well as digital textile printing, laser cutting and 3D printing. As part of our Industry Speaker series, you will meet designers, artist, editors, curators and recruiters on a weekly basis. Through our close links with industry you will work on live briefs and competitions. Students will also get the opportunity to join our regular international trips to visit trade fairs and galleries as well as exploring world fashion with the Go Global programme run by the university.
Our graduates have entered many areas of the fashion industry and have worked with Alexander McQueen, Mary Katranzou, Lulu Liu, Sopie Webster, Amanda Wakeley, Zandra Rhodes, Love Magazine and Denza International. Some of our graduates have started their own label, such as AAUGUST who won Young Designer of The Year at Africa Fashion Week London, or go on to develop their research as post graduate study. The range of the fashion industry is reflected in this course, which encourages you to experiment with designs, materials and garment making processes while increasing your knowledge of the latest textile technologies and processes.
You will develop your own individual style as you explore related disciplines such as photography, screen-printing and illustration, and will also have the opportunity to respond to real industry briefs and implement live projects with leading fashion designers.
The course also looks at the relationship between fashion design, history and contemporary debates in fashion and the wider visual world, a relationship that will allow you to explore your own creative direction. If you have completed an appropriate foundation degree or HND, you can join this course at stage three.
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
• Learn the specialised design and craft skills you will need to make your mark in the domestic or international fashion industry
• Study in a dedicated, stimulating and lively studio environment with a sewing machine for every student
• Develop an individual creative approach to the design and manufacture of a wide range of garments
• Gain experience in the use of digital photography and pattern cutting, computer aided design, digital textile printing and high quality screen printing.
• Explore the multi-cultural and international contexts that can support your design and making ideas • Challenge the established designers as you prepare a garment collection and showcase your work on the runway at our Graduate Fashion Show
• Benefit from the development of design and manufacturing skills that are transferable within the fashion industry
A range of appropriate assessments will enable you to grow in confidence and demonstrate your acquisition of knowledge and skills. The formative and summative assessment methods used across the course include: - Coursework to include examples of Fashion Design, research sketchbooks/portfolios, professional portfolio, research assignments, garment manufacture, 3-D development, essays, contextual writing and blogs. - Assessments based on individual and group presentations. - Portfolio reviews are a key means of assessing, but they are also important for collating work for a professional portfolio. This instils the right attitudes towards professional work whereby you can use your portfolio to promote yourself in professional contexts. - Essays and reports feature in developing writing skills, helping you to express ideas in a variety of ways and styles and to develop academic writing skills that are of particular benefit in producing the final year contextual rationale for your major project. - A midpoint Formal Formative Assessment to review all work in progress - Key Skills are embedded in the teaching and learning of the course and will be taken into account in all assessments. The assessments will develop incrementally across the course and allow you to gain skills, confidence and knowledge, receive feedback and develop, thus allowing you to implement this knowledge and feedback into subsequent assessments. At the end of the course, completion of the assessments will demonstrate your ability to analyse current art and design practice in relation to Fashion Design - and communicate this, in both written and visual formats, as well as demonstrate a range of transferable skills relevant to your professional employability.
We will consider you as an individual and take into account all elements of your application, not just your qualifications. We are looking for breadth and depth in your current studies and enthusiasm for the subject you wish to study.
You can work out how many UCAS points your qualifications are worth with the UCAS tariff calculator
Contact the Admissions Team for additional guidance on whether the qualifications you currently hold or are taking would be suitable for entry.
T: +44 (0)1582 743500
E: admission@beds.ac.uk
As a general guide, to apply for a place on an undergraduate course (BA/BSc) at the University you need to have completed your high school education and have the required English qualification.
We have students from all the European Union member countries so we are quick to make decisions on most qualifications. See your country page for more details
Check Your Country page to confirm that your local qualifications are suitable or contact your International Admissions Team
Employability skills are integrated into the course and provide you with an awareness of the real-world context of the creative industries in general and Fashion Design in particular. You will be helped to develop a strategy for obtaining appropriate employment at the end of your course.
Professional practice will be emphasised as part of all learning, with a work-related learning unit that will especially help you to become more focused on managing your career. You will be helped with the preparation of a professional portfolio; including a CV and social media skills needed to promote yourself in a social-mediated art and design world.
Typical graduate destinations for Fashion Design students include:
Direct work within contemporary fashion and textile design: Fashion designers, Fashion stylist, Textile developer and selector, Pattern cutters
Work in related areas to design practice such as: Teaching, CAD/CAM sample makers, Technologists.
Further study at Masters level (Level seven), for example, MA Fashion Design, Promotion, Styling and Accessories.
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2020/21 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs.
See www.gov.uk/student-finance
The University of Bedfordshire offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to help you finance your studies.
See www.beds.ac.uk/scholarships
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2020/21 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees.
See www.gov.uk/student-finance
The University of Bedfordshire offers a number of scholarships and bursaries to help you finance your studies.
See www.beds.ac.uk/scholarships
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2020/21 is £12,350 per year. A prompt payment discount is available if you pay the full Year 1 fee before or at registration. There are also special scholarships available.
The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees by no more than inflation.
The Campus Centre brings together all our student services under one roof including the Students’ Union and spaces to eat, drink, relax and learn.
There's a large central lecture theatre as well as a range of study rooms & breakout spaces on the upper floors.
The University guarantees accommodation to all new students. Fitzroy Court and Wenlock Court, the two main halls of residence, are located on campus so getting to lectures, shopping in town and participating in events and activities is easy.
The STEM building is home to courses in the subject areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Opened in Autumn 2019, its cutting edge facilities provides four computer laboratories; workshops for subjects such as automotive engineering, cyber-security and robotics, along with three large teaching labs, and four specialist containment labs.
The library is a modern 9-storey building dedicated to study and learning.
As well as traditional library provisions it offers individual and group study spaces, a cafeteria on the ground floor and a ‘Study Hub’ offering guidance and workshops on academic writing and research skills to ensure all Bedfordshire students get the help they need to succeed in their studies.
The Aspire Gym has state of the art cardiovascular equipment with smart phone compatibility. There is also an extensive range of fixed resistance machines and a small free weights area.
Changing rooms with showers and lockers are available for members to use.
The Postgraduate & CPD Centre at Luton campus is home to our University's postgraduate courses and continuing professional development (CPD) students from industry.
The Centre has modern lecture theatres and seminar rooms and a large ground floor lounge area where careers fairs and speaker events take place.
The School of Art and Design is located in the Cultural Quarter of the town.
The Cultural Quarter is a regeneration project to convert the old hat manufacturing area of Luton into a hub for the creative industries.
The Luton campus is right in the centre of town next to a large shopping mall and within easy walking distance of train and bus stations. Luton is the largest town in Bedfordshire, approximately 50km north of London which is a 30-minute train journey away. Luton has excellent transport links to the rest of the UK and Europe.
Application for most full-time undergraduate and foundation courses is via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
We expect to receive UCAS applications between 1 September and 15 January for courses starting in the following academic year, but may consider applications received after this date should places be available.
Please contact admission@beds.ac.uk for further details.
All UK schools and colleges are registered with UCAS to manage their students' applications. Advice on how to submit your UCAS application is available from your school or college.
If you are not at school or college (including mature students) you should apply independently via UCAS
EU students applying for a full-time undergraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply via UCAS or direct using our admissions form
International students applying for a full-time undergraduate degree at the University of Bedfordshire should apply direct using our admissions form or via our representatives in your home country
You can also apply online
Find out more about how to apply as an International student