BA(Hons) Fashion Textiles (with Foundation Year)
Please note there are no vacancies on this course for September 2023
Page last updated 26 September 2023
Introduction
Learn how to design and manufacture fabrics, garments and fashion related products and specialise in fashion design, textile design or fashion futures.
Why study fashion textiles?
Fashion textiles is the largest of the UK creative industries; designers and creatives in this field are globally recognised for their skills and innovation. Today's fashion and textile designers are agile creatives exploring new ideas and solutions across all areas of contemporary culture.
Why UWE Bristol?
BA(Hons) Fashion Textiles teaches you about all areas of fashion textiles, from the design and production of textiles through to the design and manufacture of fashion product. You'll develop projects through fashion design, textile design or fashion textile futures outcomes.
You'll engage in studio, technical and digital skills development, as well as a core pattern cutting curriculum to support the translation of your ideas from 2D to 3D.
Develop skills and creative approaches to enable you to explore and re-think the role and impact of fashion textiles on the world around us.
You'll be supported to develop your professional and entrepreneurial skills through our Professional Practice modules. You'll also work with industry experts on live studio briefs and gain hands-on experience by undertaking an optional year in industry.
You'll study at City Campus; our creative powerhouse spanning Bristol, where you'll have access to dedicated studio spaces, specialist workshop facilities, and extensive library resources. It consists of Bower Ashton and renowned contemporary arts centres Spike Island, Arnolfini and Watershed.
Showcase your work at high profile national and international events such as London Fashion Week, Graduate Fashion Week and The British Fashion Council's Graduate Preview Day.
Where can it take me?
Many of our graduates go on to secure successful careers with high profile designers and companies like Craig Green, Matthew Williamson, Cos and Victoria Beckham.
Choose from a wide range of roles such as fashion designer, textile designer, product developer, pattern cutter, studio manager or fashion buyer. Some graduates set up their own businesses or go onto postgraduate study and research. Developing professional, research and enterprise skills, you can shape the course in the direction you want to go in. Whatever you choose to do, our team of subject experts and Careers Service are there to support you.
Follow UWE Fashion on Instagram.
Take a look at how our graduates are changing the future of fashion.
Read how three of our former students won prestigious bursaries from The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters.
Have a look at some of our students' latest work in our 2021 yearbook, 2022 yearbook and 2023 yearbook.
Watch: The learning and teaching experience
Structure
Content
The optional modules listed are those that are most likely to be available, but they may be subject to change.
Year zero (foundation year)
You'll study:
- Academic Skills
- Developmental Projects: Building a Creative Identity
- Foundation Project
- Observation and Making.
You normally need to pass your foundation year before going into Year one.
Year one
You'll study:
- Introduction to Fashion Textiles
- Exploring Practice in Fashion Textiles
- Professional Practice and Work Experience in Fashion Textiles 1
- Visual Culture 1
Year two
You'll study:
- Creative Analysis
- Developing Practice in Fashion Textiles 1
- Developing Practice in Fashion Textiles 2.
Plus, one optional module from:
- Professional Practice and Work Experience in Fashion Textiles 2
- Collaborate.
The following modules are available for incoming and outgoing international students only, if required:
- International Exchange
- Professional Practice (International).
Final year
You'll study a total of 90 credits from:
- Preparation for Extended Study in Fashion Textiles (you'll choose either the 15 or 30 credit version)
- Extended Study in Fashion Textiles (you'll choose either the 30 or 45 credit version)
- Visual Culture 3 (you'll choose either the 15 or 30 credit version)
Plus:
- Professional Practice and Work Experience Fashion Textiles 3.
The University continually enhances our offer by responding to feedback from our students and other stakeholders, ensuring the curriculum is kept up to date and our graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need for the real world. This may result in changes to the course. If changes to your course are approved, we'll inform you.
Learning and Teaching
Learn in design studios and technical resource centres on this practice-based course.
Attend lectures, seminars, practical workshops and tutorials. Develop skills in visual and verbal presentation techniques through group and individual project work.
Develop your professional and creative practice, with access to leading facilities, industry opportunities and plenty of professional input.
Craft your skills as a researcher, and work with academics and partners helping to shape new thinking in the field. The course is linked to the Centre for Fine Print Research, giving you access to the latest ideas in areas such as sustainable textile design.
Develop enterprise skills, exploring different audiences and contexts for your work. Learn to promote and position yourself, and build a compelling portfolio to take to employers.
Take part in live projects, industry briefs and placements throughout the course, gaining valuable work experience and putting your learning in context.
Benefit from regular professional input from guest lecturers. Past speakers include Eric Bremner, Creative Director at MaxMara; Iain Ewing, Head of Design Womenswear and Accessories at John Lewis; Jenny Postle-Cope, Womenswear Designer at Missoni; Richard Malone, Fashion East; and Frances Walker, Creative Design Consultant of Menswear at French Connection.
As well as making sure that the course reflects industry, experts come in to present and deliver live briefs. Recent collaborative partners include Henri Lloyd, Cos, Topshop, Mulberry and Next Sourcing.
Showcase your work at Premier Vision Paris. Past students have exhibited fashion films, live presentations and live streaming at a variety of events.
Our Creative Industries Degree Show demonstrates our most exciting graduate work in art, design, filmmaking and media. We also encourage you to show work on and off-line throughout the course and will help you develop the skills to do this.
In your final year, you can choose to design your own textiles collection, focus on just one product type, or carry out a more traditional type of dissertation on an area of fashion textiles that interests you.
Read about Eleana Burrow's success at the prestigious Anne Tyrell Student Design Awards and London Fashion Week.
Watch the UWE Bristol Fashion Showcase and see our course blog.
See our full glossary of learning and teaching terms.
Approximate percentage of time you'll spend in different learning activities*:
| Year | Scheduled learning and teaching study | Independent study | Placement study |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 24% | 76% | 0% |
| 1 | 54% | 46% | 0% |
| 2 | 45% | 55% | 0% |
| 3 | 20% | 80% | 0% |
*calculated from compulsory and option module choices (where applicable) each year.
Get involved
Broaden your perspective by taking part in our international or European exchange programme, spending a semester at one of our partner universities.
Tap into support from our Enterprise team, who can offer funding, mentoring and co-working space for eight weeks over the summer, to help bring your business ideas to life.
Assessment
There are no exams on this course and you'll be assessed through design-based course work, presentations, written assignments and research projects.
See our full glossary of assessment terms.
Approximate percentage of marks awarded by each assessment method*:
| Year | Written exam assessment | Coursework assessment | Practical exam assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| 1 | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| 2 | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| 3 | 0% | 100% | 0% |
*Calculated from compulsory and optional modules (where applicable) each year
Features
Placements
Study exchange
Grow your personal and professional network, and develop specialist subject knowledge by spending a semester at one of our fantastic partner universities abroad.
Increase your confidence, intercultural communication skills and boost your employability.
Explore our study abroad pages to find out more.
Fieldwork
Go on regular trips to London and other major cities so you can source new materials and conduct research in galleries, museums and archives.
Visit Premier Vision Paris and other field trips that support your creative and professional development.
Study facilities
Learn at our City Campus, with access to some of the best technical and creative resources in the country.
Construct garments in our industry standard sample and sewing room and develop technical skills in knit and digital embroidery. Access printed textiles rooms with facilities for screen print, dyeing, fabric manipulation, embellishment and decoration, plus digital, photo and heat transfer printing.
Experiment with materials, alternative forms and wearables in our physical making studios. Bring 2D ideas to life in our print centre, using the latest equipment for screen printing, etching, digital printing and lithography.
A mix of traditional and hands-on learning environments helps you quickly take on essential knowledge and skills, standing you in good stead for your professional career.
Learn more about UWE Bristol's facilities and resources.
Get a feel for the Fashion facilities we have on offer here from wherever you are.
Fashion Textiles student showreel
A showcase of student work from the BA(Hons) Fashion Textiles course at UWE Bristol.
Life
Accommodation
An excellent range of options for all of the Bristol campuses and the city centre.
Bristol
A stunning city for student living with all the qualities to make you want to stay.
Sports, societies and activities
There is more to your experience here than study. Choose to make the most of it and try new things.
Health and Wellbeing
We provide support in the way you need it.
Campus and facilities
Discover our campuses and the wealth of facilities provided for our students.
Careers
Careers / Further study
Our graduates progress into three main professional contexts; industry, enterprise development or research and postgraduate study.
You could build a career with a high-profile company like Craig Green, Erdem, Superdry, H&M and Levi's in roles such as fashion designer, textile designer, garment technologist, product developer, pattern cutter or fashion buyer. Or you might choose to set up your own businesses or go onto postgraduate study and research to develop your practice.
The course is structured to enable you to realise your ambitions and shape the course in the direction you want to go in. Whatever you choose to do, our team of subject experts and careers service are there to support you.
Get inspired
Our award-winning careers service will develop your employment potential through career coaching and find you graduate jobs, placements and global opportunities.
We can also help find local volunteering and community opportunities, provide support for entrepreneurial activity and get you access to employer events.
Visit our Graduate destinations pages to learn more about careers, employers and what our students are doing six months after graduating.
Fees
Full Time Course
Indicative Additional Costs
Supplementary fee information
Your overall entitlement to funding is based on how long the course is that you're registered on. Standard funding is allocated based on the standard number of years that your course lasts, plus one additional year.
You'll apply for funding each year that you study and Student Finance will take into account how long the course is in each year that you apply. So if you register for the five year course and then transfer to the four year course, the number of years you can apply for funding will change. Student Finance will reassess your funding based on how many years you have been in study, not just those years for which you received student finance.
Always seek advice before taking any action that may have implications for your funding.
Additional costs
Additional costs are for items you could need during your studies that aren't covered by the standard tuition fee. These could be materials, textbooks, travel, clothing, software or printing.
Entry
Typical offers
- Tariff points: 48
- Contextual tariff: See our contextual offers page.
- GCSE: Grade C/4 in English Literature or Language, or equivalent. We do not accept Level 2 Key Skills, Functional Skills or Certificates in Adult Literacy and Numeracy as suitable alternatives to GCSEs.
- English Language Requirement: International and EU applicants are requirement to have a mimimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 5.5 with 5.5 in each component (or approved equivalent*). *The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades you will need in our English Language section. Please visit our English language requirements page.
- A-level subjects: No specific subjects required.
- EDEXCEL (BTEC) Diploma: No specific subjects required.
For information on required Guided Learning Hours please see our minimum entry requirements page.
- Access: No specific subjects required.
- Baccalaureate IB: No specific subjects required.
- Irish Highers: No specific subjects required.
- T Levels: No specific subjects required.
Entry requirements
If you exceed the entry requirements you may be eligible for BA(Hons) Fashion Textiles.
International applicants
For country specific entry requirements please find your country on the Country Information pages.
Selection process
Applicants will be required to submit a digital portfolio for review within 21 days of their application being received.
For more details on the process, please visit our selection page.
Read more about entry requirements.
How to apply
Read more about undergraduate applications.
Read more about international applications and key international deadline dates.
For further information
- Email:
UK applicants
Admissions@uwe.ac.uk
International/EU applicants
International@uwe.ac.uk - Telephone:
UK applicants
+44 (0)117 32 83333
International/EU applicants
+44 (0)117 32 86644