Fashion Design BA (Hons)

This course is in clearing

Overview

Course options

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Degree

UCAS code: W230112 UCAS points

BA (Hons) Fashion Design, home applicant, full time

  • Home Applicant
  • Full time, 3 years
  • Pound 9250 per year

BA (Hons) Fashion Design, home applicant, part time

  • Home Applicant
  • Part time, 6 years
  • pro-rata full time fee

Degree with foundation year

UCAS code: W23364 UCAS points

BA (Hons) Fashion Design, home applicant, full time

  • Home Applicant
  • Full time, 4 years
  • Pound 9250 per year

University of East London X London Fashion Week 2024

What makes this course different

1st in London

Our Design Studies courses ranked 1st in London for “Learning Opportunities” in the 2023 National Student Survey.

Ranked 9th nationally

Our fashion and textiles courses ranked 9th nationally for 'satisfied with teaching' in The Guardian University Guide 2025.

Guardian University Guide 2025

Facilities

We have large studios and resources and continue to expand. We have pattern-cutting studios, sewing rooms, print and textile rooms, laser cutting and 3D printing facilities and much more.

Course modules

If you don't meet the entry requirements for a BA, you can study this course as an extended, four-year programme. You'll begin by taking a foundation year which prepares you for a successful transition to the BA fashion design degree. This means it will take you four years to complete the course full-time, and eight years to complete the course part-time.

Our fashion design course will give you the tools you need to develop your technical and sewing skills and explore surface design in textiles such as printing and other types of experimental fabrications.

The fashion design course shares a series of modules with other BA (Hons) fashion courses to provide insight about the cross-over between different disciplines.

Key to many careers and employers - you will also develop thinking skills, including ideas and concept generation for fashion, individual and collaborative responses to set fashion design projects, critical thinking, and appreciation of multiple perspectives and approaches.

NOTE: Modules are subject to change. For those studying part time courses the modules may vary.

Download course specification

Your future career

Fashion is an industry full of opportunities and much-needed skill sets that are always evolving. The great thing about studying fashion design and developing core skills is that you can work almost anywhere in the creative industries.

Industry links

We have connections with the following organisations: 

  • Umbro China
  • French Connection
  • ASOS
  • Hand and Lock
  • ENDURA
  • ICEBERG
  • Craft Central

Graduate employers

Graduates from our fashion design course have gone onto various roles within the following organisations: Bianca Saunders, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Mother of Pearl, Knwls, Ciment Pleating, Ede & Ravenscroft, Hand & Lock, and LiDS.

Alternatively, you could start your own fashion business. One of our lecturers, Alison Lowe has written a helpful guide to starting a small fashion business

Job roles

Studying fashion design will give you the opportunity to work in various sectors such as fashion design, design consulting, styling and retail. Jobs include junior/senior designer, pattern cutter, garment technologist, stylist, creative director, fashion consultant, freelance designer, tailor and much more.

Explore the different career options you can pursue with this degree and see the median salaries of the sector on our Career Coach portal.

Fashion
I chose to go on a placement year. People in my year group worked for Diesel, M&S, Anthropologie and McQueen. I undertook buying placements with Ralph Lauren and Urban Outfitters and this secured me a graduate position as a buyer's administration assistant with Urban Outfitters."
Veronica Peduzzi-Davies

BA (Hons), Fashion Design with Marketing

How we support your career ambitions

We offer dedicated careers support, further opportunities to thrive, such as volunteering and industry networking. Our courses are created in collaboration with employers and industry to ensure they accurately reflect the real-life practices of your future career and provide you with the essential skills needed. You can focus on building interpersonal skills through group work and benefit from our investment in the latest cutting edge technologies and facilities.

Career Zone

This digital platform provides you with careers and employability resources, including:

  • Jobs board for internships, placements, graduate opportunities, flexible part-time work 
  • Mentoring programmes for insight with industry experts
  • 1-2-1 career coaching services 
  • Careers workshops and employer events 
  • Learning pathways to gain new skills and industry insight

Mental Wealth programme

Our Professional Fitness and Mental Wealth programme issues you with a Careers Passport to track the skills you've mastered. Some of these are externally validated by corporations like Amazon and Microsoft.

Our Mental Wealth programme

We are careers first

Our teaching methods and geographical location put us right up top:

  • Work-based projects
  • Networking and visits to leading organisations
  • Support in starting a new business
  • London on our doorstep

How you'll learn

The fashion subject area is made up of industry-knowledgeable staff, entrepreneurs and business owners, so you can be sure you will be learning in real-time.

We believe it is important that your education is consistent with the times and reflects the industry you will progress into.

Guided independent study

When not attending timetabled lectures or workshops, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study.

This will typically involve skills development through 3D studio and workshop development, online study, reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects and preparing practical and written coursework assignments and presentations. 

Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, specialist facilities, such as edit suites, the library, the full Microsoft Office software, Teams, and Moodle: our Virtual Learning Environment.

Academic support

Our academic support team provides help in a range of areas - including learning and disability support.

Dedicated personal tutor

When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of the academic course team who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at UEL and who will show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer.

Workload

Each year you will spend around 300 hours of timetabled learning and teaching activities. These may be lectures, workshops, seminars and individual and group tutorials. Contact hours may vary depending on each module. 

The approximate percentages for this course are: 

  • Year 1: scheduled teaching - approx. 300 hours; guided independent study - 450 hours
  • Year 2: scheduled teaching - approx. 300 hours; guided independent study - 900 hours
  • Year 3: scheduled teaching - 300 hours; guided independent study - 900 hours.

Your timetable

Your individualised timetable is normally available within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9.00am and 6.00pm. For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.

Class sizes

To give you an indication of class sizes, this course normally attracts 40-50 students a year. Lecture sizes are normally 40 plus students. 

In the classroom, you will be taught in groups of 20-25 students. However, this can vary by academic year.

How you'll be assessed

Coursework will include practical outcomes, e.g. garment construction, technical sewing files, reports and presentations. Coursework includes essays, research files, sample and development portfolios, practical design development, group and seminar presentations and a final-year project. You will have the opportunity to gain feedback from your lecturers, peers and our industry partners. We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.

Campus and facilities

Docklands Campus, London, E16 2RD

Who teaches this course

This course is delivered by the School of Arts and Creative Industries

The teaching team includes qualified academics, practitioners and industry experts as guest speakers. Full details of the academics will be provided in the student handbook and module guides.

DiscoverUni

The banner below displays some key factual data about this course (including different course combinations or delivery modes of this course where relevant).

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Statistics for BA (Hons) Fashion Design Degree, Full Time

Statistics for BA (Hons) Fashion Design Degree, Full Time

What our students and staff say

Fashion students working on a pattern in a studio
This course has been instrumental in shaping my path towards my dream job. It consistently encourages me to explore a multitude of outlets. I believe that gaining early exposure to the industry, especially during my first year provided me with the remarkable opportunity to collaborate with Umbro China. That experience is significantly contributing to my journey of becoming a modesty-oriented fashion designer within the fashion industry."

Arooj Arooj

BA (Hons) Fashion Design student

ACI Fashion subject students working in the atelier
If you're motivated and would like to be mentored and taught while you work by industry leaders and academic professionals, UEL is an ideal place to study. My experience has helped me understand the type of professional patience, perseverance and creativity that is invaluable in fashion design."

Sharan Samra

Fashion Design with Placement Year, BA (Hons), undergraduate