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In the UK for Fashion and textiles in The Guardian University Guide 2022

Fashion MA

  • Level(s) of Study: Postgraduate taught
  • Start Date(s): September 2023
  • Duration: 1 year (45 weeks)
  • Study Mode(s): Full-time
  • Campus: City Campus
  • Entry Requirements:
    More information

Introduction:

With over 40 years of expertise in fashion design, this course has been designed to help you to develop your creative, academic and professional potential. You will work alongside other MA Fashion, Textiles and Knitwear Design students in our dedicated postgraduate studio,

Our MA Fashion, Textiles and Knitwear courses provide a platform for diverse and creative thinking and design practice to challenge and drive the future of fashion and textiles.

This will be your opportunity to think and do creatively, as be agents of change, to be innovative, take risks, to explore and solve problems.

We encourage a personalised approach to practice and theory that takes account of social, political, environmental, and technological issues, from local and global perspectives.

A critical approach to notions of progress encouraging a deeper understanding of craft, traditional and digital practices, and wider technological developments.

  • Benefit from visiting professionals from industry such as Orsola de Castro, Jo Cope, David Telfer, Moxham, Christopher Raeburn, and Rickard Lindqvist
  • 83% of NTU's research submitted to the 'Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory' Unit of Assessment was assessed to be world-leading or internationally excellent in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.
  • You will have the opportunity to exhibit your work at New Designers in London
  • Opt for an additional advanced research module if you’re thinking of progressing to PhD or Professional Doctorate study

What you’ll study

Don’t just take our word for it, hear from our students themselves

Student Profiles

Elina Halilova

Fashion

Studying at MA level has enabled me to become more independent, organised and determined; all attributes that are really important when you start your own path.

Junzaburo Iwasawa

Fashion

The course staff gave me feedback and suggested what I should focus on throughout my project. The lecturers gave inspirational talks and suggestions about how our work may be produced.

Staff Profiles

Sean Prince - Principal Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Sean Prince is responsible for the development and management of the postgraduate courses in Fashion, Textiles and Knitwear.

Debbie Gonet - Senior Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Debbie is the Course leader for MA Textiles and a senior lecturer in the BA (Hons) Textile Design course .

Maria Stafford - Senior Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Maria Stafford is a Lecturer / Senior Lecturer and is responsible for the delivery and management of the PGC Creative Pattern Cutting course including pattern cutting workshop.

Katherine Townsend - Professor

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Katherine is a Professor in Fashion and Textile Practice in the Fashion, Textiles and Knitwear department in the School of Art and Design.

Joanne Phillips - Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Joanne Phillips is a lecturer in pattern cutting and manufacture within the School of Art and Design.

Careers and employability

Career prospects

This course leads to a wide range of career opportunities,  including:

  • designer
  • creative pattern cutter
  • design studio manager
  • technologist
  • buyer
  • merchandiser
  • production manager
  • trend forecasting
  • styling within companies and brands

Some graduates also use this course to support careers in teaching, lecturing, journalism and progression to MPhil or PhD study.

Recent graduates have set up their own successful businesses, or work within related careers in the fashion and textile design sector. Others have returned to their previous job with a renewed focus and enhanced career prospects.

If you are interested in starting your own creative business, the University provides start-up training and support through NTU Enterprise, our centre for entrepreneurship and enterprise.

Connections with industry

You will have the opportunity to take up short periods of work experience, learn entrepreneurship skills through business development courses and attend events held by our Employability team and other organisations. You will also be encouraged to undertake research into fashion, textile or knitwear design companies, or appropriate contexts, for retailing or showcasing your completed project.

In addition to the main focus of your project as set out in the project proposal, you are encouraged to enter national and international competitions such as the Redress Design Award, Bilbao International Art and Fashion Design Award, Arts of Fashion Competition and the Levis X Arts Thread Design Competition. Prestigious competitions provide you with opportunities to demonstrate and promote your creative and technical skills and ability to answer an industry brief to a global audience that can lead to employment and press opportunities.


You will be invited to collaborate on projects and attend research events and symposia. Recent exhibitions our students have been involved in include:

  • Crafting Anatomies
  • Knitting Nottingham
  • Journeys in Lace: Parts 1&2 (Lace:Here:Now)
  • Lace Unravelled with Nottingham Castle
  • Our students also benefit from visits to Nottingham Castle to explore their extensive fashion and textiles collection

You will also be invited to submit your work to be considered for exhibition at London’s New Designers, a prestigious graduate design show, and other subject and student-run initiatives at the University and across Nottingham.

Study trips

Study visits will inspire and inform your projects. Recent visits to exhibitions in London have included:

  • Basquiat: Boom for Real at the Barbican
  • Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion at the V&A
  • North: Fashioning Identity at Somerset House

An optional annual trip to Antwerp and Paris has included visits to:

  • Olivier Theyskens: She Walks in Beauty at Mode Museum, Antwerp
  • Sheila Hicks: Lines of Life at Centre Pompidou, Paris
  • Paris Première Vision
  • Li Edelkoort’s Trend Union studio, Paris

YouFirst – working with our Employability Team

Our friendly, experienced careers consultants will work closely with you at every stage of your career planning, providing personal support and advice you won't find in a book or on the internet. You can benefit from this at any time during your studies and up to three years after completing your course.

Showcase

Explore our showcase ‘We Are Creatives’ - celebrating the work of the Nottingham School of Art & Design students. You will find a sneak peak of some of our students’ work and gain a real insight into what it’s like to be part of the NTU creative community at wearecreativesntu.art

Re:search Re:imagined

To us, research is about more than writing papers and proposing new ideas. By daring to think differently, we’re disrupting the research landscape and finding the answers to the questions that really matter. From electronic textiles to the history of lace, we’re inspiring the brightest minds to rise up and find solutions to some of the most significant global challenges facing society.

Find out more: ntu.ac.uk/research

Campus and facilities

How to apply

Ready to join us? Then apply as soon as you can. Just click the Apply button at the top of the page and follow the instructions for applying.

Application deadline

You can apply for this course throughout the year, but we'd recommend that applications should be received by the end of July for entry in September.

Writing your application

Be honest, thorough and persuasive in your application. Remember, we can only make a decision based on what you tell us. Make sure you include as much information as possible, including uploading evidence of results already achieve, as well as a personal statement.

Keeping up to date

After you've applied, we'll be sending you important emails throughout the application process - so check your emails regularly, including your junk mail folder.

You can get more information and advice about applying to NTU in our postgraduates' guide. Here you'll find advice about how to write a good personal statement and much more.

Getting in touch

If you need any more help or information, please contact us at Ask NTU or call on +44 (0)115 848 4200.

Apply online through our NTU applicant portal.

Application advice

Apply early so that you have enough time to prepare – processing times for Student visas can vary, for example.  After you've applied, we'll be sending you important emails throughout the application process – so check your emails regularly, including your junk mail folder.

Writing your personal statement

Be honest, thorough, and persuasive – we can only make a decision about your application based on what you tell us:

Your portfolio 

If your initial application is successful, you may be asked to upload a portfolio of your work and you may also be asked to attend an interview.

Portfolio advice

Would you like some advice on your study plans? 

Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world. We also have members of staff based in Vietnam, China, India and Nigeria and work with a worldwide network of education counsellors.

The University's commitment to delivering the educational services advertised.