Textiles MA
About this course
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.
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Opt for a 20 credit point advanced research module if you’re thinking of progressing to PhD or Professional Doctorate study -
Benefit from the professional expertise of our academic staff, researchers and visiting designers such as Orsola de Castro, Dr. Katherine Townsend, Karen Nicol, Kit Miles, Lisa Salama, Hannah Croft, Angharad Mclaren, Jo Cope, and Moxham -
Subject to government guidelines, you may have the opportunity to visit London and join optional European study trips to Florence, Antwerp and Paris -
You will be invited to submit your work to be considered for exhibition at London’s New Designers, xSelect (formerly Texprint) and SPINEXPO in Shanghai, China.
Browse our student work
What you’ll study
The modular structure of our MA Textiles course provides opportunities for cross-school community building, interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration.
Optional modules provide a bespoke learning experience geared towards individual professional futures.
Culture and Collaboration
(20 credit points)
In this module you will explore themes of ‘Cultural Emergency’ in collaboration with those from other MA disciplines. It will provide you with a fresh insight into your practice, develop advanced research methods and help you define and explore wider possibilities in your practice in interdisciplinary ways.
Situating your Practice
(40 credit points)
For this module you will be inducted to specialist resources in the department and receive workshops relating to your discipline including practical and digital technologies.
You will have opportunities to personalise your study through additional sign-up workshops outside of existing specialist knowledge and skills.
Through engaging in practical experimentation and advancing your specialist knowledge and skills you will interrogate your design practice and potential audience and develop an outline for your major project in the next module
Small group cross-discipline and specialist subject tutorials will aim at engaging you in discussion and debate around practice, design responsibility and audiences.
Innovation in Textile Practice
(100 credit points)
You will build upon your previous outline and identify, develop and realise an individual project focused on achieving your future goals.
Personalisation enables you to align the project to your own ambitions, determining your bespoke outcomes that are most appropriate to support you whether your next steps focus on a career in advanced study, research, gaining employment in industry or setting up your own business.
You will be allocated a Supervisor, whose expertise is most closely aligned to your area of specialism who will support you through your project and the module.
Through a series of verbal and visual presentations, you will be effectively articulating, critically analysing and reflecting upon your progress and the development of your research and design practice and provided with formative feedback that outlines the strengths of your project to date and areas for development.
For the summative assessment, you will be asked to submit an extensive body of work that includes evidence of research and development work and final outcomes appropriate to your chosen audience that address the aims and objectives set out in the proposal.
Optional modules:
Professional Futures
(20 credit points)
This optional module will be an exciting space to investigate and develop thoughts around the future of what employment looks like in the area of Fashion and Textiles. It will be a vehicle for debate and a catalyst for cross-disciplinary opportunities in relation to employment, enterprise and innovations.
You will be delivering a presentation that summarises your findings from a series of short self-initiated activities that could include work placement opportunities, liaising with industry, industry visits and networking opportunities, developing skills and knowledge of new and emerging digital technologies, and how it impacts your own practice and career ambitions and possibilities.
Advancing Research Design
(20 credit points)
An opportunity to develop current postgraduate work through the use of applied research methods as part of a cross-discipline community.
You will explore and critique a range of research methodologies and methods to examine how these can be applied in support of creating coherent research design, and the development of robust outcomes across diverse disciplines.
Extend knowledge of research methods and methodologies to enhance future professional practice; or progression to PhD level study.
We regularly review and update our course content based on student and employer feedback, ensuring that all of our courses remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or module availability in future years.
Don’t just take our word for it, hear from our students themselves
Video Gallery
How you're taught
Teaching and learning experiences will include:
- lectures
- tutorials
- seminars
- inductions
- workshops
- live projects
- study visits
- self-directed research
- independent studio practice
Specific workshops for MA Textile Design Innovation could include:
- drawing and visualisations
- screen printing
- industry specific Adobe CAD software
- embroidery digitization CAD software
- Weave CAD software (weave specialists only)
- Knit CAD programming software (knitted textile specialists only)
- Dubied Hand flatbed knitting (knitted textile specialists only)
- Laser cutting
- Smart textiles / e-textiles
Find out when our postgraduate term dates for the Nottingham School of Art & Design are. Please note that these are slightly different to other Schools within the University.
How you're assessed
Assessment is 100% by coursework and involves:
- Project Proposal
- supporting fashion research and development work
- evidence of reflective practice
- experimental designs
- formal presentation of key developments
- resolved textile designs / fabrications or prototypes
- portfolio and CV
Careers and employability
Career Prospects
This course leads to a wide range of career opportunities including:
- textile designer
- technologist
- buyer
- merchandiser
- production manager
- trend forecasting
- styling for fashion and interior textile companies
You could also work for brands developing innovative design and wearable technologies. Some graduates 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 Textile Society Postgraduate Award, Hand and Lock Prize for Embroidery, FESPA Printeriors Design Competition and The Bradford Textile Society 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 archives
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
- Wallace Sewell: 25 Years of British Textile Design at the Fashion and Textile Museum
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
You will also be invited to submit your work to be considered for exhibition at London’s New Designers and SPINEXPO in Shanghai, China.
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
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.
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
What our students are doing now
Liss Cooke
At the start of her career, Liss moved to Nottingham for a graduate placement as an embroidery and embellishment designer. She was keen to develop her work further and decided that a Masters at NTU would give her the time and facilities to do that.
Campus and facilities
Our dedicated postgraduate studios are lively, highly creative environments based in the Bonington building, a dedicated art and design hub. You can view all of our Fashion facilities on the Nottingham School of Art & Design Facilities page.
Entry requirements
What are we looking for?
- 2.2 honours degree in a related subject.
- Applicants with non-standard entry qualifications and / or relevant work experience will be considered on an individual basis.
Other requirements:
NTU may admit a student with advanced standing beyond the beginning of a course, through an assessment of that student's prior learning, whether it is certificated or uncertificated. Our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy outlines the process and options available to these prospective students, such as recognising experiential learning or transferring to a similar course at another institution, otherwise known as credit transfer.
All prospective students who wish to apply via Recognition of Prior Learning should initially contact the central Admissions and Enquiries Team who will be able to support you through the process.
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.
Getting in touch
If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form
You will need one of the following:
- Bachelors degree grade 2.2 or equivalent qualification.
International qualifications
We accept qualifications from all over the world – check yours here:
Postgraduate preparation courses (Pre-Masters)
If you don’t yet meet our entry requirements, we offer Pre-Masters courses through our partner Nottingham Trent International College (NTIC), based on our City Campus:
English language entry requirements
You can meet our language requirements by successfully completing our pre-sessional English course for an agreed length of time, or by submitting the required grade in one of our accepted English language tests, such as IELTS:
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.
- Complete this simple form to keep in touch with the International Office.
Fees and funding
Mode of study | Home tuition fee |
Student fee | £9,900 |
Alumni Loyalty Scheme - 20% fee discount
We're happy to be able to offer a 20% fee discount to most current NTU students and recent NTU graduates.
See if you're eligible.
Postgraduate loans
The government introduced a new postgraduate loans scheme in the 2016/17 academic year for Masters degrees. The loan will be a contribution towards the costs of study and it will be at the student's discretion to use the loan towards fees, maintenance costs or other costs.
Scholarships
We are offering a number of scholarships for Masters study.
Getting in touch
For more advice and guidance, you can contact our Student Financial Support Service on
+44 (0)115 848 2494.
Find out more about our terms and conditions of study for this course.
Mode of study | International tuition fee |
Student fee | £17,850 |
Alumni Loyalty Scheme - 20% fee discount
We're happy to be able to offer a 20% fee discount to most current NTU students and recent NTU graduates.
See if you're eligible.
International scholarships
You might be able to get a scholarship to help fund your studies. We award scholarships to international students who can demonstrate excellent achievement, passion and dedication to their studies.
Please take a look at our International students page for information about fees, scholarships for international students, visas and much more.
Getting in touch
For more advice and guidance, you can contact our Student Financial Support Service.
Tel: +44 (0)115 848 2494
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.
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.
- Complete this simple form to keep in touch with the International Office.
The University's commitment to delivering the educational services advertised.
