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In the UK for Art and Design in Complete University Guide 2024

International Fashion Business (one year top-up) BA (Hons)

Start date

  • Level(s) of Study: Undergraduate
  • UCAS Code(s): W232
  • Start Date(s): September 2024
  • Duration: One year full-time
  • Study Mode(s): Full-time
  • Campus: City Campus
  • Entry Requirements:
    More information
Information for 2024

Introduction:

This one-year top-up degree is for those who have completed two years of a fashion-related degree course or equivalent qualification, such as a specialist diploma, Foundation degree, or HND.

Experience an international perspective on how the fashion industry works, investigating areas such as fashion buying, brand marketing and promotion, lifestyle and trend prediction. You’ll have the opportunity to investigate areas of personal interest like ethical and sustainable fashion, or entrepreneurship and setting up your own business.

You’ll also gain an understanding of events, management processes, and methods of visual and verbal communication.

  • Work on a combination of creative and written projects. We’ll help you identify your strengths so you can tailor your work to your career aspirations.
  • Benefit from the links we have with our sister course at the Hong Kong Design Institute, through teaching and learning experiences.
  • Work on live projects and competitions in collaboration with brands such as Wedgewood, Next and Whistles. You can also go on optional study visits such as Copenhagen Fashion Week.
  • This course attracts students from around the world, offering you a dynamic experience reflective of the working environment.

What you’ll study

The course content has been created to suit those who wish to pursue a career path with either a creative or business focus. You will gain an understanding of events, management processes, and methods of visual and verbal communication. You will also investigate areas of personal interest, for example ethical and sustainable fashion, entrepreneurship or setting up your own business.

Fashion Industry Trends & Innovation 

(20 credit points)

This module aims to encourage students to explore global economic, technological, environmental and consumer trends and assess their impact on the fashion industry. Students will reflect on their findings and analysis to identify and propose creative solutions for their personal project in the second half of the year.

The Contemporary Global Fashion Market 

(40 credit points)

This module aims to introduce students to the structure and key sectors of the Fashion Industry, exploring the areas of Product development, sourcing, buying, location, marketing and the consumer in a global context through research and enquiry. Later in the module, students will select a pathway project that reflects their interests and ambitions to build upon for the second half of the year.

Professional Practice and Portfolio 

(20 credit points)

This module aims to support students to consolidate all of their experiences and project work undertaken in the course so far.  A number of pathway-specialist sessions will inform more in-depth awareness relating to critical issues in the student's chosen field, offering opportunity for a professional edge. Further, the production of a professional package including an e-portfolio will help reflect their ambitions and career development aspirations going forward.

Innovation in Fashion Business 

(40 credit points)

This module aims to provide the student opportunity to embark on a substantial personal project that reflects their interests in the fashion industry. The predominantly self-directed project, underpinned through primary and secondary research culminates in creative output to communicate their ideas, skills and abilities across multiple techniques.

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

Student Profiles

Kezia Anne Darmadi

I can learn about Fashion from a global perspective, including how culture influences people’s interpretation of fashion and whether the business operates differently. Coming here, particularly at NTU, has deepened my interest and passion for fashion even further.

Emilie Machado

I would recommend my course to anyone who has a particular dream job in mind, because it will give you the tools to develop your interests in a constructive and comprehensive way.

Annie Meek

We have many speakers from industry who come in and talk to us.

Cara Presta

The best part was the freedom to choose my own research area, which meant I got to learn exactly what I wanted. The tutors challenged and pushed me to always do better, and I feel like they got the best out of me.

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How you’re taught

Teaching and learning experiences will include:

  • lectures
  • seminars
  • tutorials
  • workshops
  • personal development plan
  • visits to industry head offices and retail stores
  • creative IT skills workshops
  • fashion trade exhibitions.

Optional trips and study visits

There may also be an opportunity to take part in optional field trip to a European destination that will be tailored to suit your course.

Showcase

You will be given the opportunity to exhibit your work during your time at NTU to members of the creative industries. Visit our ‘We Are Creatives’ showcase to take a look at the work of this year's graduating students’.

Contact hours

A full-time student can expect to spend 1200 hours a year learning which will typically be broken down as follows:

  • Year lectures/seminars/workshops (20%), independent study (80%).

Staff Profiles

Jo O'Rourke - Senior Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Jo O'Rourke is a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, who's role involves helping potential industry employees to gain an invaluable understanding of the industry and to achieve a highly professional approach.

Timothy Rundle - Principal Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Principle Lecturer across the Department of Fashion Management, Marketing and Communication, contributing to 6 Undergraduate course and 4 Postgraduate programmes. Subject specialist in Visual Literacy and design communication, with a…

Pinky Bazaz - Principal Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Pinky is the Principal Lecturer for the Master Courses within the Fashion, Management, Marketing and Communication Department within the Nottingham School of Art and Design. Specialising within marketing and branding,…

Karen Priestley - Senior Lecturer

Nottingham School of Art & Design

I am course lead for International Fashion Business, the role entails managing day to day operations of the course, arranging teaching and learning, for our UK cohort as well as…

How you’re assessed

Assessment is 83% coursework, 17% practical exams (presentations) combining creative and written work. Depending on the module, you may be assessed through:

  • Reports
  • Presentations
  • Written assignments
  • Visually led projects
  • Creative outputs
  • Portfolio
  • Essays

The majority of assessments are for you to complete on your own. There are two group projects where you will receive ongoing feedback to help you identify ways of improvement. Assessment tasks are designed to challenge you over the year to increasingly demonstrate your own creativity, reflect your own interests, and include independent research.

Careers and employability

Graduate roles include buying, merchandising, digital marketing, design, visual merchandising and account management. You may also wish to pursue further education or self-employment.

Recent graduate roles and destinations include:

  • Next, trainee buyer
  • Adidas, visual merchandiser, Amsterdam
  • Calvin Klein, brand coordinator, Hong Kong
  • Eland Fashion, assistant buyer, Hong Kong
  • YM INC, ecommerce coordinator, Canada.

YouFirst – working with our Employability team

Studying a creative degree in a large university has many benefits, none more so than having access to a large 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 for up to three years after completing your course.

Connecting with industry

This course has developed strong collaborations with industry partners at local, national and international levels. Recent visitors have included:

  • Carol Rose, an expert in sustainable fashion life cycle solutions
  • Matthew Dixon, director of Hudson Walker International
  • Food Futurologist Dr Morgaine Gaye
  • Andrew and Iain Foxall from Foxall Studio
  • Marketing Consultancy BDA London
  • representatives from Wedgewood, Next, and Whistles
  • visiting alumni who come to share their industry experience.

You’ll have the opportunity to work on live projects and competitions with brands and organisations within the fashion and related industries. This has recently included a fashion buying and range planning competition with Next, leading to a graduate intern position.

Creative Industries Federation

We are members of the Creative Industries Federation (CIF), which means students in the Nottingham School of Art & Design have the opportunity to sign up to free student membership. Creative Industries Federation are an organisation that represents, champions and supports the UK’s creative industries and membership grants students exclusive access to their selection of resources and events to help advance your career and connect with industry.

Campus and facilities

You will be based in the Barnes Wallis building at the heart of the City Campus, with its modern teaching rooms, collaborative working spaces and Mac suite. View our Nottingham School of Art & Design Facilities Hub here.

These facilities are dedicated to students studying:

  • BA (Hons) Fashion Communication and Promotion
  • BA (Hons) Fashion Management
  • BA (Hons) Fashion Marketing and Branding
  • BA (Hons) International Fashion Business (1 year top up).

Our Masters students are also based in Barnes Wallis, providing opportunities for mentoring our undergraduate students.

Entry requirements

What are we looking for?

  • completion of Year Two of a Fashion or Textiles-related degree course; or
  • completion of a HND course in Fashion or Textiles; or
  • completion of a Foundation degree in a related Fashion or Textiles discipline.
  • a personal statement along with a sample of creative and written academic work.

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.

All applications welcome

All applicants will need to apply through UCAS and will be asked to submit a personal statement along with a small portfolio that includes examples of creative work and written academic work, such as an essay or report. View our application advice page for more information. If you need any further information or you are wanting to speak with a member of the academic team, please contact ARTUGIFBAdmin@ntu.ac.uk

Getting in touch

If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form

International qualifications 

We accept qualifications from all over the world – check yours here:

All applications welcome

All applicants will need to apply through UCAS and will be asked to submit a personal statement along with a small portfolio which includes examples of creative work and written academic work, such as an essay or report. View our application advice page for more information. If you need any further information or you are wanting to speak with a member of the academic team, please contact ARTUGIFBAdmin@ntu.ac.uk

Undergraduate preparation courses (Foundation)

If you don’t yet meet our entry requirements, we offer Foundation 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:

Advanced standing (starting your undergraduate degree in year 2 or 3)

You may be able to start your undergraduate course in year 2 or 3 based on what you have studied before.  This decision would be made in accordance with our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy.

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.

Fees and funding

Preparing for the financial side of student life is important, but there's no need to feel anxious and confused about it. We hope that our fees and funding pages will answer all your questions.

Getting in touch

For more advice and guidance, you can contact our Student Financial Support Service.

Tel: +44 (0)115 848 2494

What's included in the course fees?

The annual fee for our undergraduate degree courses includes a number of items. In addition to expert tuition and access to our first-class workshop and IT resources, you'll receive:

  • mandatory field trips, exhibitions and events required as part of your core studies
  • materials for induction workshops and activities within the workshops and laboratories
  • professional body course accreditation (where applicable)
  • infrastructure costs for final year Showcases (where applicable).

You are expected to purchase your own books, standard drawing and writing equipment, and consumables.

Where optional overseas visits are offered, you will need to meet the cost of these.

Preparing for the financial side of student life is important, but there's no need to feel anxious and confused about it. We hope that our fees and funding pages will answer all your questions.

You might be able to get a scholarship to help fund your studies. We award scholarships to those 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

What's included in the course fees?

The annual fee for our undergraduate degree courses includes a number of items. In addition to expert tuition and access to our first-class workshop and IT resources, you'll receive:

  • mandatory field trips, exhibitions and events required as part of your core studies
  • materials for induction workshops and activities within the workshops and laboratories
  • professional body course accreditation (where applicable)
  • infrastructure costs for final year Showcases (where applicable).

You are expected to purchase your own books, standard drawing and writing equipment, and consumables.

Where optional overseas visits are offered, you will need to meet the cost of these.

How to apply

Apply through UCAS.

Getting in touch

If you need any more help or information, please email our Admissions team or call +44 (0)115 848 4200.

You can apply for this course through UCAS. If you are not applying to any other UK universities, you can apply directly to us on 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:

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.