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Fashion Design at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. Overview Bring your creative and original ideas to life on our multi-award-winning Fashion Design degree course. You'll develop your innovation, self-awareness, and critical thinking via our teaching approach – which integrates sustainable and ethical design principles, focuses on your unique strengths, and shapes you into a confident and cultured professional. You'll also develop communication, leadership, and collaboration skills through exchange and enterprise projects, and you’ll build a deep knowledge of traditional and digital making skills using industry-level facilities. Using innovative research methods, you’ll be able to deliver authentic, imaginative work that pushes the boundaries of what fashion and textile design means now and in the future. Course highlights

  • Master traditional and innovative fashion design methods, including pattern-cutting, fashion illustration, silkscreen print, embroidery, and constructed textiles and biomaterials
  • Explore sustainable design methods to help you change the fashion industry for the future
  • Gain valuable industry experience and entrepreneurship skills by taking an optional placement, either with a company or as self-employed
  • Enhance your collaboration and team-working skills by working with other students on other courses in the Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries
  • Get insight into the fashion industry by attending guest lectures by visiting international professionals—previous visitors include Mohsin Sajid, Niccolo Casas and Shingo Sato
  • Showcase your skills by exhibiting your work at the University’s annual graduate show
Careers and opportunities Our collaborative and project-orientated course will give you the skills to become highly employable. Graduate areas Our graduates have worked across design, marketing, communications and commerce in areas such as:
  • fashion, textile or accessories design
  • trend prediction
  • buying
  • visual merchandising
  • teaching or lecturing
  • journalism or writing
Graduate destinations Our graduates have worked with some of the biggest names in fashion and major retailers, including:
  • Ralph Lauren
  • Hugo Boss
  • Matthew Williamson
  • River Island
  • Fat Face
  • Marks and Spencer
After you leave the University, you can get help, advice and support for up to 5 years from our Careers and Employability service as you advance in your career. Graduate startups Previous students on this course have also set up their own fashion and textile labels. For example:
  • Sunny Williams set up his label, House of Sunny, in 2011 and has developed minimal, androgynous aesthetic womenswear, which sells internationally and is stocked by ASOS
  • Nikki Strange created her own-name line for Marks and Spencer in 2015 and also works as a freelance textile designer and visiting lecturer.

Modules

Year 1

  • Core Skills Fashion and Textiles (40 credits)
  • Design Fundamentals (40 credits)
  • Digital Designing for Fashion and Textiles (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Global Fashion (20 credits)
Year 2 Core modules
  • Circular Fashion Practice (20 credits)
  • Fashion Futures: Research and Experiment (20 credits)
  • Fashion Futures: Design Development and Resolution (20 credits)
  • Industry Live Brief: Research and Development (20 credits)
  • Industry Live Brief: Resolution and Enterprise (20 credits)
Optional modules
  • Study Exchange (60 credits)
  • Engaged Citizenship Through Interdisciplinary Practice (20 credits)
  • Exploratory Practice (20 credits)
  • Professional Experience (20 credits)
  • Student Enterprise (20 credits)
Year 3 Core modules
  • Major Project: Concept (20 credits)
  • Major Project: Development (20 credits)
  • Major Project: Resolution (20 credits)
  • Professional Practice (40 credits)
Optional modules
  • Visual Culture: Dissertation (20 credits)
  • Visual Culture: Research Project (20 credits)
Changes to course content We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry. If a module doesn't run, we'll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.


How to apply

Application codes

Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

Additional entry requirements

Portfolio

All applicants will be asked to provide a digital portfolio of work.


English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
PTE Academic62An overall score of 62 with a minimum of 59 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students

There is no data available for this course. For further information visit the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £9535 Year 1
England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1
International £17200 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad (at the time of publishing for 2025/26): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,430 EU – £1,430 International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. Please check the course page on our website for the most up to date fee information All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
Fashion Design at University of Portsmouth - UCAS