Fashion Design at UCA

Become a fashion designer with a brand identity, a full collection and a commercial business strategy - plus all the tools to promote yourself in the international market - on our MA Fashion Design course.

Focusing on a collection you’ve already created, or starting a new one from scratch – you’ll develop your signature style and transform your fashion line to match. You’ll gain business insight and explore ways to externalise your practice, all within a creative and supportive environment.

As you study, you'll work in course-specific fashion studios, sewing and textile print workshops, as well as making use of campus-wide facilities such as digital printing and photography studios.

You’ll also benefit from our close connections within the fashion industry, with opportunities to hear from exciting guest lecturers and access individual help and guidance from professional mentors.

Your studies will culminate in the creation and launch of your brand – the springboard to your career in the fashion industry.

 

Course entry options

Select from the following options to find out more about the different study options available for this course:

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Fashion Design
MA

A one-year course of advanced study for furthering your research skills and specialising within your discipline.

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Campus
UCA Epsom
Start date(s)
September 2025
Duration
1 year full-time
Entry requirements

Honours degree (or equivalent qualification) in the subject/related discipline
and/or
Relevant work experience

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Fashion Design
MA with Integrated Pre-Masters

This course includes a year-long preparatory course of study to ready you for your Masters course, developing your specialist knowledge, research skills and confidence in working alone.

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Campus
UCA Epsom
Start date(s)
September 2025
Duration
2 years full-time
Entry requirements

A recognised bachelor degree or 3 year diploma with a strong portfolio in a relevant subject

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Fashion Design

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Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements
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Fashion Design

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements
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Fashion Design

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements
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Fashion Design

Apply now Submit an enquiry
Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements
Hoi Kwan Leung, MA Fashion Design Yuyuan Zou, MA Fashion Design Ma Sarah Silong, MA Fashion Design Kelina Mary Bruce, MA Fashion Design Suliyat Tijani, MA Fashion Design Christina Yang, MA Fashion Design Chiamaka Nnachi, MA Fashion Design Xiao Zhang, MA Fashion Design Jayden Jian, MA Fashion Design Iris Wong, MA Fashion Design Chloe Newman, MA Fashion Design, UCA Rochester Yirong Li, MA Fashion Design, UCA Rochester

Two minute stories


Discover the stories of our Fashion students
Zeshaan Iqbal
Zeshaan's Master move with Dior
Graduate Fashion Week
Peek behind the scenes of 2023 GFW
Eve Jappy
A day in the life at Calvin Klein
Kreszend Sackey
Making a statement with Afro styles
What you'll study

What you'll
study

The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.

On this course you’ll prepare for postgraduate study with a mix of online and face-to-face learning that will give you the study skills required to complete a Masters course.

Launch
Launch week is a cross-school event bringing together postgraduate students across all disciplines within the School of Fashion and Textiles to get to know each other and form an international, cross-functional, dynamic postgraduate community.

Brand Evolution and Development
You’ll identify a clear direction for your studies and personal development, through analysis and reflection of your most recent fashion collection, (e.g. your undergraduate collection) or creative portfolio, in order to create a unique brand identity and innovative design proposal. This will incorporate an introduction to business planning including brand positioning, consumer segmentation and competitor analysis.

Critical thinking for Creative Practice
Within this unit you will be introduced to historical and contemporary debates that underpin your creative practice. You will be given the opportunity to expand your historical and contextual knowledge, examine ethical frameworks, and be introduced to social and cultural approaches to fashion and textiles.

Opportunity Week
Opportunity Week is cross-school event bringing together all postgraduate students across all disciplines within fashion and textiles to formally present their work in progress and major project proposal to their postgraduate community. Students will be encouraged to give formative feedback and identify shared interest and potential collaboration opportunities.

Collection Development and Consolidation
You’ll progress with garment production, utilising an external manufacturing resource to produce a statement outfit, or create a virtual collection using 3D fashion design software and Gerber pattern technology. Both options require you to create the technical specifications and patterns to support physical or digital outcomes.

Research and Professional Context
It is key for designers and for a designer fashion business to develop an understanding of creating products that deliver and recognise the importance of a business strategy and the role that costs, pricing, planning and marketing play in supporting product development.

In this unit you’ll be required to develop the second stage of your business plan, which includes a detailed analysis of their collection, range planning and financial analysis including startup costs, manufacturing, sales forecasts and cash flow.

Final Project Resolution and Collection Launch
The final unit is a culmination of the your studies and work completed in the previous units. You’ll realise and launch your brand through the introduction of a marketing strategy, outsourced product manufacture or a digital catwalk collection, which demonstrates key skills in product realisation, business planning and digital marketing.

Course specifications

Please note, syllabus content indicated is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change in line with our Student Terms and Conditions for example, as required by external professional bodies or to improve the quality of the course.

Fees & funding

Fees & financial support

Tuition fees

  • 2025/26: £10,500

Tuition fees

Tuition fees

  • 2025/26 (MA): £18,000
  • 2025/26 (Integrated International Pre-Masters course - Sept & Jan): £17,500
  • 2025/26 (Integrated International Pre-Masters course - May): £8,750

Please note: the fees listed here are correct for the stated academic year only. For more detailed information about our course fees please see our fees and finance pages. 

UCA scholarships and fee discounts

At UCA we have a number of financial support information available to assist you with the cost of your studies.

Current UCA students and alumni may be eligible for a tuition fee discount.

Financial support

There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources. Discover what support you might qualify for please see our scholarships and fee discounts.

Additional course costs

In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.

These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of the Course Information Document for more details of the costs you may incur.

Explore our Gradshow

Each year, we’re privileged to be able to share our graduates’ incredible work with the world. And now’s your chance to take a look.

Visit the online showcase

Facilities

Our campus has a range of facilities to support you. On the course you’ll make use of our fashion studios, sewing workshops, textile print studios and study areas with technical support. There’s also a modern library with a wealth of books, journals, special collections and online resources. The campus has additional facilities to support you including digital printing, photography studios and a media store for hiring digital and photography equipment.

View 360 virtual tour

Fashion studios, UCA Epsom

Fashion Studios, UCA Epsom

Fashion studios, UCA Epsom

Photography Studios, UCA Epsom

Photography studios, UCA Epsom

Library, UCA Epsom

Career opportunities

Taught by lecturers and sessional staff with direct experience in the fashion industry, our course has a number of high profile industry links, including:

  • Avery Dennison RBIS (UK): Global Retail Branding and Information Services
  • Twine-s (Israel): Technology company offering a revolutionary digital on-demand thread dyeing system and a digital dye-to-match colour application
  • Tasker Apparel (UK): Leading ethical garment manufacturer supplying independent fashion designers and brands
  • Fashion Scout: the UK's largest independent showcase for emerging and established design talent during London Fashion Week. Fashion Scout is renowned for championing, nurturing and showcasing creative design talent from around the globe

Our fashion design MA will prepare students, with a fantastic support system from our industry staff, for clear and exciting career options upon graduating:

  • Fashion designer
  • Fashion buyer
  • Tailor
  • Fashion brand up-start
  • Colourist
  • Fashion illustrator
  • Fashion predictor
  • Fashion stylist
  • Pattern cutter/grader

You may want to undertake further study or research to specialise even further.

Riddhi Masrani

"I find that my tutors are extremely helpful and supportive. Being part of a creative university, there is a lot great work that is exchanged on campus and this keeps me up-to-date with what is happening in all the different areas, which is really important to me."

Riddhi Masrani

Entry & portfolio requirements

For this course we will need to see your portfolio for review. You can either submit a digital portfolio or request an in-person portfolio review with the course team. Further information will be provided once you have applied. View portfolio advice

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