- Explore print and colour through fashion and interior textiles art
- Take part in an internship and work on live industry projects
Course overview
Our award-winning BA (Hons) Printed Fashion Textiles degree course at UCA Epsom will give you the freedom to explore printed textiles through a wide range of design-led projects – from creating a catwalk collection to designing fashion-led interiors and textile art.
If you want to learn how to design, pattern cut, drape on the stand and make exciting garment collections, but can’t live without colour, pattern and print, then this is the course for you.
You will have access to industry standard printing, sewing and digital printing equipment and you can explore hand crafted textiles techniques and cutting-edge digital technology in the design and production of innovative design ideas and finished products.
You'll have the chance to do an internship and also work live industry projects with big brand names, including Alexander McQueen and Peter Pilotto, as well as exhibiting your work at shows.
Our graduates go on to secure positions at many leading fashion and textile brands such as Jimmy Choo, Monsoon, Debenhams and House of Fraser, working in many key sectors of the industry including: textile design for clothes and accessories, CAD design for printed textiles, interior and exterior print applications, design forecasting, fabrics and print products.
What you'll study
The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.
UCA’s Integrated Foundation Year is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and more.
You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.
Find out more about the Integrated Foundation Year
For our students coming from a non-UK educational background, UCA has an Integrated International Foundation Year to bring students from around the world to one hub of creativity.
This year of preparatory study is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and the English speaking and writing skills you’ll need to succeed.
You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.
Find out more about the Integrated International Foundation Year
Guest Speakers’ Series
You’ll join students across the School of Fashion & Textiles for our Industry Guest Speakers’ Series – you’ll hear from people with diverse backgrounds, skills and career paths representing the diversity of our student community, to inspire you to kick-start your thinking about your own career journey.
Design for Print
You’ll be introduced to the academic and professional environment and a range of resources and stages of reflective practice, as you learn the fundamental creative, practical and technical knowledge and skills required for printed textile design. Among those skills are traditional and experimental drawing and mark-making, creative exploration of image generation and design development, making prototypes for the fashion textile designer, and research, evaluation and reflection.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - Creative Identities
You’ll develop your awareness and understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion, and promote progressive values and attitudes in creative practice. You’ll learn how our social identities (such as gender, race/ethnicity, class, disability, sexual orientation, and religion) contribute to the inclusion and/or exclusion of individuals in creative spaces.
Getting Into Print
You’ll learn how to translate your design ideas into print, and be encouraged to explore both traditional and experimental textile printing techniques through the generation of samples and swatches, and learning how to present your work in a professional context such as a garment prototype, accessory or interior print concept. Your knowledge of colour work will be developed as you learn to interpret colour through dying and textile printing processes.
Hackathon
In your first Opportunity Week, you’ll work with others on a high-intensity project. You’ll use a new piece of software or equipment to familiarise yourself with the technology that is becoming ubiquitous in the industry. For instance, you may be asked to design a website, an Instagram filter, an avatar, a virtual garment or digital prints.
Design for Digital Print
This unit focuses on the introduction and exploration of digital textile design (CAD) and production methods (CAM) through the workflow of hand-generated artwork and design development into digital print. You’ll learn how to translate hand-rendered drawings and paintings into digital formats for textile design through a range of design development activities.
Materials in Context
This unit runs in parallel to the Design for Digital Print unit and focuses on an investigation into the adoption and reach of digital design and production in the global fashion and textile industry today, as well as the possible contexts for your own work. You’ll have a creative thinking space in which you can thoroughly explore a diverse range of research ideas.
Business of Fashion
You’ll be introduced to the fundamental principles of fashion business and practices through a global lens. You’ll learn about how the macro environment affects the fashion industry sector and consumer groups and how it operates, introducing you to the various market levels and sectors, as well as industry structure, supply chain, distribution, marketing and commercialisation of products and services to end-users.
ATOM Activities
ATOM activities are small pieces of individual learning that facilitate interdisciplinary exposure across UCA, and offer a flexible, impactful learning experience. They expand your creative horizon by accessing learning topics that would not otherwise be scheduled on your course specific timetable.
PLE Digital Outcomes
The PLE Digital Outcome is a purposefully edited, self-directed record of your constructive, level 4 engagement with and presence on, digital media platforms across the year.
Career Week
You’ll start the second year with an intensive, interactive career preparation week. It prepares you for your work placement, through preparing your CV and cover letters, developing personal branding on professional social networks, networking and interview preparation.
Ideation, exploration and process
As you develop ideas and concepts alongside material and technical experimentation, you’ll begin to establish who you are as a designer and find your own creative voice. We’re looking for print design beyond the predictable, and in answer to that, you’ll create a body of samples, prints, fabric innovation samples, fabric manipulation and print swatches, inspired by a personal research topic.
Reflective Practitioner
You’ll have the opportunity to explore global perspectives and influences on creative practice, drawing upon interactions with varied identities, cultures, politics, and histories. You’ll reflect on the development of their own creative influences, perspectives, practices, and sense of belonging as developing creative professionals in global and contemporary spaces.
Elective - Branding
In an industry based on visual communication, it is important to create your own visual communication style to set you apart from the crowd both as a graduate and prospective employee or independent brand/ freelancer. It is also important to explore and utilise the channels of communication available to you, particularly social media, in order to promote yourself/ brand either to sell your work or develop successful career networks.
Elective - Business Start-up
You’ll identify, develop and present a design, product, service or mini collection using your previous unit outcomes as a starting point for your start up idea/ proof of concept. You will be required to research market trends, consider a more global perspective, and explore cultural, ethical and sustainable considerations. You will then explore how you could develop/refine and market your idea as a commercial product or “best seller”.
Elective - Indigo
The focus of this unit is to enable students to immerse themselves in practice-based making by reusing and transforming materials and products. Working under a sustainable framework, you’ll be encouraged to creatively explore Indigo dyeing to develop ideas and concepts that have the potential to impact the sustainable marketplace, and influence positive social or environmental change.
Dragons’ Den
Have you ever watched Dragon’s Den on the BBC? Have you ever dreamed of being one of the contestants? Have you got a business idea? Now is your chance to become the next big fashion and textiles entrepreneur. You’ll work in multi-disciplinary teams to prepare a short business plan, a prototype and pitch their ideas to a panel of industry judges.
Design For Industry
This unit offers you the opportunity to work on a live project scenario in which selected company profiles, print design, promotion and marketing as well as future markets are researched. There is a teamwork element to reflect the professional workplace and skills acquired to work in a highly competitive industry. Your understanding of your role within the group and your contribution is important throughout this unit, as you work towards the production of a professional sample collection. This collection might typically consist of hand printed or digitally rendered designs, printed samples and illustrations. You’ll also create a professionally presented collection of images, which illustrate your design skills.
Creative ID
You’ll develop a personal Creative ID that reflects your design aesthetic, skillset, design ethos and how you will present your work through the creation of an online presence. You will also explore ways in which you can disseminate your Creative ID to the outside/professional world both visually and through written and spoken word.
Placement
You’ll have the opportunity to undertake one of two options on this unit – a four-week minimum self-initiated work placement that’s relevant to your potential career direction, or complete an industry case study which gives you the opportunity to study an aspect of the industry, that you identify as an area of interest, through the method of case study research. For both, you will record, critically analyse and evaluate your findings through a learning journal and present them in your learning journal and a professionally structured Placement or Case Study Report.
ATOM Activities and PLE Digital Outcome
These units are an extension of the Year 1 ATOM Activities and PLE Digital Outcomes.
If you opt to complete a professional practice year, this will take place in year three. You will undertake a placement within the creative industries to further develop your skills and CV.
While on your Professional Practice Year, you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee for that year. This fee will be determined using government funding regulations. Based on current regulations, we expect this to be a maximum of 20% of the tuition fee rate that you are charged for your second year of study. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during this year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this as you approach your Professional Practice Year.
Please note: If you are an international applicant, you will need to enrol onto the course ‘with Professional Practice Year’. It will not be possible to transfer onto the Professional Practice Year after enrolment
Project Pitch
Your final year begins with a project pitch week. This is your opportunity to share ideas that you will have developed over the summer about your degree project, receive feedback and finetune it before you start actively working on it as part of your last year at university.
Materials, Techniques and Processes
This is all about preparing, experimenting and developing your designs for your Final Major Project and Professional Portfolio. You’ll be encouraged to research and experiment a wide range of materials, techniques and process which inform your ideas and help to define the direction of your Final Major Project and future career aspirations. You’ll also develop prototype samples that reflect and meet industry standards. Consideration should be given to ethical and sustainable use of materials.
Design, concept and context
This unit runs in parallel to the Materials, Techniques and Processes unit, and is all about research and development. Your work will be presented as a professional formatted Research Journal, which should demonstrate in-depth personal investigation into a research theme that you find inspirational. The assignments in this unit are constructed to enable you to focus on your specific career and skill aims, as well as your personal strengths.
Graduate Career Fair
The Graduate Career Fair taking place during the first week of your second term to help your job search as you prepare for life after graduation. Companies that are actively hiring in your sector will be present to give you information about them, the kind of candidates they are looking for and their hiring process.
Final Major Project and Professional Portfolio
This is your chance to properly present and showcase the work you’ve done across the course – transforming your designs into finished print collections, printed garments, accessories, fashion led interior/exterior applications or textile art. An awareness of this creative process, including trend, production, presentation and global market awareness is a key element.
Your Professional Portfolio will comprise artwork, design work, printed textile collections, swatches, illustration, photographs, CV and on-line presence, all of which show your final collection in the best light possible. The Professional Portfolio should represent the culmination of your Final Major Project as an edited presentation of all your key work in a contemporary format.
This course offers the opportunity to study abroad for part of your second year. To find out more about studying abroad as part of your course please see the Study Abroad section:
Tuition fees - 2023 entry
UK students:
- Integrated Foundation Year - £9,250
- BA course - £9,250
EU students:
- Integrated International Foundation Year - £9,250 (see fee discount information)
- BA course - £9,250 (see fee discount information)
International students:
- Integrated International Foundation Year - £16,950
- BA course - £16,950
If you opt to study the Professional Practice Year, for 2023 you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee of £1,850 (UK students) and £3,390 (International students). You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during your Professional Practice year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this.
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 your Course Information for details of the costs you may incur.
Further information
For more detailed information about our course fees and any financial support you may be entitled to please see our fees and finance pages.
The fees listed here are correct for the stated academic year only. Costs may increase each year during a student’s period of continued registration on course in line with inflation (subject to any maximum regulated tuition fee limit). Any adjustment for continuing students will be at or below the RPI-X forecast rate.
Industry placement
offer
Preparing graduates for successful careers underpins everything we do, and all students on this course may be offered support to identify and prepare for an industry placement according to their individual needs. We’ll draw on our wide range of contacts within the creative industries to help provide you with opportunities that align with your interests and future career aspirations.
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 & financial support
Tuition fees - 2023 entry
UK students:
- Integrated Foundation Year - £9,250
- BA course - £9,250
EU students:
- Integrated International Foundation Year - £9,250 (see fee discount information)
- BA course - £9,250 (see fee discount information)
International students:
- Integrated International Foundation Year - £16,950
- BA course - £16,950
If you opt to study the Professional Practice Year, for 2023 you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee of £1,850 (UK students) and £3,390 (International students). You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during your Professional Practice year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this.
The fees listed here are correct for the stated academic year only, for details of previous years please see the full fee schedules. Costs may increase each year during a student’s period of continued registration on course in line with inflation (subject to any maximum regulated tuition fee limit). Any adjustment for continuing students will be at or below the RPI-X forecast rate.
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 financial support information
UCA scholarships and fee discounts
At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.
You'll find everything you need to know for your level of study on our scholarships page.
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 your Course Information for details of the costs you may incur.
Facilities
Our fashion facilities include: large and well-equipped pattern and production studios and workshops with industrial sewing machines, embroidery machines and specialist finishing machines.
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Fashion studios, UCA Epsom
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Fashion sewing studios, UCA Epsom
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Fashion studios, UCA Epsom
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Fashion studios, UCA Epsom
Career opportunities
We have strong industry connections with a range of leading organisations, including:
- Zandra Rhodes
- Alexander McQueen
- Peter Pilotto
- Jonathan Saunders
- Erdem
- Tom Cody
- Keeler Gordon
- Preen
- Vooprint Studios
- TO3 Textiles Innovation Centre
- Cite de la Dentelle et de la Mode Museum, Calais
- Turner Contemporary
- Quex Park Museum
Graduates from this course have secured positions at many fashion and textile companies - just a few of them include:
- Jimmy Choo
- Debenhams
- Skinny Dip
- Monsoon
- House of Fraser
- Circleline Design
- print.one.
Key areas of graduate work include:
- Textile design for clothes
- CAD design for printed textiles
- Fabrics and print products
- Fashion accessories
- Interiors and exterior print applications
- Freelance design or research
- Design forecasting
- Entrepreneurship and artists- in-residence.
You may also like to consider further study at postgraduate level.
Explore our Gradshow
Visit our 2022 grad show site to see the incredible work created by our graduating students
Visit the 2022 Gradshow/prod01/channel_8/media/marketing-media/quote-imagery/Elizabeth-Whibley_Fashion-Textiles.jpg)
"UCA has such a friendly and welcoming energy, amazing facilities and the peer and tutor support needed to create the best working environment so my creative output can reach its full potential."
Entry & portfolio requirements
BA (Hons) course
BA (Hons) course with Professional Practice Year
The standard entry requirements* for these courses are one of the following:
- 112 new UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
- Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
- Distinction, Merit, Merit at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
- Merit at UAL Extended Diploma
- 112 new UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
- 27-30 total points in the International Baccalaureate Diploma with at least 15 IB points at Higher level, see more information about IB entry requirements.
And four GCSE passes at grade 9-4/A*-C including English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2).
Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.
Portfolio requirements
For these courses, we’ll need to see your portfolio for review. We’ll invite you to attend an Applicant Day so you can have your portfolio review in person, meet the course team and learn more about your course. Further information will be provided once you have applied.
BA (Hons) course with Integrated Foundation Year
BA (Hons) course with Integrated Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year
The standard entry requirements* for these courses are one of the following:
- 64 new UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
- Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
- Merit, Pass, Pass at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
- Pass at UAL Extended Diploma
- 64 new UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
- 24 points from the International Baccalaureate, see more information about IB entry requirements.
And four GCSE passes at grade 9-4/A*-C including English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2).
Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.
Portfolio requirements
These courses don't require a portfolio. If you receive an offer, you’ll be invited to attend an Applicant Day where you can meet the course team and learn more about the course.
*We occasionally make offers which are lower than the standard entry criteria, to students who have faced difficulties that have affected their performance and who were expected to achieve higher results. We consider the strength of our applicants’ portfolios, as well as their grades - in these cases, a strong portfolio is especially important.
BA (Hons) course
BA (Hons) course with Professional Practice Year
The entry requirements for these courses will depend on the country your qualifications are from, please check the equivalent qualifications for your country:
Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.
Portfolio requirements
For these courses, we will need to see your portfolio for review. We will invite you to attend an Applicant Day so you can have your portfolio review in person, meet the course team and learn more about your course. If you are unable to attend an Applicant Day you can upload a portfolio digitally, there is also the option to submit it online via your UCA Applicant Portal. Further information will be provided once you have applied.
BA (Hons) course with Integrated International Foundation Year
BA (Hons) course with Integrated International Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year
For these courses you need to have completed 12 years of schooling (with good grades) and show strong evidence of your ability to successfully complete the programme and progress onto your chosen degree.
Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.
Portfolio requirements
These courses don't require a portfolio. If you receive an offer, you’ll be invited to attend an Applicant Day where you can meet the course team and learn more about the course.
English language requirements
To study at UCA, you'll need to have a certain level of English language skill. And so, to make sure you meet the requirements of your course, we ask for evidence of your English language ability, please chcek the level of English language required:
Don't meet the international entry requirements or English language requirements?
You may be able to enter the course through the following entry pathways:
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