Fashion Design
Entry requirements
96 UCAS Points from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent), including Grade C in Art, Design or Media subject.
UCAS Tariff Points accepted.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
3 GCSEs at grade 4 or above, including English.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
UCAS Tariff points acquired from BTEC Level 3 Diplomas in a related subject are accepted
UCAS Tariff points from Scottish Advanced Highers are accepted, related subjects are required. UCAS Tariff points from Scottish Highers are accepted, related subjects are required.
UCAS Tariff
From a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent), including Grade C in Art, Design or Media subject.
You may also need to…
Attend an interview
Present a portfolio
About this course
**Create your own fashion designs from year 1 in our workshops at Cambridge School of Art, and launch your career with a professional portfolio and stand-out final collection.**
Our BA (Hons) Fashion Design degree will help you forge an identity as a designer, specialising in menswear or womenswear. You’ll be hands-on from day one, creating your own fashion designs and engaging with all aspects of the design process in our studios, including drawing, traditional and experimental pattern cutting, draping, textiles and digital media.
You’ll also learn about 3D digital fashion design and innovation, contemporary fashion styling and promotion, and art direction. We also integrate live industry projects across different market levels from Year 1, alongside knowledge and practice focused on circular fashion and sustainability that will help you to develop as a responsible industry professional.
You’ll work closely with students from across our creative community, including fashion students in other years, photographers and filmmakers to create eye-catching content for your portfolio. Perhaps most importantly, you’ll get time, guidance, and support from our team, including technical staff, lecturers who are active in academic research and/or have worked with brands such as Chloe, Alexander McQueen, Warner Bros Records, London Records, and Heavy Jeans (Portugal).
As a BA (Hons) Fashion Design student at ARU, you’ll have the chance to find placements and internships with high-profile fashion houses and contemporary designers, including Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Mary Katrantzou, Marcus Lupfer, Mother of Pearl and Heavy Jeans (Portugal). You’ll also get to make connections with smaller brands that do big things – our recent graduates Roberto Duarte, Cosmin Diaconu and Bruno Coelho worked on the costumes for Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour for the brand Bang London.
You’ll also have opportunities to take part in live briefs with our partner organisations. Our students recently worked with humanitarian aid charity Hope and Aid Direct, using textile design work to raise awareness of social, cultural and environmental issues, and Heavy Jeans, designing a contemporary, sustainable, gender neutral denim collection inspired by historical workwear. Our course options allow you to take a placement year as part of your course as well.
We also attend trade fairs, such as Pure in London – the UK’s leading fashion buying event – or the fabric and trend show Premiere Vision in Paris; and visit suppliers and brands, e.g. River Island Head Office, plus other businesses connected to the fashion industry and the creative design and production process.
Many of our students go on to establish their own labels or work for fashion houses and other well-known brands:
• Roberto Sabala and Bruno Coelho, work in Creative Direction and Product Development at Bang London
• Ines Mourao is Head of Wardrobe at Vogue
• Milly Jeffrey is a Designer at Cath Kidson
• Georgia Bishop is a Fashion Assistant, River Island
• Rob Davis went on to establish his own business as Creative Director, Freak Couture, Manchester
• Agnieszka Zabek works as Apparel Designer with Reebok
• Tracie Sell is Designer and Product Developer, Bolongaro Trevor in London
• Olivia Welsh is Creative Director of her own label, Olivia Annabelle
• Stephanie Cornforth is Senior Designer & Product Developer (Head of Directional), Inspire Intimates Ltd
• Yasmin Lucy Greener is Womenswear Print Designer at John Lewis & Partners
By the end of the course you too will have a final collection and professional portfolio ready to show to the fashion industry at Graduate Fashion Week, and to the public at our own Graduate Fashion Show / Degree Show. Our students are shortlisted for awards at Graduate Fashion Week which can really boost their profile – in 2023 Alejandro Martinez-Herreros was shortlisted for the Zandra Rhodes Fashion Textiles Award.
Modules
Year 1 core modules: Cut, Form and Construction; Design: Visual and Material Practice; Visual Communication and Portfolio; Sustainable Design and Innovation Practice. Year 2 core modules: Design and Professional Practice; Fashion Communication and Promotion; Critical Issues and Debates; 3D Digital Fashion and Innovation; Contemporary Cut and Realisation; Ruskin Module. Year 3 core modules: Fashion Design Major Project and Professional Portfolio. Year 3 optional modules: Research Project; Working in the Creative Industries. Modules are subject to change and availability.
Assessment methods
You will show your progress towards your final portfolio with a combination of written and practical work, depending on the module, with regular feedback from our lecturers.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Cambridge Campus
Cambridge School of Art
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After graduation
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Design studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£16k
£18k
£23k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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