Fashion Design
Design fashion in partnership with Industry from day one. Develop your creative practice, digital skills and gain industry experience while exploring how fashion can respond to social, cultural and environmental change.
How to apply Apply through UCAS Book an Open Day Chat to us/filters:format(webp)/prod01/channel_2/media/university-of-south-wales/site-assets/images/03-courses/fashion/fashion-design-Michalina-Zukowska-57247.png)
UCAS Code
W232
Start Date
September 2027
Location
Cardiff
Campus Code
B
UCAS Points
96
UCAS Code
W233
Start Date
September 2027
Location
Cardiff
Campus Code
B
UCAS Points
96
Course overview
Build your own creative identity and develop the skills to turn ideas into forward thinking designs. Gain hands-on experience across physical and digital design while exploring new technologies, industry practice and responsible approaches to fashion.
Our Fashion Design course combines creative practice, digital innovation and industry-informed learning to develop confident, critically engaged fashion designers. Work on live briefs with industry partners, explore emerging technologies and AI, and develop the communication, collaboration and entrepreneurial skills to shape a more inclusive and sustainable fashion industry.
Members of The British Fashion Council. If you’re passionate about fashion, self-expression, pushing the boundaries and working collaboratively, this course is for you.
Membership
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Members of The British Fashion Council.
Why study this course?
What you'll study
Build your foundations in fashion design, exploring creative practice, garment construction, styling, trend forecasting, branding and fashion marketing.
Develop your practical skills through hands-on making, research, experimentation and collaborative projects.
Welcome to the landscape of the fashion industry. Develop your skills from initial research, design through to the fashion market, essential theories, strategic tools, and how they are used in the ever-evolving context of global fashion.
Go behind the fashion industry by examining how trends inform the design process. Explore how identity, history, culture, and society shape who we are and what we wear.
Work collaboratively across Fashion, Marketing and Photography to develop creative responses to industry briefs, building skills in branding, design thinking, innovation and professional teamwork.
Develop your practical skills in pattern-cutting, garment construction and materials through hands-on making. Build your confidence and translate fashion design ideas into three-dimensional garments.
Build on your experience by working on real-world fashion challenges and expand your skills in sourcing, production, problem-solving and professional practice.
You'll also develop your creative and commercial practice through product development, fashion entrepreneurship and digital innovation.
Push the boundaries of fashion through digital technology, experimental processes and user-centred design. Explore new forms of creative expression and consider how emerging technologies can shape the future of fashion.
Develop your understanding of fashion design, product development and range building, from concept to market, exploring sourcing, costing and buying. Work with digital tools and industry briefs to develop your commercial skills to unlock the business of fashion.
Put your skills into practice as part of an interdisciplinary team to tackle a strategic, real-world challenge. Apply your knowledge to develop creative solutions while building problem-solving, collaboration and communication skills for your future career.
Step into the role of a fashion brand founder, identifying market opportunities and developing a distinctive brand. Design and make a commercially viable product range for market.
Take your fashion practice to a professional level, developing your creative identity through independent projects, industry collaboration and advanced product development.
Build a portfolio, strengthen your professional skills and prepare for your upcoming career in fashion.
Shape your creative identity through an independent, industry-connected fashion project. Work with a partner to explore what drives you and your career ambitions. Through research, experimentation and critical thinking develop an original fashion collection.
Bring your fashion concepts to life through experimentation, prototyping and advanced product development. Refine your technical skills while making informed decisions about materials, production, sustainability and the needs of your target market.
Take your creative practice into the real world, working with industry partners on future-focused projects. Collaborate across disciplines, develop innovative ideas, pitch to professionals and build the experience and networks to launch your career.
Launch in to your career in fashion by developing a professional portfolio and defining your creative identity. Build your confidence in presenting your work, networking and communicating your skills while preparing for life beyond university.
We regularly review our courses to keep pace with changing skills and employer needs. If a review leads to significant changes, we’ll contact you to explain what’s changing for the coming year.
Teaching and assessment
You’ll learn through practical workshops, industry briefs, studio sessions, seminars and tutorials. You’ll develop your creative, technical and critical skills through experimentation, collaboration and reflection. With assessments designed to support your development, you’ll graduate as an independent, industry-ready fashion designer.
Put your ideas into practice through experimentation, research and creative problem-solving. You'll respond to live industry briefs, collaborate with others and develop your work through feedback and reflection. Digital learning will also support your studies beyond the studio, while increasing independence helps you build confidence in your own creative direction.
You'll be assessed through a range of practical and creative projects, including garments, prototypes, portfolios and digital outcomes, alongside research, sketchbooks, presentations and reflective work. Regular feedback through seminars and tutorials will help you develop your ideas, with assessments becoming increasingly independent as you progress.
You can choose to take a year-long industry placement between your second and final years, giving you the opportunity to put your fashion design skills into practice in a professional setting.
A placement will help you gain first-hand experience of the fashion industry, develop your professional confidence and build valuable contacts. You’ll apply the knowledge and skills developed during your degree to real-world projects, while gaining insight into professional practice, project management and the expectations of the industry.
Your placement experience can also inform your final year, helping you bring new industry knowledge, ideas and perspectives into your creative practice. It’s a valuable opportunity to develop your CV, strengthen your employability and explore the type of career you’d like to pursue after graduation.
Fashion students benefit from a whole floor dedicated to fashion design, promotion, and fashion business and marketing on our campus in the heart of Cardiff. These facilities include two design studios designed to inspire you whilst you sketch, design and create.
We’ve also got a full suite of manufacturing equipment, including industrial sewing machines as well as the latest in technology for design and 3D and 2D software. This mix of live and digital design gives our students a unique experience, allowing them to create digital collections and gain a professional edge.
At our Cardiff Campus we have a vast range of equipment that you will be trained to use as part of your course. To help support your studies we have a Media Loans facility that allows you to hire the equipment, at no cost, for you to then use for your assignments and practical work. We have both basic and high-end film and photography cameras, portable lighting and sound equipment as well as a range of professional studio recording microphones, instruments and associated equipment to use in our music studios or on location. The team of technical officers and instructors are also available to help you with any queries and technical issues.
Course Leader
Sally Phillips
Sally Phillips is a Senior Lecturer in Fashion with over two decades of industry experience across product development, buying, design and fashion marketing. She has worked with leading global fashion brands, bringing valuable commercial and creative insight to her teaching. Passionate about education and widening participation, Sally helps students recognise their potential and develop the confidence, skills and ambition to build careers in fashion. Her teaching connects creative practice and academic learning with the realities of the industry. Sally and the USW Fashion team champion an inclusive, anti-elitist approach, believing fashion is everyday creativity accessible to all. They support students to explore their creativity, discover their strengths and become confident, collaborative and ethically-minded graduates ready for the real world.
“The placement has strengthened my pattern cutting skills considerably as we had the opportunity to work alongside an extremely talented pattern cutter who has worked in the New York fashion industry for years.”
Elisedd Howells, Fashion Design student
Entry Requirements
Additional requirements include:
The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
How to applyContextual admissions policyAsk us a question96 UCAS points or above
Typical qualification requirements
A Level:
CCC to include a relevant subject.
Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate:
C in the Skills Challenge Certificate and CC at A Level with a relevant subject.
BTEC:
Merit Merit Merit in a relevant subject.
Access to HE:
Pass the Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 96 UCAS tariff points.
T Level:
Pass (C and above).
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.
International studentsPre-Sessional EnglishEnglish language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 4 overall and a minimum of 4 in each component or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Fees and Funding
Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).
*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.
Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy. We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
Equipment and Tools
Year 1 - Fashion Design Tool Kit:
Garment Construction & Pattern - Cutting items Approximate Costs: £200 - £300
Fashion Illustration Equipment Approximate Costs: £120
Materials / Consumables:
(An approx. budget for each year)
Approximate Costs:
Year 1: £200
Year 2: £250
Year 3: £800
(To include materials for final collection, which is at student discretion)
Note: Some students prefer to work digitally, which can include design and final outcomes/collections, this can significantly reduce material/consumable costs.
Annual Trips:
Field Trips UK: Field Trips will be organised throughout each year and are an important part of your learning.
International Trips: These are not considered compulsory, and any costs will be the responsibility of the individual student.
Approximate Costs: £300 per year
Printing and Exhibiting Costs
Approximate Costs: £100-£300 per year
Studying at university is one of the most significant investments you'll ever make. Whilst you’re studying, you’ll have two main financial obligations – tuition fees and living costs. There’s lots of financial help available from the University of South Wales and external funding sources, that may provide loans (which have to be paid back) and grants, scholarships and bursaries (that don't).
*Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits. Once enrolled, the fee is anticipated to remain at the same rate throughout the duration of your study on this course except as described below.
Please be aware that we may increase the maximum fee for home students on full-time undergraduate courses only where the Welsh Government increases the permitted level of inflation of fees. Fees for all students (including part-time, postgraduate and international students) may be amended in accordance with our applicable Fees and Debt Management Policy. We will ensure that students are given clear, intelligible, unambiguous and timely information about our courses and costs in good time, ahead of the next academic year.
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
Equipment and Tools
Year 1 - Fashion Design Tool Kit:
Garment Construction & Pattern - Cutting items Approximate Costs: £200 - £300
Fashion Illustration Equipment Approximate Costs: £120
Materials / Consumables:
(An approx. budget for each year)
Approximate Costs:
Year 1: £200
Year 2: £250
Year 3: £800
(To include materials for final collection, which is at student discretion)
Note: Some students prefer to work digitally, which can include design and final outcomes/collections, this can significantly reduce material/consumable costs.
Annual Trips:
Field Trips UK: Field Trips will be organised throughout each year and are an important part of your learning.
International Trips: These are not considered compulsory, and any costs will be the responsibility of the individual student.
Approximate Costs: £300 per year
Printing and Exhibiting Costs
Approximate Costs: £100-£300 per year
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How to apply
All applications for full-time undergraduate courses or foundation degrees should be made via UCAS. Take the next step: Apply through UCAS
You can apply to us directly for all part-time undergraduate courses, if you’re seeking advanced entry or you’re an international student. To apply directly, please choose the application form below for your preferred start date and mode of study (full-time or part-time).
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Apply direct
Fashion Design
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Full-time, 3 years
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September
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Cardiff
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Apply direct
Fashion Design
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Sandwich, 4 years
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September
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Cardiff
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If you already have a relevant qualification or experience related to the course you're applying for, you may be eligible to start at a later stage of the course. For example, students from partner colleges can ‘top up’ their qualifications to a degree by joining us in Year Two or Year Three of a course. This process is known as ‘advanced entry’, you can apply directly to the University for 'advanced entry' using the application forms provided above.
Applicants accepted through advanced entry may study a different combination of modules to those advertised, as they will be joining a course already in progress. You will be contacted and advised about these modules once your application has been processed and an offer made.
International applicants can apply to us directly. If the University has an in-country team in your region, your application will be assigned to them for assistance.
Explore our facilities
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