BA (Hons) Hand Embroidery
Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom
BA
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
GBP 9,535 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* UK students: £9,535 per year | international: £21,400 for the first year
Key Summary
All students have the unique opportunity to access and engage with the RSN's extensive collection of historic textiles and paper-based materials.
As an adjunct to the physical materials collection, students engage with digital collections as part of their learning to make comparative analyses of objects. We are also proud to offer an annual lecture programme of visiting speakers, which contributes further to the contextual learning environment.
Onsite teaching for this course takes place in studio spaces using the RSN specialist art and design library, IT suite and handling collection. Offsite learning occurs through a bespoke series of visits to galleries, exhibitions and collections, online tutorials and opportunities to follow hand embroidery techniques online.
Why choose this course?
Throughout this course, we encourage learning through making. To achieve this, this course is designed to connect theoretical and practice-based learning through thematic projects and learning opportunities.
The hand embroidery techniques taught in the first and second year at the Royal School of Needlework are completely unique; no other provider in the world offers the same standard of teaching and learning.
Studio-based learning is by project, with individual and group tutorials and reviews enabling the individual views and knowledge of each student to be valued equally. Students also have the opportunity to challenge their creative ideas and individual outcomes through our supportive tutorial feedback process.
We encourage students to become creative problem-solvers and share their knowledge and expertise through participation in external enhancement projects. Students are also expected to engage with experimental approaches to visual research and design to inform their theoretical and creative practice.
A programme of tutorials, lectures and seminars facilitates experiential learning through the investigation of objects, materials, making and creative risk-taking. Throughout the course, our specialist technical team guides students through the materials, processes and equipment necessary to build their specialist knowledge.
Attendance is full time and all students may be required to engage with weekend and evening work throughout the academic year.
The Royal School of Needlework
This highly-specialist Hand Embroidery BA (Hons) course is taught at the prestigious Royal School of Needlework (RSN), based at Hampton Court Palace.
Founded in 1872, The Royal School of Needlework is the international centre of excellence for the art of hand embroidery.
We want to ensure anyone with potential and drive has the opportunity to study with us, no matter their background or financial situation. That's why each year, we provide a number of bursaries to help our undergraduate students gain their degree.
- The Kingston bursary
- Bursaries for care leavers
- Bursaries for estranged students
- Bursaries for young adult carers
- Bursaries for Sanctuary Scholars
- Chancerygate Foundation bursary
- Salutem scholarships
- AVSH scholarship
What you will study
Practical studio modules are delivered through thematic projects and workshops which are tailored to each specific group. Project themes are reviewed annually to ensure the programme maintains its contemporary context. Projects allow individual students to explore their own creative responses to a specific question or theme of enquiry.
All students are introduced to methods of reflective practice and critical analysis. Contextual studies are taught through a critical engagement with the material culture of hand embroidery, through workshop sessions, lectures and seminars.
Year 1 (Level 4)
The first-year study is experiential; building upon skills and processes to equip you with the vocabulary to develop your own personal creative voice. Teaching and learning styles may vary according to the module content: however thematic projects ensure that skills learned are transferable across modules.
Core modules
- Drawing for Design
- Hand Embroidery Practice
- RSN Technical Hand Embroidery
- Contextual Studies: Hand Embroidery
Year 2 (Level 5)
Core modules
- Advanced Drawing for Design
- Advanced Hand Embroidery Practice
- Advanced RSN Technical Hand Embroidery
- Contextual Studies: Textiles
Year 3 (Level 6)
Core modules
- Research for RSN Graduate Collection
- RSN Graduate Collection
- RSN Graduate Portfolio
- Professional Practice in Context
Practical studio modules are delivered through thematic projects and workshops which are tailored to each specific group.
Project themes are reviewed annually to ensure the programme maintains its contemporary context. Projects allow individual students to explore their own creative responses to a specific question or theme of enquiry.
Please note
Optional modules only run if there is enough demand. If we have an insufficient number of students interested in an optional module, that module will not be offered for this course.
Graduates from this course go on to work in costume creation and high-end bespoke fashion design or heritage preservation and craft.
Our Future Skills programme is embedded within the Hand Embroidery BA (Hons) course curriculum and throughout the whole Kingston experience. As the demands of modern employment continue to evolve, Future Skills will play a role in shaping you to become a future-proof graduate.
The programme aims to provide you with the skills most valued by employers, such as problem-solving, digital competency and adaptability. As you progress through your degree, you'll learn to navigate, explore and apply these graduate skills, learning to demonstrate and articulate to employers how future skills give you the edge.