MA in Fashion Design
Southampton, United Kingdom
MA
DURATION
1 year
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 26,200 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* EU and international students | £10,400 - UK students
Collaborate with renowned designers on our fast-paced and highly creative MA Fashion Design course. You’ll develop your individual design identity and complete a comprehensive exploration of advanced fashion design to prepare you with essential industry skills.
The philosophy of the MA Fashion Design course encourages you to be creative, push the boundaries and think outside the box. You'll use your research and design skills to formulate a professional, contemporary body of work that incorporates your design identity and ambitions for a future career in fashion.
On this master's in fashion design, you’ll consider ethical and sustainable practices in the context of contemporary fashion design. Backing up your creativity with research and advanced technical knowledge, this course will provide essential skills to enter a competitive industry, including:
- zero-waste creative cutting
- critical analysis and reflection
- market awareness
- trend, colour and material research
- styling and display
- professional presentation and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) skills
Live projects, Field Trips and Events
You'll have the opportunity to take part in live projects. These projects create real-world scenarios where you can practice your skills and work with experienced designers affiliated with London Fashion Week and the British Fashion Council.
Opportunities include:
- planning and running photoshoots and catwalk shows
- creating lookbooks alongside photographers, stylists and hair and make-up artists
- attending industry events like London Fashion Week and Africa Fashion Week
- visits to exhibitions, shows, studios and production facilities across the UK and Europe
- attending student-led, co-curricular activities that celebrate creativity and diversity
Preparing for a career in industry
The collaborative approach of this course, with its community of creatives across different disciplines, reflects the industry of fashion design. You'll be encouraged and supported in finding and applying to internships to gain valuable experience and help you begin your career and graduate as a confident problem solver and independent thinker, with a considered and refined design identity.
Previous students have gone on to become fashion designers and teachers, start their own labels and present their own collections at Pure London trade show.
Southampton Arts and Humanities Deans Global Talent Scholarship
There are 40 scholarships available to international students applying to study an undergraduate or postgraduate master's degree in an arts or humanities subject. Successful applicants will get £10,000 towards their tuition fees.
Find out more about the Southampton Arts and Humanities Deans Global Talent Scholarship, including eligibility, deadlines and how to apply, on our website.
Winchester School of Art Progression Scholarship
This scholarship is available to all eligible UK and international Winchester School of Art graduates who go directly from an undergraduate to a master's degree within the school. You will get either £1500, £2,500 or £3,000 depending on the grade you get for your undergraduate degree.
Learn more about the Winchester School of Art Progression Scholarship on our website.
This fashion design master’s is full-time for 1 year. You’ll study studio-based modules with the support of technical staff and make use of specialist equipment and machinery.
Modules
The modules outlined provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. As a research-led University, we undertake a continuous review of our courses to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.
You must study the following modules:
- Contextual Practice (Fashion Design)
- Creative Experimentation: Pre-collection (Fashion Design)
- Final Major Project (Fashion Design)
- Introduction to Design Principles (Fashion Design)
- Professional Attributes: The Fashion Industry
- Professional Practice: The Company (Fashion Design)
You must also choose from the following modules:
- Creative Thinking and Problem Solving
- Digital Cultures
- Entrepreneurship
- Experimental Publishing
- Exploring the Visual Language of Display
- Global Marketing
- Sustainability in Business and Design
- Visual Culture
Semester 1 Overview
In your first semester, you’ll research, explore and demonstrate your advanced design ability. You'll get an introduction to fashion design principles through a combination of projects and technical workshops.
From your module in Contextual Practice, you'll get to deepen your understanding of historical and contemporary contexts relating to fashion design.
Your core modules include:
- Introduction to Design Principles
- Professional Attributes: The Fashion Industry
- Contextual Practice
Semester 2 Overview
Your second semester, you’ll cover the following core modules:
- Professional practice: The Company
- Creative Experimentation: Pre-collection
You'll also prepare to work on your final project, which you'll complete during the summer
This is a self-directed project that represents a real-world scenario where you will identify, develop and present a cohesive collection of contemporary design outcomes.
Employability Skills
This degree will allow you to develop and evidence subject-specific and targeted employability skills. This includes the required skill set for a range of future careers, further study, or starting your own business.
The skills you can expect to focus on and gain from this course include:
- Research
- Critical thinking
- Commercial awareness
- Self-management
- Confidence
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Creativity
- Networking
- EDI leadership
- Adaptability
- Problem solving
- Resilience
The employability and enterprise skills you'll gain from this course are reflected in the Southampton skills model. When you join us, you'll be able to use our skills model to track, plan, and benefit your career development and progress.
Career Pathways
Graduates commonly work in a range of organisations or sectors, including self-employment, Freelancing, High Street Retailers, Online Retailers, Fashion Houses, Interior Design Consultants, Interior Design Studios, universities, Academic Libraries, Magazines, PR Companies, Advertising Agencies, and Luxury Interior Design and Architecture.
Careers directly related to this course:
- Fashion designer
- Fashion manager
- Fashion buyer
- Fashion university lecturer
- Stylist
- Textile designer
- Journalist
- Fashion merchandiser
- Pattern maker
- Fashion marketing specialist
Wider career opportunities:
- Visual merchandiser
- Colourist
- Fashion illustrator
- Fashion stylist
- Pattern cutter
- Clothing technologist
- Textile technologist
- Advertising account planner
- Fashion photographer
- Advertising art director
Example job titles of Southampton, MA Fashion Design graduates*:
- Marketing executive
- Fashion designer
- Fashion buyer
- Teacher
- Visual merchandiser
- Management trainee
- Retail coordinator
- Brand associate
- Digital marketing executive
- Fashion editor
Learning
On this course, you’ll develop your teamwork skills, strengthen your planning and project skills and learn to think critically and analytically
You'll have the option to attend workshops covering a range of topics, such as:
- primary research
- developing a sketchbook
- computer aided design
You'll learn through a mix of studio work, tutorials, critiques, workshops and collaboration with peers and industry practitioners. You'll also have access to industrial studio spaces, a variety of technology and facilities to suit your goals, attend shows and exhibitions in London and hear from special guest lecturers.
This course welcomes a small group of new students each year, so your lecturers will take a personal approach to teaching and work closely with you to help develop your ideas. Our supportive and informal environment is created so you can approach academics to further your learning.
You’ll receive feedback on a weekly basis, ensuring your learning is on track.
Assessment
Assessment methods will vary between modules, and not all activities will be formally assessed. Instead, some may be formative work to help you learn and apply new skills.
Generally, you will be assessed on:
- your portfolio
- final project collection
- evidence of the research towards your studio practice
- reflective assignments