Fashion Design with a Foundation Year BA (Hons)
Birmingham City University
Student rating
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( 4.0) View reviews

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Different course options
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Qualification

Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

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Location

Parkside Building Campus

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Study mode

Full Time

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Start date

SEP-25

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Duration

4 Years

Course info

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Qualification

Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Location

Parkside Building Campus

Study mode

Full Time

Start date

SEP-25

Duration

4 Years

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Subjects

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Art & Design
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A level
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Scottish Higher
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Scottish Advanced Higher
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UCAS Tariff
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Access to HE Diploma
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International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
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Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
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Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
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Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)
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Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
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T Level
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England
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Scotland
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Wales
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Northern Ireland
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EU
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Course info

Our BA Fashion Design Course at Birmingham City University will provide you with a comprehensive fashion design education. The course encourages innovation in both design skills and technical craftsmanship with a focus on sustainability, system thinking and socioeconomic practice. We will provide you with international opportunities and integration with our industry partners to empower you to explore your individuality, creativity, and future employability.The foundation year is an exciting ...Read more

Our BA Fashion Design Course at Birmingham City University will provide you with a comprehensive fashion design education. The course encourages innovation in both design skills and technical craftsmanship with a focus on sustainability, system thinking and socioeconomic practice. We will provide you with international opportunities and integration with our industry partners to empower you to explore your individuality, creativity, and future employability.The foundation year is an exciting step towards your chosen creative degree pathway. You will embark on a fun, creative year of discovery. An opportunity to innovate, experiment, develop craft and research skills, equipping your professional journey into the creative industries.We will support you to become part of the Birmingham City University’s Fashion & Textiles community, where you can fully explore yourself within an inclusive environment, amongst a likeminded and diverse peer group.Our bespoke course encompasses Fashion Design, Textile design, Fashion Business and Fashion Communication degree routes. Providing you a platform to collaborate, share and learn from others. You will develop visual communication, subject specific craft skills, and processes to build confidence and independence ready for the next stage of your degree.We aim to innovate, excite, engage, and challenge you. Inspiring and encouraging you to develop your personal aesthetic, offer sustainable awareness, and ignite a lifelong enthusiasm to learn. We are proud to see our foundation students continuing to thrive as they progress through the degree pathways and graduate as leaders within the industry.Within your first year of undergraduate study, you will explore pure fashion design skills through a fundamental grounding in garment knowledge, construction, materiality, fabric and fibres analysis, tailoring and drape delivered in an atelier environment. In your second year you will discover systems thinking in relationship to Fashion design and our course’s structure will allow you to strategically balance between physically traditional and virtually digital craftmanship. Your final year of study provides you with the opportunity to express your individual design methodology in one of many creative formats, including a collection of garments, fashion products, material research and digital design technology.We will guide you with the decision of taking a placement year between your second and final year of study. Our dedicated internal careers team will support you through this process. We are proud that our recent cohorts have taken year placements with renowned designers such Paul Smith, Christopher Kane and Craig Green as well as industry super brands such as Superdry, NEXT and Adidas. We let you choose your design identity and tread your own design path.You will work with industry experts and a dedicated team of academic researchers and practitioners. A decolonised curriculum structures the innovative approach to 2D and 3D design resulting in diverse experts of your craft. You will study a programme that is specifically designed to produce job-ready graduates with transferrable skills that can form and reshape our industries.Our Fashion Design Course has built a reputation for students entering the industry as original, creative, independent thinking employable designers. Our award-winning graduate portfolios and fashion collections are showcased on international, digital, and local west-midland based platforms.

Key stats

WUSCA ranking:
WUSCA student ranking
These are the 2024 rankings, based on ratings given by past and current students.
76/101
CUG Subject Ranking
CUG Subject Ranking
Source: Complete University Guide 2025
52nd
CUG Ranking
CUG Ranking
Source: Complete University Guide 2025
92nd
Design Studies
Drop-out rate
Drop-out rate
The percentage of students who didn't finish the course.
Calculated by 100% - (% of students continuing course + % of students completed course)
100 - 84 = 16% Drop-out rate Source: UNISTATS, 2019
16%
Employment rate
Employment rate
The percentage of students in full-time work 6 months after finishing their course.
Source: UNISTATS, 2019
92%
Average salary
Average salary
Source: UNISTATS, 2019
Design Studies graduate salary at this uni
£18,000
UK Design Studies graduate salary
£18,000
What students say
F
Finlay
04 Oct 24

Worst- no freedom in the work for the first two years Best- can be inducted onto other courses to learn to put into your own work. I. E. Metal..Read more

B
Bre
28 Mar 22

na..Read more

Modules

Modules (Year 1)
Modules (Year 2)
Modules (Year 3)
Module Options
IDP Connect

Entry requirements

Exam type

A level

A level:

CDD Grades / Points required

Scottish Higher:

Not currently available, please contact university for up to date information.

Scottish Advanced Higher:

Not currently available, please contact university for up to date information.

UCAS Tariff:

80 Grades / Points required

Access to HE Diploma:

Not currently available, please contact university for up to date information.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme:

24 Grades / Points required

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017):

Not currently available, please contact university for up to date information.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016):

Not currently available, please contact university for up to date information.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016):

Not currently available, please contact university for up to date information.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016):

Not currently available, please contact university for up to date information.

T Level:

Pass (C and above) Grades / Points required

80 UCAS tariff points from three A Levels. Grades CDD (or equivalent). AS Level: Must be in a different subject to A Levels. A maximum of four subjects will be considered.

80 UCAS tariff points from three Advanced Highers (DDD) or two Advanced Highers (DD) plus two Highers (DD)

80 UCAS tariff points from three Advanced Highers (DDD) or two Advanced Highers (DD) plus two Highers (DD)

Not currently available, please contact university for up to date information.

Pass with 60 credits, 45 credits at level 3. Accepted subjects: Arts, Media and Publishing subjects preferred but other subjects also considered.

Obtain a minimum of 24 points overall

Minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points, achieved in five Higher level subjects

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

80 UCAS tariff points. Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications. Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications.

Pass overall (C or above on the core). All subjects accepted but Craft and Design preferred.

Popular A-level subjects

Design Studies

Top 5 A-levels taken by students who study this subject at uni.

Art & Design
43%
Fashion & Textiles
27%
Psychology
17%
Media Studies
14%
English Literature
13%
HESA

Tuition fees

Students living in

England

£9,250 per year

This information comes from UCAS, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: fees do vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from England

This is the fee you pay if you live within England. Please note, this fee has been confirmed.

This is the fee you pay if you live within England. Please note, this fee has been confirmed.

£9,250 per year

This information comes from UCAS, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: fees do vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from Scotland

This is the fee you pay if you live within Scotland. Please note, this fee has been confirmed.

This is the fee you pay if you live within Scotland. Please note, this fee has been confirmed.

£9,250 per year

This information comes from UCAS, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: fees do vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from Wales

This is the fee you pay if you live within Wales. Please note, this fee has been confirmed.

This is the fee you pay if you live within Wales. Please note, this fee has been confirmed.

£9,250 per year

This information comes from UCAS, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: fees do vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from Northern Ireland

This is the fee you pay if you live within Northern Ireland. Please note, this fee has been confirmed.

This is the fee you pay if you live within Northern Ireland. Please note, this fee has been confirmed.

£16,085 per year

This information comes from UCAS, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: fees do vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from EU

This is the fee you pay if you live within the European Union. Please note, this fee has been confirmed.

This is the fee you pay if you live within the European Union. Please note, this fee has been confirmed.

£16,085 per year

This information comes from UCAS, or in some cases the institution directly.
Please note: fees do vary so please make sure you contact the institution for up to date information.

Students from International

This is the fee you pay if you are an International student. Please note, this fee has been confirmed.

£16085 Per year

UCAS/IDP Connect

Latest reviews

Latest Fashion Design reviews

Fashion Design
Fashion Design
F
Finlay
04 Oct 24
Fashion Design BA (Hons)
Worst- no freedom in the work for the first two years Best- can be inducted onto other courses to learn to put into your own work. I. E. Metal...
Read more
B
Bre
28 Mar 22
na...
Read more
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How Fashion Design students rated:

Student rating
( 4.3) 4 reviews
5 star
25%
4 stars
75%
3 stars
0%
2 stars
0%
1 star
0%

How all students rated:

Student rating
( 4.0) 2,274 reviews
5 star
32%
4 stars
47%
3 stars
18%
2 stars
2%
1 star
1%
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Uni info

Birmingham City University
Parkside Building Cardigan Street Birmingham B4 7BD United Kingdom
Nearest train station: Birmingham Moor Street  0.4 miles away
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