Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Fashion Design

at University of Westminster - Harrow Campus United Kingdom

Live Music is at the centre of Music as an industry and cultural experience. There is a rich set of global opportunities arising from the significant economic and cultural global growth of Live Music. Central to this are music festivals as economic, social and cultural centres of importance, enhanced by the link between social media and experiential experiences.

This new course will help you to develop a comprehensive knowledge and critical understanding of business and practice in the live music and events industries and equip you to navigate this fast-changing and challenging environment. It also sets out to examine how the live music and events industries interact with wider social and technological transformations, critically important in a socially distancing environment necessitating new business models such as live streaming, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.

At Westminster, we already have a highly regarded background and established reputation for successful teaching and research in music and events from the very heart of the global centre for live music, London. Our Live Music Management MA has been developed alongside and is heavily integrated with industry and will be delivered by both leading academics as well as frequent guest speakers from the live music industry (including leading industry spokespeople and companies).

This highly regarded course offers a rigorous analysis of the political, economic, cultural and sociological factors which shape the practices and outcomes of mass media. It will give you the opportunity to study and research the main ways in which social scientists have analysed the role of the mass media and communication, and how to develop, evaluate and apply research to evaluate those theories.

The MA ensures that you will receive a relevant, well-grounded, high-quality education and skill base, and a clear and comprehensive understanding of communication and the mass media. It is designed both for those who already work in or want to work in the media, and for those who want to go on to pursue further academic research in media and communication.

This well-established Masters is the world-leading course in audio production, highly regarded both nationally and internationally. It is accredited by JAMES (consortium of music, entertainment and media industry organisations in the support of education and promotion of excellence). The course is designed to meet and exceed professional standards and will enable you to reach the highest level in the creative use of audio, and explore how creative ideas and new technologies can be combined, enhanced and redefined.

As the major media education site in Europe, the University's Harrow Campus includes 14 professional recording studios (three surround studios), a new teaching recording studio, Music Lab and an array of TV, post-production, radio, film and multimedia facilities built and equipped to the highest standards.

This innovative course develops your creative abilities in audio across music production, sound design, radio, TV, film and multimedia, all supported by a robust understanding of the technologies involved. You will be able to explore and expand as a creative artist while achieving control and experience of a professional audio environment.

We live in an age where almost everything of what we do is connected to data. Big data and datafication - the increasing transformation of multiple aspects of everyday lives into digital data - pose great opportunities but also risks for contemporary societies. This new MA course addresses, explores and creatively utilises this transformation. We place an emphasis on current and future technologies and practices such as algorithms, artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, data analytics and data mining, the Internet of Things, and others.

This multidisciplinary course brings together media / communication studies and computer science. It combines hands-on and applied approaches with theoretical learning and critical analysis. It will encourage collaboration, creative practice, group work and problem-based learning. You will apply tools and technologies to your own data challenges and projects, including from your existing professional or cultural, political, social and economic environments. The course also features optional modules from a range of disciplines across the University: Media and Communication Studies, Law, Computer Science, Politics and International Relations, Cultural Studies.

You will be introduced to the tools and approaches that can be used for collection, analysis, management and visualisation of data, as well as to the skills needed to critically think about the ethical, cultural, social and political implications of their practice.

This course offers a hands-on curriculum that allows you to develop core journalistic skills in broadcast and digital media. You will learn the technical skills to master TV, audio and digital reporting. The course has a very practical focus, so you will develop your own story ideas and gather your own material through research and reporting for journalistic course work.

You will be given full training in using our up-to-date video, audio, social media management and mobile journalism resources, ensuring that you graduate from the course as a multi-skilled journalist. These practical skills are underpinned with training in media law, ethics and regulation.

Whether your passion is current affairs, arts and culture, investigative features, travel, fashion, sport – or you are still deciding, our aim is to help you to find your first job in journalism.

The Illustration BA aims to provide an intellectual and creative space for students to explore and build skills in a range of traditional, digital and emerging image making technologies. Industry modules enable students to develop transferable professional skills that support creative agility, resilience and adaptability for rapidly evolving professional opportunities.

This course offers a flexible, interdisciplinary and multimedia approach to the study and practice of contemporary illustration and is developed through a range of industry-focused projects and self-defined contexts.

A supportive studio environment and learning community nurture your individual development and distinctive voice as both an illustrator and creative practitioner in the wider field of visual communication.

Studio-based projects, national and international competitions and live industry projects provide context and creative challenge, fostering experimentation and visual inquiry. You will have the creative space to explore and examine a range of processes and practices in both traditional and emerging technologies.

Our Television Production BA is a practice-based course taught by broadcast industry professionals and media theorists, combining critical analysis with hands-on practical skills.

Our course focuses on how television programmes are conceived, produced, commissioned and distributed in a digital broadcast and multi-platform environment. 

You’ll work across a digital workflow supporting single-camera and multi-camera studio production modes and produce programmes across all genres, from documentary and drama series to TV commercials and studio entertainment shows.

As well as learning practical skills in editing, camera operations, sound recording, lighting and graphics, you’ll study critical analysis of the ever-changing global broadcast and digital media industries. 

You’ll work with industry-standard facilities and equipment, and you’ll be taught by experienced industry professionals and practitioners, including documentary filmmakers, directors, producers and screenwriters. We also host a range of visiting lecturers and guest speakers, from sound designers to investigative journalists and social media strategists.

Our course is designed to prepare you for the challenge of a multi-skilled, mixed-portfolio career, and our graduates leave equipped with the knowledge, skills and mindset necessary to thrive in the creative industries.

Our course capitalises on the benefits that London has to offer, particularly through our connections with the many production companies based in the city, with links that include ITV studios, Disney and London Live. Our students have undertaken work experience with a range of employers, including the BBC, Endemol and ITV. 

Based at our vibrant Harrow Campus, just a 20-minute train ride from central London, you’re ideally placed to take up a range of exciting opportunities as you begin your professional career.

Digital and Interactive Storytelling LAB MA is a new and innovative course, designed for digital storytellers and shaped like a media LAB. This means that during the course you will be able to produce a wide range of digital-first work for multi-platform formats. Your work will be underpinned with academic research, theories and expertise on mobile platforms, and digital interactive communication.

The course delivers industry-level professional expertise in visual communication from photography to video content creation, interactive narratives and apps for change.

You’ll be involved in creating content that extends beyond current ideas in multimedia and online productions – as our aim is to advance storytelling as a format of communication and as a practice.

We recognise how competitive the job market currently is, therefore this Master's has been created to develop your skills and knowledge in a way that will enhance your career development.

Our Fashion Design BA has an exceptional reputation for being aligned with the international fashion industry and enabling you to have outstanding opportunities to engage with the industry throughout your course. 

We specialise in enabling you to become a highly original and individual creative designer, capable of working at the highest levels of the international fashion industry. We were the first undergraduate course to show at London Fashion Week, and able to show in February 2020, prior to the national lockdown.

Throughout our course, the emphasis is on the development of your personal design philosophy. Our course offers a comprehensive design education for dedicated and ambitious individuals looking for a specialist career in the international fashion industry. You'll also gain the transferable and cognitive skills necessary for lifelong personal and professional development.

Our students gain an enormous amount of specific and transferable knowledge from working within the fashion industry, whether these are in the context of ‘live’ design projects at university or out on extended periods of work placement.

Internships on both the three-year and sandwich course take place in partnership with leading international fashion companies, and have previously included: A Cold Wall, Alexander McQueen, Ashley Williams, Balmain, Burberry, Chalayan, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Charlotte Knowles, Christopher Kane, Cottweiller, Craig Green, Eckhaus Latta, Erdem, Eudon Choi, Gareth Pugh, Givenchy, Haider Ackermann, Halpern, JW Anderson, Kenzo, Kilgour, Lanvin, Louis Vuitton, Maison Margiela, Marine Serre, Marques Almeida, Molly Goddard, Nazir Nasar, Norse Projects, Peter Pilotto, Phoebe English, Preen, Raf Simons, Richard Quinn, Roksanda, Self Portrait, Simone Rocha, Stefan Cooke, Supriya Lele, Thom Browne, Underage, Viktor & Rolf, and Walter van Bierendonck. 

Embedded into the course structure are several opportunities to engage with the international fashion industry through set live briefs with companies. Previous companies have included FENTY, The Gap, CLOSED denim, Epson, Topshop, H&M, ISKO Denim, Max Mara, Abercrombie and ASOS. 

Course graduates include London Fashion Week designers Katie Ann McGuigan, Roberta Einer, Liam Hodges and Ashley Williams, as well as Jutta Kraus, Creative Director of Bernhard Willhelm; Stuart Vevers, Creative Director of Coach; Christopher Bailey; and Katie Hillier.

Our previous Fashion Design BA graduates have gained employment at companies including Versace, Rick Owens, Celine, Loewe, Alexander McQueen, Maison Margiela, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Carven, Tom Ford, Gucci, Versace, Ferragamo, Kenzo, H&M, Preen, MaxMara, Anya Hindmarch, Burberry, J.W. Anderson, Norse Projects, Acne, Jacquemus, Paul Smith and adidas.

The Illustration BA aims to provide an intellectual and creative space for students to explore and build skills in a range of traditional, digital and emerging image making technologies. Industry modules enable students to develop transferable professional skills that support creative agility, resilience and adaptability for rapidly evolving professional opportunities.

This course offers a flexible, interdisciplinary and multimedia approach to the study and practice of contemporary illustration and is developed through a range of industry-focused projects and self-defined contexts.

A supportive studio environment and learning community nurture your individual development and distinctive voice as both an illustrator and creative practitioner in the wider field of visual communication.

Studio-based projects, national and international competitions and live industry projects provide context and creative challenge, fostering experimentation and visual inquiry. You will have the creative space to explore and examine a range of processes and practices in both traditional and emerging technologies.