Textiles MA

The MA in Textiles aims to cover a vastly changing environment spanning both the more commercial and arts side of the subject. As a broad subject area, this course allows you to explore a varied range of textile directions and contexts. It offers continuing or recent graduates opportunities to enhance their knowledge, skills, creativity, and employment prospects, through imaginative inquiry into different textile, surface, and textile craft concepts and processes.

The Aim of this course is to enable you to:

• Develop innovative and imaginative approaches to materials, processes, and methodologies in textiles, and rigorously test these ideas against trends within current practice
• Evidence-advanced critical evaluation and development of traditional and advanced textile techniques in the innovation and creation of new products and concepts.
• Experiment, expand and encourage progressive thinking in the sustainable practices for textiles to meet future industry opportunities and customer demands.
• Systematically plan, negotiate, and implement a body of work underpinned by advanced practice and research in textiles and surface design.
• Contribute to the principles and processes inherent in textiles and surface design and their intersection with commercial and creative industries.

Our course aims to combine advanced creative, aesthetic, and technical design skills. You will normally have a degree in a related subject (Textiles or Surface Design, Textile Crafts or Fashion), and may be seeking to develop fresh approaches to your subject design for fashion, interiors or exterior architectural surfaces, future materials, 3D textiles, or surfaces, advancing your weave, embroidery, knit, and print skills, or textile art approaches or may wish to build your portfolio for textile or surface roles in industry in the future.

• An Honours degree (2:2 or above) in a relevant subject or an equivalent professional qualification.
• Alternative qualifications and/or significant experience may be accepted, subject to approval.
• International students with qualifications in 'creative' or 'practice' subjects should submit a digital portfolio (pdf) of work with their application.
• All suitably qualified applicants are normally invited in for an informal chat with a portfolio or considered for admittance under alternative arrangements, such as a skype chat.
• IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent will be considered acceptable

There are many exciting opportunities within the creative industries for innovators in areas such as museums, galleries, fashion, interiors, the retail sector and freelance/consultancy. The education sector or further doctoral study are also options.

The expectation is that you will seek to enter the textile, surface design or textile craft industries into roles such as: textile or surface designer, independent designer maker, illustrator, trend and colour forecasters and consultants, design manager, material specifiers for interiors and exteriors, colour and material designers for the fashion, interiors and contract furnishings or automotive industries, curators, community craft engagement practitioners, educators, or you may wish to advance your research expertise in your current subject area or role by developing proposals for further postgraduate research.

MA students studying within the Department of Fashion and Textiles have gone on to be successful within the following roles: Trend Researcher at Trend Bible, Textile Design and Development Consultant at Thorpe Hodgson, Apprentice Developer at FOOTASYLUM, Creative Pattern Cutter at Hugo Boss, Visual Associate at Gap, and freelance design practice.