BA in Fashion Business and Promotion
Birmingham City University
Key Information
Campus location
Birmingham, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
3 - 4 years
Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
GBP 9,250 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Sep 2024
* UK students: £9,250 per year | international students: £13,980 per year
Scholarships
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Introduction
Our BA (Hons) Fashion Business and Promotion degree course enables you to explore a range of roles within the fashion industry, beyond the making and production of clothing.
Guided and supported by a knowledgeable, industry-experienced staff team, you will gain an education across the different fashion sectors and develop skills in order to undertake a number of industry roles, including Buying, Marketing and PR, Trends forecasting and Event Management.
What's covered in this course?
You will learn how fashion roles work together, as well as commercial and consumer and competitive awareness.
You will work on a live project, as well as industry-focused briefs across the first two years and benefit from regular industry guest speakers.
Throughout the course, we will develop your business knowledge and language, preparing you for delivering presentations, teamwork, writing reports and building skills in creating both paper and digital visual work with the aid of CAD packages.
In your final year, you will work on projects that support your independent interests and develop your self-promotion skills ready for industry.
Professional placement year
This course offers a professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, between the second and third years of your degree and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies.
The University will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. If you do not find a suitable placement, you will be automatically transferred back to the standard, non-placement version of the course.
Please note that fees are payable during your placement year, equivalent to 20% of the total full-time course fee for that year (£1,850 for UK students).
Why choose us?
- The course helps you become as versatile and dynamic as the industry itself.
- Unlike other courses, we cover a variety of fashion business modules to ensure you gain a broad perspective of the fashion industry.
- The course provides creative and visual fluency, equipping you with the toolkit to operate in the competitive, international fashion marketplace.
- Our academic staff all have industry experience, teaching and researching their specialist subjects, ranging from buying to marketing.
- Integrated work placements provide you with the essential experience needed to get ahead in your sector.
Curriculum
Year one
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):
- Fashion Business Context
- Trend Forecasting
- Buying and Merchandising
- Visual Merchandising
Year two
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):
- Marketing and Public Relations
- International Retailing
- Event Management
- Work Placement
Year three
In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following core modules (totalling 120 credits):
- Major Project: Fashion Business and Promotion
- Independent Final Project
- Self-Promotion
Career Opportunities
Enhancing your employability skills
Employability and being ready for the world of work are very important to us and the course offers a range of modules that will develop relevant industry skills.
Our aims are to:
- To produce industry-ready graduates, who can creatively contribute to fashion and its related industries in local, UK or global markets.
- To provide opportunities for you to explore, practice and challenge the inter-relationships between the commercial environment, creative thinking and technical practice.
- To employ a range of teaching and learning methods, in which you are able to synthesise theories, concepts and fashion practices within local, national and global marketplaces.
- To develop student confidence and professionalism through fluency in verbal communication, as well as coherent written and visual presentation skills.
- To stimulate commercial awareness and activity through project management, live and team projects, industrial liaison and visits, industrial placement and competition at all levels.
- To instil cooperation, competition and an entrepreneurial approach in all student achievements.
Placements
As is the nature of the industry, our students often get the chance to work in many opportunities to undertake 72 hours of work placement at the end of the second year - you will be supported by the Careers team and a series of workshops to help you secure placement and how to reach out and network. In addition, we are offering a professional placement when you may wish to take a year out to carry out more than one longer-term placement.
Placements have previously seen students undertake a range of roles, working with leading brands like Superdry, Selfridges and Next taking on roles in blogging, social media, PR and buying.
Links to industry
We have great links with the visual merchandising team at Birmingham’s Selfridges branch, as well as Next and Superdry.
Graduate jobs
Many of our students go on to become buyers or PR assistants, finding opportunities with brands such as Next, Boohoo, Superdry, Gymshark and Lounge.
Sophie Ordidge works with Superdry in their sustainability team.
Leila Smith set up her own PR company straight out of University.