BA (Hons) Fashion Design with Business Studies Bachelor's degree at the University of Brighton
BA (Hons) Fashion Design with Business Studies at University of Brighton combines creative fashion practice with business fundamentals, preparing graduates for roles that bridge design and commercial strategy.
About this course
Join the Fashion Design with Business Studies degree course and learn skills to help you join the largest employer of all the creative industries From the provider’s course page.
BA (Hons) Fashion Design with Business Studies is a Bachelor's degree (BA (Hons)) at the University of Brighton, based in City Campus. It runs 3 years, studied full-time.
For Media, journalism and communications graduates from this provider, 95% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 57% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £24,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)
For the typical curriculum, specialisations, career paths and graduate earnings for Business & Management, see the sections below.
Course evidence score
The arithmetic mean of the official measures available for this course: NSS satisfaction, graduate activity and continuation.
Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Limited evidence Published sample: 25; treat comparisons cautiously. Cohort 2022-23. Graduate Outcomes work or further study 95% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Published threshold met Discover Uni suppresses continuation data below its publication threshold. Cohort 2022-23. Continuation 80% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Curriculum & modules
Real modules published for this course, grouped only where the source gives a year, stage or level.
Year 1 4 modules
- Fashion Fundamentals
Module details
This module introduces the fundamentals of fashion design practice – including research, design and technical skills. You will explore visual research sources and methods, and be encouraged to question the fashion designer's relationship with materials, form and the body. You will also learn a range of practical processes and technical skills (such as pattern cutting), helping you to understand how to develop and realise fashion ideas in both 2D and 3D.
- Design and Culture Under Scrutiny
Module details
This module introduces key debates relevant to the analysis of the past and present in fashion, textiles and fashion communication. Through lectures, seminars and exhibition visits, you will explore critical ideas and academic approaches relevant to your field of study. The module is designed to support your studio work through the development of critical thinking and formal written skills.
- Personal Design Process and Practice
Module details
You will develop and express your own fashion design identity and approach through creative exploration, real-world learning and practical design and making. The module encourages you to explore how your experiences, cultural background and personal interests shape your design style, values and identity. You will also learn to use industry-standard 3D design software and professional digital communication tools.
- Market Research and Business in the Creative Industries
Module details
This module introduces you to and equips you with a range of transferable skills, qualities and attitudes that will prepare you for professional career paths in the creative industries. Through investigation and critical reflection, you will have the opportunity to develop your knowledge and appreciation of the scale and scope of the creative industries and begin to locate yourself, your interests and your practice within a vocational context.
Year 2 4 modules
- Fashion Design Specialism
Module details
This comprehensive design and make module introduces the notion of practice as research. You will undertake an in-depth personal investigation into a defined, specialist area of fashion design, as you become increasingly independent, skilled and knowledgeable. By exploring specialist areas of fashion design, textiles development and production, you will be encouraged to question your cumulative knowledge, values and skills in relation to the wider market and social context.
- Creative Enterprise in the Community
Module details
Through this module, you will learn and develop a broad range of skills that are required in a variety of business contexts within creative industries. The aim is to develop your understanding of a variety of contemporary business models, with an emphasis on sustainable, responsible and ethical practice.
- Fashion Industry Context
Module details
In this module, you will engage with a range of specific, existing and emerging market-led contexts within fashion design and its communication. This will result in an industry-ready professional portfolio of projects that reflects your personal design practice, strengths and aspirations. You will prepare for industry placement and future employability by exploring digitisation and AI, and by compiling materials relevant to your professional goals.
- Design and Culture: Critical Studies and Research Skills
Module details
In this module you will build upon the theoretical and historical studies and research skills from year 1. You will be encouraged to critically investigate fashion design and communication as cultural, social and material practices. You'll further develop your knowledge of theoretical and historical studies, research knowledge and methods. Topics include embodied making, the body and identity, community, digital culture, sustainability and ethics.
Final Year 4 modules
- Design Management and Business Plan
Module details
In this module you will write and present a three-year business plan, strategic marketing plan or social media campaign to help you develop new skills in relation to your degree and career goals. The project requires you to research and evaluate the management of your future practice and is intended to be an important part of your professional portfolio, helping you to assess work options and enhance your employability.
- Historical and Critical Studies Research Project
Module details
During this module you will undertake a self-initiated, independent written research project (maximum 3,500 words) related to your area of practice. The module will help you consolidate your research methods, demonstrate critical thinking, and define, organise, analyse and integrate theoretical and visual study drawn from contemporary and/or historical evidence. During the module, you will be guided by regular supervision sessions with a specialist tutor.
- Fashion Design Major Project
Module details
This module takes the form of a self-directed creative and technical inquiry structured in two phases. Phase one encourages extensive research, creative experimentation and technical investigation to develop a project proposal and plan of work. In phase two you will synthesise and realise your ideas to produce a contemporary fashion design collection or product range for an appropriate fashion context and/or market.
- Professional Portfolio
Module details
This module marks the culmination of your studies and as such is self-initiated and self-directed. You will be supported throughout by academic and technical teams to produce a professional, industry-ready portfolio in both analogue and digital formats. The portfolio outcomes should be informed and underpinned by extensive experimentation and consolidated research.
Source: provider course page. Modules can change; required/optional status, credits, descriptions and assessment are shown only when explicitly published.
Course in depth
What this course covers, who it suits and where it leads.
What you'll study
This degree combines fashion design with business and management training, equipping you with skills valued across the creative industries. You'll usually begin with foundations in how organisations work, marketing principles and business economics, alongside core design practice. In your second year, you'll progress to operations management, organisational behaviour and strategy whilst developing specialist design expertise. Year 3 emphasises applied learning through specialist options such as entrepreneurship, international business, digital business, marketing, consulting and people & HR, alongside a capstone project or consultancy brief that integrates design and business thinking. Throughout, a course like this typically moves from understanding business fundamentals to applying them in the context of fashion and creative enterprise.
Who it's for
This course suits graduates interested in the intersection of fashion creativity and business management. You'll develop both design capability and commercial acumen. The programme is taught in English and based at City Campus. Most accepted students held A-levels or equivalent qualifications; typical entrants had a UCAS tariff of 112–127 points.
Careers & job market
Across Business & Management courses nationally, 87% of graduates are in work or further study within 15 months of graduating, with 60% in highly skilled roles or further study. National graduate earnings data shows starting salaries of £24,000–£32,000 (15 months post-graduation), rising to £26,350–£37,200 after five years. The course covers specialisations such as marketing, finance, HR, operations, strategy, international business, entrepreneurship, supply chain and consulting, equipping you for varied career paths in fashion business, retail management, brand strategy or related sectors.
University & format
This BA (Hons) Fashion Design with Business Studies is a 3-year full-time degree awarded by the University of Brighton, a University based at City Campus. The course is taught in English and leads to a nationally recognised Bachelor's degree. The University holds Silver for teaching quality in the Office for Students' TEF 2023 and is.
Student satisfaction
How students on this course answered the National Student Survey, by theme.
Share of students responding positively.
Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)
Applicant information
The next application dates for this course, followed by facts the provider publishes.
- 2027 entryCompleted applications can be submitted
Your application needs a reference before you can send it.
- 2026 entryFinal date for 2026 applications
Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.
- 2026 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice
Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.
- 2027 entryEqual-consideration deadline
18:00 UK time for most undergraduate courses.
Show 5 later dates
- 2027 entryUCAS Extra opens
Applicants who used all five choices and hold no offer may be able to add another choice.
- 2027 entryLast day applications go directly to providers
Applications received after 18:00 UK time are entered into Clearing.
- 2027 entryClearing opens
Eligible applicants can see vacancies and release themselves into Clearing.
- 2027 entryFinal date for 2027 applications
Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.
- 2027 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice
Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.
The provider publishes contextual-offer information. Eligibility and any reduced offer are applicant-specific.
Placement year. Availability, selection and pay can vary.
Entry & how to get in
Who gets in
What recently admitted students actually held, official admissions data, not a stated requirement.
UCAS tariff of entrants
Grades are the A-level equivalent of each points band. Tap a band to check your own chances below.
Qualifications held on entry
| Qualification | Share |
|---|---|
| A-levels or equivalent | 89% |
| another higher-education qualification | 5% |
| Other | 2% |
| a Baccalaureate | 1% |
| an Access course | 1% |
| a foundation course | 1% |
| No / unknown prior qualifications | 1% |
Entry & your chances
An honest read from the official entry data, plus your personal match.
Entry is set by the university and based on your offer. Use your predicted grades to see how you compare, then check the university's stated requirements.
Will you get in? Plot your grades
Pick your predicted A-levels and watch your UCAS points land on the real spread of students admitted to this course.
Each bar is the share of admitted students in that UCAS-points band (lower → higher). Grades show the A-level equivalent.
Based on the official admitted-student tariff distribution. Many universities make contextual (reduced-grade) offers, so a result below the range doesn’t rule you out.
How to apply
Undergraduate applications go through UCAS. Here’s what matters for this course, the right deadline, the grades to aim for, and the steps in order.
- 1Register on UCAS Hub
Create your UCAS application and add this course (code W2N2). One application covers up to five choices.
- 2Write your personal statement
A single statement covers all your choices, so keep it broad enough for similar courses while showing genuine interest in this subject.
- 3Submit by 13 January 2027, 18:00 UK time
UCAS equal-consideration deadline for most undergraduate courses. Source: UCAS 2027 dates.
- 4Reply to your offers
When decisions are in, pick a firm (first) choice and an insurance (back-up) choice with slightly lower grades.
- 5Results day & confirmation
On results day (mid-August) your place is confirmed if you meet the offer. Just missed? Talk to the university, or find a place through Clearing.
Fees & funding
What this course costs and how UK student finance covers it.
Tuition per year
Standard capped home fee at English providers (2026/27); Scotland, Wales & NI differ.
Check fees at University of Brighton →For students who normally live in England
2026/27 Student Finance England figures. Maintenance support is means-tested and this two-point view is not an entitlement calculator. The course total uses its published length and home fee where both are available; a missing full-time fee uses the clearly labelled England-cap scenario, while part-time fees and unknown lengths are never guessed. Use the official calculator. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use separate systems: SAAS, Student Finance Wales, and Student Finance NI.
Starting on or after 1 January 2027?
The Lifelong Learning Entitlement is a separate system. A new learner’s tuition entitlement is currently stated as £39,160 (about 480 credits at 2026/27 fee levels), subject to prior study and eligibility. Check the official LLE guide.
Paying for it
- Tuition Fee Loan: can cover eligible tuition up to the applicable limit and is paid straight to the provider.
- Maintenance Loan: up to £10,830/yr away from home outside London (England, 2026/27), means-tested on household income.
- Repayment: 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below it; written off after 40 years.
- Earn alongside: most students work part-time in term, part-time roles on the StudySmarter job board.
England figures shown; Scotland, Wales & NI run their own schemes, check gov.uk.
Scholarships & bursaries you could qualify for
That does not mean no funding exists. Check the university directory for current amounts, eligibility and application dates.
We only display a named award when its provider source identifies the award and who it is for.
Still deciding what to study?
StudyKit brings course choice, applications and funding together in one place, with a personal AI assistant. Find what really fits you and start your UCAS application step by step.
Careers & earnings
What Business & Management graduates actually earn, from real outcome data, 15 months, 3 years and 5 years after graduating.
Graduate earnings: this course
| When | Median | Typical range | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 months after | £24,000 | £23,000 – £28,000 | 25 |
| 3 years after | £22,500 | £17,000 – £26,500 | 235 |
| 5 years after | £27,500 | £23,000 – £33,500 | 235 |
Nominal earnings for graduates of this course/subject at this provider. Limited evidence. Published sample: 25; treat comparisons cautiously. Cohort 2022-23.
Graduate outcomes, 15 months on: this course
- 1Graduate / AnalystOn a scheme or first role · 0–2 yrs
- 2Specialist / ManagerOwning an area, marketing, finance, ops · 2–5 yrs
- 3Senior / Head ofLeading a function and a team · 5–10 yrs
- 4Director / FounderRunning a business unit or your own company · 10+ yrs
How pay grows: this course vs Business & Management nationally
National figures for Business & Management graduates, HESA Graduate Outcomes (15 months) and the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset (3 & 5 years). These are national, not university-specific; actual pay varies by employer, region, role and experience. Different cohorts, so the bars are not one group over time.
Work out your pay
Headline figures hide a lot. Calculate realistic take-home pay for this field by role, region and experience, then check your CV before you apply.
What happened to 100 students?
Choose an outcome to translate the published percentage into a simple 100-person view. Each dot represents one percentage point, not an individual tracked student.
were in work or further study
15 months after graduation
Source: Discover Uni, using Graduate Outcomes and continuation data. Cohorts: 2022-23. Limited evidence. Published sample: 25; treat comparisons cautiously. Cohort 2022-23. Each tab is a separate published measure; categories can overlap and should not be added together.
Value compared with similar courses
How this course’s 5-year median earnings compare with Business & Management courses at the same study level.
Compared with 3,421 courses with compatible official earnings data. This is a course-value comparison, not a quality ranking.
UK occupations graduates enter
Published graduate destinations, joined conservatively to UK SOC 2020, ONS pay and Skills England demand.
- Elementary occupationsSOC 2020 9 · 15% of published destinations · ASHE median £19,087
- Artistic, literary and media occupationsSOC 2020 341 · 15% of published destinations · ASHE median £33,824
- Business and public service associate professionalsSOC 2020 35 · 15% of published destinations · ASHE median £38,760
- Media ProfessionalsSOC 2020 249 · 10% of published destinations · ASHE median £40,895
Discover Uni JOBLIST/JOBTYPE; ONS ASHE 2025 provisional, all employee jobs; Skills England Occupations in Demand 2025. SOC is shown only for an exact normalised label match; demand is shown only at exact four-digit SOC. Published sample: 120; response rate: 50%. Pay describes the occupation across workers, not a guaranteed graduate salary.
Job market & outlook
How Business & Management graduates fare in the labour market, and how AI is reshaping the work.
How AI is changing the work
AI doesn't replace the profession, it shifts it: routine tasks get automated, while judgement, working with people and using AI well become more valuable.
What AI takes off your plate
- Routine reporting and data pulls
- First-draft decks and copy
- Standard forecasts and reconciliations
- Scheduling and admin workflows
More human than ever
- Strategy and judgement under uncertainty
- Leading, negotiating and selling
- Sense-checking and owning what AI produces
- Relationships with clients and teams
The strongest graduates pair subject depth with the ability to use AI tools critically.
Roles & employers
Where Business & Management graduates typically go, indicative destinations from graduate career data. Each role links to live openings on the StudySmarter job board.
Roles graduates go into
Where they work
- Consultancies
- Corporate graduate schemes
- Retail & FMCG
- Startups & scale-ups
Jobs after this course
Current roles from the StudySmarter job board that suit Business & Management graduates.
Business Director, Marketing ScienceXcedeBusiness ManagerLGPS CentralBusiness Change ManagerIGA Talent SolutionsBusiness Case ManagerPeregrineBusiness DirectorMedialab GroupBusiness Rates SurveyorW TalentIs this course right for you?
The essentials UK applicants ask about: finance, outcomes, entry and quality.
Student finance
For comparison, the standard full-time England tuition cap is up to £9,790 per year in 2026/27; the actual fee varies by course and provider. If you normally live in England, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, plus a Maintenance Loan for living costs. Under Plan 5 you repay 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below that, and the balance is written off after 40 years.
Where graduates go
95% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, with a median salary of £24,000. See the full breakdown in Careers & earnings above.
Your entry chances
Use the UCAS points calculator above to see how your predicted grades compare with admitted students, and whether a contextual offer could apply.
Official-data snapshot
Averaging the official measures published for it, this course scores 8.6 out of 10: NSS 82.9% · in work or study 95% · continued 80%.
Who studies here and in this subject?
Provider- and UK subject-level context.
The University of Brighton
Business and management across the UK
HESA student record 2024/25. Counts are rounded.
Local crime-data context
A neutral snapshot around the published teaching location.
Around City Campus
5,042 street-level reports returned within roughly one mile across 2026-04 to 2026-06.
Police.uk street-level API. Approximate locations, not confined to campus. England, Wales and Northern Ireland; not Scotland.
Is Business & Management right for you?
Tick what applies to you and see how good a fit it is.
International students
What applying to University of Brighton from outside the UK involves: fees, English, visa, funding and living costs.
Tuition fees
International tuition is set per course by University of Brighton; international fees are typically £12,000–£30,000/year for classroom subjects and higher for lab/clinical ones. You’re not eligible for UK Tuition Fee or Maintenance Loans, so plan for fees plus living costs upfront.
English language
Most UK undergraduate courses ask for around IELTS 6.0–6.5 (no band below 5.5–6.0), or an accepted equivalent. If you’re just short, most universities run a pre-sessional English course that counts towards the requirement.
Student visa
You’ll usually need a Student visa (Student Route). After you accept an offer the university issues a CAS; you then show funds for fees plus about £1,023–£1,334/month living costs and pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for NHS access.
Scholarships & funding
Many universities offer international/global scholarships (often £2,000–£6,000/yr), check University of Brighton’s funding pages.
Living costs
Budget roughly £1,100–£1,400/month outside London and £1,400–£1,800/month in London for rent, food and travel; the figure also matters for your visa.
Working while you study
A Student visa usually allows up to 20 hours/week in term time and full-time in holidays, useful alongside study, though not something to rely on for fees.
Visa rules and fees change. Always confirm the current requirements with University of Brighton and gov.uk before you apply.
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Common questions
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