Textile and Surface Design - MA
Currently viewing course to start in 2025/26 Entry.
If you already have experience in textile or surface design this course will allow you to develop your portfolio to a professional standard and, if you choose, develop a range of products on which to found your own business. The choice of materials, processes and markets is up to you and you will have access to a wide range of workshop facilities....
- Level Postgraduate Taught
- Study mode Full Time
- Award MA
- Start date September 2025
- Fees View course fees
- Subjects
- Location City Centre
This course is:
Open to International Students
Overview
If you already have experience in textile or surface design this course will allow you to develop your portfolio to a professional standard and, if you choose, develop a range of products on which to found your own business.
The choice of materials, processes and markets is up to you and you will have access to a wide range of workshop facilities. You will also have the opportunity to collaborate with other fashion and textile students. The course accepts students from other backgrounds too such as graphic design or fine art who want to reorientate their career.
What's covered in this course?
Your learning will be focused on studio and workshop practice, featuring personal programmes of study and joint lectures and seminars.
You’ll also enjoy specialist interpretations of art, craft and design supported by our highly experienced course team.
The course provides a forum to discuss and analyse the professional, commercial and cultural dimensions of textile and surface design in contemporary society.
Based at our city centre Parkside campus, you will have access to a wide range of conventional and CAD facilities available in constructed and printed textiles, 3D prototyping, ceramics and glass, as well as the opportunity to collaborate with a faculty full of creative students.
Your learning environment will encourage you to become an adaptable, flexible and knowledgeable graduate, equipped to pursue a career in the textile and surface design field.
After finishing my Bachelors, the MA Textiles and Surface Design course really allowed me to grow as a designer, encouraging independence and creativity. It was a chance to further develop my design style, technical knowledge and boost my confidence.
The facilities are amazing at BCU, and the university puts so much into helping you achieve your goals. For example, I already used Wilcom Digital Embroidery in my Bachelors, but I spent a lot more time specialising in the technique and developing advanced skills. The course also initiated live projects, collaboration and internships which I had wanted to explore - and will now help towards building my career in the future.
Jennifer Hotchkiss
Why Choose Us?
- Study with a globally respected provider of education in fashion and textiles.
- Benefit from a unified programme and work alongside textile, fashion and surface designers.
- Access a wide range of facilities, including digital print and a Gerber fashion CAD suite.
- Network and collaborate with other fashion students, our wider postgraduate community and beyond.
- Enjoy a vast archive of fashion publications dating back to the 1930s.
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OPEN DAY
Join us for an on-campus Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students, explore our campus and tour accommodation.
Next Event: 24 November 2024
Entry Requirements
Essential requirements
Essential Requirements
| Essential | ||
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A good degree in textile design or equivalent qualification. |
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Applicants will also need to submit a good portfolio. |
If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.
Fees & How to Apply
UK students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: MA
Starting: Sep 2025
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £10,000 in 2025/26
- Full Time
- 18 months (including Professional Placement - see below*)
- £11,000 in 2025/26
International students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: MA
Starting: Sep 2025
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £18,600 in 2025/26
- Full Time
- 18 months (including Professional Placement - see below*)
- £20,460 in 2025/26
Portfolio guidance
If you receive an offer to study this course, you will be required to submit a portfolio. We ask that this is submitted within four weeks of receiving your offer.
Please see our portfolio guidance page for tips on putting your portfolio together.
Portfolio guidance
If you receive an offer to study this course, you will be required to submit a portfolio. We ask that this is submitted within four weeks of receiving your offer.
Please see our portfolio guidance page for tips on putting your portfolio together.
Personal statement
You’ll need to submit a personal statement as part of your application for this course. This will need to highlight your passion for postgraduate study – and your chosen course – as well as your personal skills and experience, academic success, and any other factors that will support your application for further study.
If you are applying for a stand alone module, please include the title of the module you want to study in your Personal Statement.
Not sure what to include? We’re here to help – take a look at our top tips for writing personal statements and download our free postgraduate personal statement guide for further advice and examples from real students.
Course in Depth
Modules
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 140 credits):
This PG Cert module aims to broaden your understanding and knowledge appropriate to the subjects and practices in the course. The purpose of this module is to gain a deeper understanding of your Programme of Study and how it relates to the wider context within the world of fashion and textiles. This is supported by a range of tutorials, seminars, lectures and progress reviews.
The aim of this PG Dip module is to encourage you to engage in the strategic planning and project management of work activities and studies relating to your Programme of Study, personal development and career objectives.
The purpose of the module is to enable you to undertake a sustained, in-depth and theoretically informed research project exploring an area that is of personal interest to you. It is important that we can support you appropriately, so you will be guided towards choosing a research topic which is relevant to your discipline and in which your lecturers have expertise. The outcome may take the form of a written dissertation or a practical outcome with accompanying reflective, critical and contextual material. The main consideration when choosing your topic is that it must be relevant to your programme and you should consider the relevance of this topic to your future academic or professional development.
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete at least 40 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules.
This PG Dip module encourages you to be proactive in the pursuit of gaining knowledge or seeking out professional views and opinions within your chosen discipline.
The purpose of this PG Dip module is to build on your knowledge and experience from Portfolio 1, while introducing professionalism and employability into your work. This module aims to promote your creativity, aesthetic sensibility and an in-depth knowledge of a personally selected area of specialisation.
Core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.
Download course specification
Download nowYour learning will be based around studio and workshop practice, with personal programmes of study and joint lecture and seminar programmes. Art, craft and design interpretations of the disciplines are all supported and our highly experienced course team recognise the importance of having a personal and distinctive approach to your work and study. There are also ample opportunities to collaborate, exchange ideas and broaden your perspective.
Situated within the School of Fashion and Textiles, there is a wide range of conventional and CAD facilities available including digital print, digital Jacquard and 3D printing and laser cutting workshops. There are also specialist facilities available in glass and ceramics.
You’ll develop creative and practical skills which are ideally suited to gaining a career in textile and surface design.
Learning through studio and workshop practice, you’ll also benefit from our close connections with manufacturers, and get to experiment with a wide range of materials to create new and innovative products and design ideas.
To support your learning you are encouraged to develop links appropriate to your studies, these have previously included DuPont, Emap, Sandersons and Ensell and Hall.
Assessment methods
Your programme will include a mixture of practical projects and written work. You will develop a portfolio of work that showcases your abilities and ideas and is executed and managed in a professional manner.
At each stage you will also write reports that encourage you to develop a critical and contextual framework within which to understand your practice and future career choices.
You are assessed using a mixture of tutorial reviews, project work submissions and oral exams.
Classroom projects
You will be given opportunities to work alongside your peers in the wider Postgraduate Fashion and Textile community in order to create a fashion show. This annual ‘Vision for the Future’ fashion show is used as a fundraiser for charity. It is a collaborative project that relies entirely on student initiative within the course and beyond, and promotes peer tutoring and mentoring.
In addition to our focus upon you as textile and surface designer, there are also opportunities for you to network with the professional world, and engage in external activities such as collaborating on projects that enhance the student experience and provide ‘real life’ experience.
Postgraduate Fashion Finale Raises Money for Charity
The annual MA Fashion show, Vision for the Future, marked its fourth anniversary this year at BCU, flexing the talents of our Fashion Masters courses.
21 MA Fashion Design students showcased their collections, while MA Fashion Management, MA Fashion Promotion and MA Fashion Styling students took key roles in organising the spectacular event. Supporting Cancer Research UK, the show raised £430 for charity and gave students an experience of creative production on a live project.
Employability
Enhancing employability skills
You’ll enjoy excellent opportunities for work experience and live industry briefs, giving you practical, professional exposure and an awareness of the challenges and opportunities of the sector
Our programme is designed to ensure that upon graduating, you are:
- A better and more confident designer
- A reflective practitioner who has learnt how to keep developing as a designer
- An independent thinker and researcher able to initiate your own creative projects individually and/or collaboratively
- Able to conceptualise and discuss the nature of your work both orally and in writing
- Critically aware of the context of your creative practice relative to the marketplace and the wider culture.
The successful completion of MA Textiles and Surface Design will deepen your practical and theoretical insights and techniques, giving you the confidence to build your own professional career as a designer. You will also develop your critical skills such that you can form, evaluate and communicate complex concepts that reflect your individuality and independent thought. You will develop your creativity, your aesthetic sensibility and an in-depth knowledge of a personally chosen area of specialisation, which will equip you with the necessary skills to gain meaningful employment.
Placements
Live collaborations, internships and work experience can form part of your projects and studies, and you’ll benefit from the networking opportunities this provides.
You are encouraged, particularly during the PgDip and MA stages of the course, to seek external experiences and feedback from professionals and companies active in textile and surface design.
Often students can arrange placements to begin immediately after they have finished the course. You are able to identify companies or places for work experience through the Research Strategy module. The course team will also help you apply for, or prepare for, placements and work experiences.
International
Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.
The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.
Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:
- Details of the entry requirements for our courses
- Some of the good reasons why you should study here
- How to improve your language skills before starting your studies
- Information relevant to applicants from your country
- Where to find financial support for your studies.
Our international students
Our course welcomes students from across the world. We have an excellent reputation globally, as well as over 20 years’ experience teaching international students.
Many of our textile and surface design students choose to develop projects directly linked to their home countries and conduct field research around the world.
We are proud of our extensive international graduate community, which has a particular focus in Asia.
Facilities & Staff
Our Facilities
Fashion and Textiles courses are based at our Parkside Building, which is part of our multi-million pound City Centre Campus development in the heart of Birmingham's Eastside development.
Our staff
Jasbir Kaur
Director of Postgraduate Studies in Fashion and Textiles
Jasbir is Director of Postgraduate Studies in Fashion and Textiles. Her early career began in commercial textile design, before moving into fashion research, and is now an internationally published author in the area of textiles, and the interrelationship between that and fashion.
More about JasbirNataliya Rozhin
Doctoral researcher
Nataliya Rozhin is a designer and PhD student focussing on design-led research and experimental fashion.
More about Nataliya