BA (Hons) Textile Design

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BA (Hons) Textile Design

Textile Design at Norwich is for the curious, creative student who wants to explore surface, pattern, material, digital and traditional textile processes for interiors and fashion.

As textile designers you are the muse of the fashion industry driving sustainable and ethical agendas and solutions. You will design for environments, body and artefact and be agents of change in how we think about consumption, inclusivity and how we interact with the textiles that we wear and live around every day.

On our BA (Hons) Textile Design degree course you will be unconstrained by specialism, and you can explore a range of disciplines:

Print
Knit, weave and stitch
Dyeing
Fabric manipulation
Surface embellishment
Digital design and making with industry-standard equipment.

You will be encouraged to develop your own unique design language through concept, make and resolution. Taking your personal ways of seeing you will design for different contexts ensuring you are Industry ready, Trend interpretation, design development and professional presentation are key elements of the curriculum.

Career inspiration for textile designers

This freedom in creative practice and emphasis on visual storytelling and narrative has enabled students to win a series of awards including New Designers, Bradford Textile Society and the Angela Houston Constructed Textile Award.

You will develop your commercial and industry understanding through lectures and workshops with textile and fashion industry guests such as Sarah Angold, Sally Ann Wood (Cath Kidston), Lis Cooke, Deborah Bowness, Karen Nicol and Margo Selby.

The breadth of design experiences throughout the course means that Norwich is a source of talent ready for a variety of industries and careers, including:

Fashion
Interiors
Theatre
Conservation
Education
Manufacturing

Your work will gain a wider audience through opportunities for exposure at national and international showcases, competitions and events.

Many of our graduates establish their own businesses or have secured diverse roles in textile-related positions and beyond, including education roles in school and post-16 providers, manufacturing companies, design studios, textile conservation work and costume.

Graduates work in a broad range of careers including:

Textile Designer
Designer Maker
Pattern Designer
Product Designer
Buyer
Stylist Materials Producer

Interior Designer
Researcher
Stationery Designer
Branding Executive
Conservator
Trend Forecaster

You’ll also get specialist creative careers advice from our Business and Employability Team to help support you as you plan your career.

Success in awards

Our graduates are award-winners in the UK and beyond, including the international awards hosted by the Society of Dyers and Colourists, i-Dott wallpaper awards, Bradford Textile Society Awards and The Batsford Prize.

Course information

Institution code: N39
Course 3 Year UCAS code: W231
Course 4 Year UCAS code: W235
Course length: 3 or 4 year options
Sandwich courses: Creative Professional Development (1 year, Level 5 diploma), or Creative Computing (1 year, Level 5 diploma), available between years 2 & 3

All courses run as a blend of on-campus and digital teaching and learning, and follow current UK government safety advice. Applicants and students will be notified directly if any changes need to be made.

Course specifications
Three year degree
Four year degree
Course related costs

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Course content

Year 1
Learn a variety of key skills, which may include screenprinting, weaving, hand and machine knitting and stitching, digital imaging and printing
Examine the history and theory of textiles, and associated aspects of design and culture
Develop your drawing, visual research and design development skills
Engage with the contemporary textile industry through lectures and seminars from a range of visiting lecturers, visits to trade shows and field trips.

Year 2
Broaden your understanding of traditional techniques and explore advanced applications of digital and CAD tools for design and manufacture
Examine contemporary textile design topics including ethical and sustainability issues
Collaborate with other students on projects exploring a variety of textile related contexts
Continue your engagement with the textile industry through placements, national competitions, visiting professionals and field trips.

Year 3
Undertake self-negotiated projects offering opportunities to showcase your design and technical skills
Develop a Research Report around a topic of your choice and underpinned by individual studio practice
Consolidate your professional portfolio of work and create promotional material targeted towards future employment and career opportunities.

Student work

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Entry requirements
Portfolio guidance
Fees & funding
Level 5 Diplomas
Four year degree

Typical UK offers

A / AS Levels – GCE
GCE A/AS Levels 3 A-level qualifications at grades BBB. Where candidates are not taking 3 A-levels, NUA will consider combinations of A-level/AS-level and other Level 3 qualifications.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction, Merit, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

T Levels
A T Level in any subject with overall grade Merit or above

UAL Extended Diploma
Merit

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Merit

UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Merit

Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)
Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma
A minimum of 27 points

NUA welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds. Your application will be primarily assessed through your portfolio, responses to questions asked and personal statement, so even if you have no formal qualifications or do not meet our typical offers it can still be worth applying.

If you are studying at the time of your application and your application is successful it is likely that you will receive a conditional offer.

If the qualification that you are studying is not shown, do not worry as we are able to accept other pre-entry qualifications as well as combinations of different qualifications. Please do contact our Student Recruitment Team if you have any queries.

International applications

We accept qualifications from all over the world. To find our entry requirements from a specific country, please check our dedicated international pages.

Most international students are required to hold an English language qualification. Applicants are required to have a minimum UKVI approved IELTS exam score of 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each section. Equivalent English language qualifications are acceptable such as, IB English language syllabus A or B/English Literature (Grade 4).

We also accept some alternative English qualifications. Learn more about our English entry requirements.

You can email us on international@nua.ac.uk if you’d like to discuss your application individually.

BA (Hons) Textile Design degree portfolio guidance

We are calling the traditional portfolio a ‘development portfolio’. This is to emphasise that what we would like to see is where you are now in your creative journey. You don’t need to spend a long time making the perfect work, as we can assess your potential from your work in progress. Your development is the most important part of your learning.

Your development portfolio should be relevant to this course, but you can include a wide range of work that shows your creativity, technical competence and understanding of innovative design.

You may wish to include some of the following:

Projects that demonstrate working through a design process (outcomes may be for; textile designs, wallpaper, fashion garments or accessories, costume designs, installations, set interior designs, product or graphic design, jewellery or shoe design)
Examples of experimental uses of materials (stitch and print, knit and crochet, colour and surface manipulation, shape, collage, repeat pattern and mixed media)
Drawings, paintings and/or illustrations (design concepts, technical skill, observation, imagination)
Mood boards (concept/ design boards)
Photography both as visual research and documentation of outcomes
Work created using Adobe Creative Suite or other appropriate design software package

Further portfolio advice and tips

Get more advice on presentation formats, layouts and when to submit your development portfolio in the application process.

2023/24 University fees for new entrants

NUA will assess students’ tuition fee status using the guidance provided by the UK Council for International Student Affairs

Students from the UK or Ireland and EU students with ‘Settled’ or ‘Pre-Settled’ status will be charged ‘Home’ fees if they meet the relevant residency requirements. They will usually be eligible for a tuition fee loan from the UK government, meaning that they won’t have to pay NUA’s tuition fees upfront.

Students who do not meet the necessary residency requirements will usually be charged ‘Overseas’ fees and will not be eligible for the UK government tuition fee loan. Since 2021/22, this includes new entrants from the EU, EEA, and Switzerland who do not have ‘Settled’ or ‘Pre-Settled’ status, because the UK has now formally left the EU.

Fee status	Course	Annual fee
Home	Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree)	£9,250
Overseas	Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree)	£18,000

For Home undergraduate students starting in 2023, inflation may be applied to your fees in later years, if the UK government were to increase the fee cap beyond the current limit of £9,250 per year. If such an increase were to apply, we would confirm this in advance to you of each academic year, and we would limit the increase to the maximum allowed by the Office for Students.

For Overseas undergraduate students starting in 2023, inflation will be applied to your fees in later years. We will confirm this in advance to you of each academic year, and we will limit the increase to no more than the Office for Students’ recommended inflationary measure, which is RPI-X. RPI-X is calculated by the Office for Budget Responsibility. In setting fees for the following year, we will use the Office for Budget Responsibility’s RPI-X forecast for quarter 3 of the relevant year.

See our Fees and Funding page for further information which is also available in a downloadable format.

Financial support for UK students in 2023

Tuition fee loans and loans for living costs are usually available to UK and some EU students, as well as non-repayable NUA bursaries based on family income. Find out more about applying for funding.

All students have an opportunity to spend a year, between the second and third year of their course, enhancing their employability options through a Level 5 Diploma.

These courses are offered in Creative Professional Development; a structured programme of input sessions and work-based learning, and Creative Computing; designed to build the foundation skills in coding and software design that are in high demand in the digital and creative industries.

Four year degree – BA (Hons) Textile Design

Four year degrees offer students a chance to build on their experience within their undergraduate course of choice.

Year 0 will help to build confidence and develop subject specific practical, creative and conceptual skills – making full use of University studios and workshops.

Typical UK offers and entry requirements for Year 0 entry

GCE A/AS Levels
2 A-level qualifications at grades CC or higher.

BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Merit, Merit, Pass in an art, design or media related subject

BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction, Merit in an art, design or media related subject

T Levels
Pass (D or E on the core)

UAL Extended Diploma
An overall Pass

UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
An overall Pass

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass

Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)
Pass

International Baccalaureate Diploma
A minimum of 24 points

If you are studying at the time of your application and your application is successful it is likely that you will receive a conditional offer.

Find out more

Related Courses

Students

Portrait of a young person with short blonde hair and glasses looking into camera

Theo Lusty

"Textiles are a constant presence in our lives; cocooning, clothing, and comforting us from birth until death."

BA (Hons) Textile Design

Read Theo's blog about how textiles promote our primal wellbeing

Photograph of a young woman with long hair, standing in the Textile Design workshop in front of multicoloured yarn and thread

Emily Shires

"The advantage of Textile Design is that it can take you down so many different avenues that you never even knew previously existed."

BA (Hons) Textile Design

Stuck between Textile Design and Fashion? Read Emily's blog on how she chose between them.

Sarah Venn

"My work placement gave me a great appreciation of the creative control I have at university. While I believe it’s good to focus on your end result at university, you should appreciate that your time at university will be a unique and valuable time to play, and discover who you are as a designer or artist too."

BA (Hons) Textile Design

Sarah's work placement at Rob Ryan Studio

Brandon Tan

"Clocking-up hours in the workshops is absolutely essential. From the beginning of the first year, having hands-on workshop experience has been the best way for me to develop new skills but also make mistakes, learn from them and have fun."

BA (Hons) Textile Design

Ches Young

"Our workshops give you more confidence, insights and understanding of materials, colour theory and market audience – it’s prepared me for what to expect in industry."

BA (Hons) Textile Design

Michael Bartley

"Having supportive tutors on the course has enabled me to push my practice further and I’ve become much more confident with my drawing and Photoshop skills."

BA (Hons) Textile Design

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