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Undergraduate

BA (Hons) Critical Practice in Fashion Media

Student interpretation of the digital imprint of social media.
Student interpretation of the digital imprint of social media | BA (Hons) Fashion Media Practice and Criticism | London College of Fashion | University of Arts London
College
London College of Fashion
UCAS code
P206
Start date
September 2024
Course length
3 years (optional 1 year placement)

On BA (Hons) Critical Practice in Fashion Media, you will study fashion media and communication from a critical, practice-based perspective. Critical practice means using the tools of fashion communication to create positive change. During the course you will engage with fashion as a social, cultural, political and technological phenomenon that has the potential to change lives. You will use your skills in critical writing, image-making, moving-image production, curation, socially engaged practice and strategy to work towards social, racial and climate justice.

Course subject to re-approval

Please note that this course is undergoing re-approval. This is the process by which we ensure the course continues to provide a high quality academic experience. During re-approval there may be some changes to the course content displayed on this page. Please contact us if you have any questions about the course.

Why choose this course at London College of Fashion

  • Critical practice: undertake projects and briefs that use fashion communication to influence audiences and make positive social change
  • Collaboration: network and build community with students across disciplines in projects that simulate industry practice.
  • Activism: work towards a better future alongside fashion industry change-makers and activists
  • Outreach: learn how to spread positive messages and engage local communities in your projects
  • Career diversity: graduate into roles in visual communication, strategy, corporate social responsibility, education, policy or innovation.

Open days

There are currently no Open Days scheduled for this course, please check back at a later date.

Scholarships, bursaries and awards

Course overview

BA Critical Practice in Fashion Media is an experimental, inter-disciplinary and practice-led course that positions fashion media and communication as a potent tool through which to critically engage, confront and intervene in the most pressing issues facing us today.

At the heart of this critical practice course is the challenge of the climate crisis. The world in which we live, communicate and interact with each other is becoming increasingly unstable. Accordingly, the course understands critical practice to mean a practice that actively integrates itself in the world in order to transform it. As change-makers of the future, you will develop new forms of critical, creative, and technical skills, enabling you to not only navigate this uncertain terrain but also identify and implement emergent opportunities so as to bring about meaningful change. 

In the first year of the course, you will be introduced to the core skills of critical practice: storytelling and collaboration. The second-year builds on these core skills by inviting you to situate them within an applied context: strategic thinking and speculative design, designing of spatial experiences, and the mobilising and communicating of climate activism. The third-year consolidates these skills and expands them further by enabling you to identify, develop, and realise your own critical practice through an extended practice-led, research-driven project. Finally, you will bring your body of work together as you build your own portfolio.

Working with internal and external partners, the course is delivered through workshops, seminars, lectures and live projects. You will experiment with established and emerging disciplines and media including moving image, photography, writing, AR/VR, audio, strategic and speculative design, spatial and experiential design, collaborative practice, and activism. 

Through this integrated, experimental, and inter-disciplinary approach you will develop your own critical and creative voice that you will be used to push boundaries, and opening up new possibilities for the future of fashion media and communication.

Climate, Social and Racial Justice

We are committed to ensuring that your skills are set within an ethical framework and are working to embed UAL’s Principles for Climate, Social and Racial Justice into the course.

Course units

You will be required to complete 360 credits at levels 4, 5, and 6 to be awarded the BA (Hons) Critical Practice in Fashion Media.

After achieving 120 credits at level 4 you can opt to be awarded CertHE.

After achieving 240 credits (to incl. minimum of 120 at level 5) you can opt to be awarded DipHE.

After achieving 360 credits (to incl. minimum of 120 at level 5 and 120 at Level 6) you will be awarded BA (Hons).

Stage 1 (Level 4)

The units you will study in Year 1, Stage 1, Level 4 are as follows:

  • Introduction to Fashion Communication (20 Credits);
  • Hybrid Narratives (40 Credits);
  • Fashion Cultures and Histories (20 Credits);
  • Better Lives (20 Credits);
  • Critical Collaboration (20 Credits).

Stage 2 (Level 5)

The units you will study in Year 2, Stage 2, Level 5 are as follows:

  • Critical Issues in Fashion Research (20 Credits);
  • Speculative Futures (20 Credits);
  • Inside the Industry (20 Credits);
  • Situating Your Practice (20 Credits);
  • Critical Climate (20 Credits);
  • Spaces of Experience (20 Credits).

Optional Diploma Year

CCI Creative Computing

Between years 2 and 3, you can undertake the year-long Diploma in Creative Computing. This will develop your skills in creative computing alongside your degree. After successfully completing the diploma and your undergraduate degree, you’ll graduate with an enhanced degree: BA (Hons) Critical Practice in Fashion Media (with Creative Computing).

CCI Apple Diploma 

Between years 2 and 3, you can undertake the year-long Diploma in Apple Development. This will give you an opportunity to become an accredited apple developer alongside your degree. After successfully completing the diploma and your undergraduate degree, you’ll graduate with an enhanced degree: BA (Hons) Critical Practice in Fashion Media (with Apple Development).

Industry DIPS 

This optional diploma can be taken between years 2 and 3. With support from your tutors, you’ll undertake an industry placement for a minimum of 100 days/20 weeks. As well as developing industry skills, you’ll gain an additional qualification upon successful completion. 

Enterprise DIPS 

This optional diploma can be taken between years 2 and 3. With support from your tutors, you’ll undertake an enterprise placement year where you will explore a business idea from proposal to minimal viable product (MVP). As well as developing enterprise skills, you’ll gain an additional qualification upon successful completion. 

Stage 3 (Level 6)

The units you will study in Year 3, Stage 3, Level 6 are as follows:

  • Research and Development for Critical Practice (20 Credits);
  • Cultural and Historical Studies Dissertation (40 Credits);
  • Critical Practice (40 Credits);
  • Portfolio (20 Credits).

A 20‐credit unit is approximately equivalent to 200 hours of learning time, which includes a mixture of taught time, independent study and assessment.

All students are entitled to a tutorial package that consists of:

  • three personal tutorials per year for the duration for their course of study at LCF;
  • unit tutorials as required;
  • unit group tutorials as required;
  • an appropriate level of confidentiality. 

Learning and teaching methods

The assessment programme is designed to follow the learning and teaching methods which are employed to support the integrated achievement of the course outcomes:

  • Demonstrations, workshop practices;
  • Technical workshops;
  • Lectures;
  • Group discussions and team working;
  • Self‐directed study simulations and work study placements;
  • Group and individual tutorials;
  • Seminars;
  • Critiques;
  • Panel discussions

Student and graduate work

Ana Viktoria - dieinternet.org

Damara Silva Ingles - We are Burning Out of Time

Daisy Riley - The I

Clara Finnigan and Jessica Wrigglesworth - hookjournal.com

Damara Silva Ingles - Plethora: Bio Avatar

Latest news from this course

Staff

Sophie Barr, Course Leader

Sophie Barr has worked in creative higher education for over a decade with a focus on the intersection of media arts theory and practice. Sophie supports students to explore the complex, multi-sensory phenomena of contemporary fashion communication and use it to create genuine change. Sophie is actively involved in academic and practice-based research in the arts and humanities as well as the scholarship of learning and teaching. Her outputs range across practice, theory and hybrid forms, including delivering papers, practice-based research and art work at national and international academic symposia and conferences.

Jenn Leung

Jenn Leung is an educator and technical artist. Working across different emerging technologies in game development, virtual production, mocap, AR/VR, 3D asset optimization, and real-time streaming tools, she has exhibited in multiple international shows and festivals. Jenn is co-founder of Xalon, a multiplayer community project to foster learning in networked environments. She is also a member of Off World Live, an engineering and research group for Unreal Engine Creators.

Karolina Cialkaite

As both a design researcher and a research designer, Karolina Cialkaite merges her skills and experience in graphic design with an interest in cultural production and education futures. Examining systems across physical, digital and 2D experiences, Cialkaite’s work focuses on cross-disciplinary interactions. She plays the role of a creative connector in the design realm – working with everyone from curators and architects to scientists and psychologists. In addition, she is training as a psychoanalyst.

Alice Hattrick

Alice Hattrick is a writer and video producer. They are the author of the non-fiction book Ill Feelings (2021). They studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Royal College of Art. Their criticism and interviews have appeared in publications such as frieze magazine, ArtReview and The White Review and included in Whitechapel Documents of Contemporary Art: HEALTH (ed. Bárbara Rodríguez Muñoz, 2020). They are the co-producer of Access Docs for Artists, a resource for disabled and/or chronically ill artists, curators and writers, made in collaboration with artists Leah Clements and the late Lizzy Rose.

Carrie Mok, Programme Director

As an educator and a creative director, Carrie Mok focuses her work on driving innovation through connection, co-creation and collaboration as well as nurturing creativity in its purest forms. Throughout her career, Mok has worked with leading global brands including Burberry, Louis Vuitton and Gucci, along with major educational institutions. She is also the founder of Soft Launch, a creative community incubator that supports emerging talent through mentoring, thoughtful partnerships and entrepreneurial development.

Fees and funding

Home fee

£9,250 per year

This fee is correct for entry in autumn 2024 and is subject to change for entry in autumn 2025.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£28,570 per year

This fee is correct for entry in autumn 2024 and is subject to change for entry in autumn 2025.

Tuition fees for international students may increase by up to 5% in each future year of your course.

Students from countries outside of the UK will generally be charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about tuition fees and determining your fee status.

Scholarship search

Entry requirements

One or a combination of the following accepted full level 3 qualifications.

  • 112 UCAS tariff points from two or more A Levels (preferred subjects include English, a foreign language and Media Studies);
  • Distinction at Foundation Diploma in Art and Design;
  • Distinction, Merit, Merit at BTEC Extended Diploma (preferred subjects Art & Design);
  • Merit at UAL Extended Diploma;
  • Access Diploma or 112 new UCAS tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma;
  • 112 new UCAS tariff points from a combination of the above qualifications or an equivalent full Level 3 qualification;
  • or equivalent EU or non-EU qualifications such as International Baccalaureate Diploma at 25 points minimum;
  • and Five GCSE passes at grade A*-C or grade 9-4, with grade C (grade 4) or above in English.

Exceptionally, applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered if the course team judges the application demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by: related academic or work experience; the quality of the personal statement; a strong academic or other professional reference; or a combination of these factors. 

All classes are conducted in English. The level required by the University for this course is IELTS 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Selection criteria

The course team seeks to recruit students who can demonstrate:

  • a broad interest in fashion, visual culture, and social issues, as well an awareness of technology;
  • an understanding of the need for a critical and analytical approach to the area of study;
  • an intellectually open approach suited to the demands of the course and projected career futures.

Apply now

Application deadline

31 January 2024 at 18:00 (UK time)

If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Apply to UAL

Home students can apply to this course through UCAS with the following codes:

University code:

U65

UCAS code:

P206

Start your application

Apply now

Application deadline

31 January 2024 at 18:00 (UK time)

If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Apply to UAL

International students can apply to this course through UCAS with the following codes:

University code:

U65

UCAS code:

P206

Start your application
or

Apply with a UAL Representative

Based across the world, our local UAL representatives can support you with your application from your home country. Check to see if there is a representative available in your country currently.

Find your representative

How to apply

Follow this step-by-step guide to apply for this course

Step 1: Initial application

You will need to submit an initial application including your personal statement.

Personal statement advice

Your personal statement should be maximum 4,000 characters and cover the following:

  • Why have you chosen this course? What excites you about the subject?
  • How does your previous or current study relate to the course?
  • Have you got any work experience that might help you?
  • Have any life experiences influenced your decision to apply for this course?
  • What skills do you have that make you perfect for this course?
  • What plans and ambitions do you have for your future career?

Visit the UCAS advice page and our personal statement advice page for more support.

Step 2: Digital portfolio

We will review your initial application. If you have met the standard entry requirements, we will ask you to submit a digital portfolio.

You’ll need to submit this via PebblePad, our online portfolio tool.

Digital portfolio advice

Your portfolio should consist of recent work that reflects your creative strengths.

It should:

  • be maximum 30 pages
  • include examples of creative visual imagery
  • include research demonstrating your knowledge and awareness of the cultural contexts behind the fashion industry
  • include work in progress and finished pieces to demonstrate your ability to experiment and develop ideas from initial concepts to final outcomes
  • demonstrate your engagement with technology for image production.

For more support, see our Portfolio advice and PebblePad advice.

Step 3: Interview

You may be invited to an interview following our review of your application. All interviews are held online and last 15 to 20 minutes.

For top tips, see our Interview advice.

You also need to know

Communicating with you

Once you have submitted your initial application, we will email you with your login details for our Applicant portal.

Requests for supplementary documents like qualifications and English language tests will be made through the applicant portal. You can also use it to ask questions regarding your application. Visit our After you apply page for more information.

Visas and immigration history check

All non-UK nationals must complete an immigration history check. Your application may be considered by our course teams before this check takes place. This means that we may request your portfolio and/or video task before we identify any issues arising from your immigration history check. Sometimes your history may mean that we are not able to continue considering your application. Visit our Immigration and visas advice page for more information.

External student transfer policy

UAL accepts transfers from other institutions on a case-by-case basis. Read our Student transfer policy for more information.

Alternative offers

If your application is really strong, but we believe your strengths and skillset are better suited to a different course, we may make you an alternative offer. This means you will be offered a place on a different course or at a different UAL College.

Deferring your place

You must apply in the year that you intend to start your course. If you are made an offer and your circumstances change, you can submit a deferral request to defer your place by 1 academic year. You must have met your conditions by 31 August 2024. If you need an English language test in order to meet the entry requirements, the test must be valid on the deferred start date of your course. If not, you will need to reapply. Requests are granted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Contextual Admissions

This course is part of the Contextual Admissions scheme.

This scheme helps us better understand your personal circumstances so that we can assess your application fairly and in context. This ensures that your individual merit and creative potential can shine through, no matter what opportunities and experiences you have received.

Careers

All of our undergraduate courses offer career development, so that you become a creative thinker, making effective contributions to your relevant sector of the fashion industry.

LCF offers students the opportunity to develop Personal and Professional Development (PPD) skills while studying through:
  • An on-course work experience or placement year. Please note, this is not available on every course; please see the Course Details section for information about work placement opportunities.
  • Access to to speaker programmes and events featuring alumni and industry.
  • Access to careers activities, such as CV clinics and one-to-one advice sessions.
  • Access to a graduate careers service
  • Access to a live jobsboard for all years.
  • Advice on setting up your own brand or company.

Alumni