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Postgraduate

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Birds eye view of desk and its contents
LCF MBA. Still life photoshoot | London College of Fashion | University of Arts London
College
London College of Fashion
Start date
September 2024
Course length
12 months / 45 academic weeks

This full-time 45 (academic) week MBA at LCF provides candidates with applied and experiential learning, problem solving, and industry engagement.

Applying for more than 1 course

You can apply for more than 1 postgraduate course at UAL but we recommend that you apply for no more than 3. Find out more in the Apply Now section.

Why choose this course at London College of Fashion

  • Career pathways: possible career pathways in buying and merchandising, retail headquarter functions or digital marketing management and international sourcing and distribution
  • Industry links:benefit from LCF’s unrivalled working relationships with leading organisations within the fashion industry
  • Research centre support:this course is supported by specialist enterprise and research centres including The Fashion Digital Anthropology Lab, The Centre for Fashion Enterprise, and The Centre for Sustainable Fashion.

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

The MBA at the Fashion Business School is focused on the wider global fashion industry.  It is a full-time course delivered over 45 academic weeks.  It is aimed at candidates who have 3 years’ experience in the industry, including internships, work experience or running their own company who wish to upskill and challenge themselves to engage with new knowledge and be exposed to new ways of thinking. The MBA curriculum has been informed by extensive industry engagement, cutting edge research and market intelligence. LCF has unrivalled close working relationships with leading organisations and institutions who operate in the wider fashion context, including retail, product development, manufacturing, marketing, digital technology, finance and investment.  In addition, the MBA has been designed to support students in their own professional development alongside the taught curriculum.  Students will have access to a range of resources and workshops to build relevant soft skills vital to success in the sector, for example self- efficacy and professional resilience.  Many of these soft skills have been researched by UAL to enhance enterprise and form a framework of skill development known as the Creative Attributes Framework, designed specifically for UAL students.  The teaching and learning strategy has a strong emphasis on applied and experiential learning, problem solving, and industry engagement.  Course units are supported by LCF Research Hubs and Centres including the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and the The Fashion Innovation Agency.

Climate, Social and Racial Justice 

We are committed to developing ethical Fashion Business practices. To achieve this, we are working to embed UAL’s Principles for Climate, Social and Racial Justice into the course.

Course units

The MBA is a full-time course. The emphasis at post graduate level is on independent study and in addition to taught sessions students will be expected to engage in extensive self-directed learning and research and to utilise the library resources and open access facilities. The credit framework conforms to the University of the Arts London framework in which the unit of credit is 20 credits (equivalent to 200 hours of student study time). All credits on the MBA are at postgraduate level 7. 

Block 1 (weeks 1 – 15)

  • International Business Strategy, Management and Leadership (20 credits)
  • Operations 1:  Fashion Product Development and Global Sourcing (20 credits)
  • Fashion Marketing and Consumer Insights (20 credits)

Block 2 (weeks 16 – 30)

  • Finance and Risk Management (20 credits)
  • Operations 2: Servicing Fashion Markets (20 credits)
  • Innovation and Fashion Business Futures (20 credits)

Block 3 (weeks 31 – 45)

  • Project Management and Consultancy Project (60 credits)

Learning and teaching methods

The following teaching and learning methods are employed to support the integrated achievement of the course outcomes:

The University of the Arts London Teaching and Learning Strategy has informed approaches to learning and teaching on the MBA. Methods include lectures (both pre-recorded  and live), guest speakers, seminar sessions, case studies, technical workshops, group tutorials, individual tutorials, peer review and formative feedback. In addition, a series of professional development workshops will support students to further develop important transferable skills.

Chartered Management Institute

LCF MBA is accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), the professional body for managers in the UK. Graduating students may receive a CMI Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership practice in addition to their degree.

Postgraduate Mentoring Network 2022-23

Student Gabriela Chin | LCF MBA

Meet the LCF MBA students: Melanie

Meet the LCF MBA students: Namami

MBA events and classes

  • LCF_MBA_Gallery_Picture_1.jpeg
    LCF MBA students listen to an industry panel discussion on internationalisation
  • CIM_Marketing_Event_1.jpg
    Ian Sheperd speaks at the CIM Marketing event for LCF MBA
  • CIM_Marketing_Event_3.jpg
    Guests at the CMI Marketing event for LCF MBA
  • CIM_Marketing_Event_2.jpg
    Audience at the CMI Marketing event for LCF MBA

Latest news from this course

Staff

Julie O’Sullivan is course leader for LCF MBA and has extensive cross-sector industry senior management experience, including the luxury sector as the merchandise manager for Gucci in the UK. She was a partner in an award-winning commercial photography business. She has an MBA. Her career in higher education began as the business development manager for the Creative Industries at Brighton University. She developed knowledge exchange opportunities with SME’s and business entrepreneurs across fashion, e-marketing, photography and digital television. She has over 14 years of higher education course leader and teaching experience, developing and delivering fashion business curriculum. She delivers across a number of courses in the Fashion Business School; including PG Cert Buying and Merchandising, MA Strategic Fashion Marketing, MA Fashion Retail Management, MSc Cosmetic Science and BA Buying and Merchandising. Specialisms include Buying and Merchandising, Sourcing and Supply Chain Management, Business Strategy and Strategic Market Development. Julie is a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy and was nominated in 2016 by students for a Teaching Award – Highly Recommended. Read Julie O'Sullivan's full profile here.

Denisa Niculescu is the executive education co-ordinator for Fashion Business School, London College of Fashion. She has extensive experience in events and project management and has provided support for a wide range of businesses, from politics and corporate governance to arts and education. Denisa has a BA (hons) in Economical European Studies. Initially part of the Craft and Product programme teams, for her current role within London College of Fashion Denisa is the first point of contact for Executive MBA candidates, alumni, and potential candidates. She is passionate about providing a rich and bespoke experience to the Executive MBA candidates, ensuring the development of their personal, managerial and leadership skills.

Bethan Alexander is the course leader for MA Fashion Retail Management. Bethan is a passionate spokesperson, consultant, senior lecturer and researcher with an expert lens on fashion business strategy, omnichannel retailing, retail futures and fashion brand management. Having spent 18 years working internationally in senior management roles with fashion brands including Converse, Elle, Kangol and establishing her own consultancy business, Brand Baker, Bethan brings the same verve to her academic role. Within higher education, Bethan has held senior lecturing positions at London College of Fashion, University of East London and has guest lectured at more than 15 global HE institutions. Bethan is a published author, international conference presenter and active researcher. Her research spans multi-sensory fashion retailing, customer brand experiences online and offline and innovative retail formats. Bethan holds a first-class Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer Product Management: Fashion, a Master of Science degree with distinction in Fashion Marketing & Distribution and a PG Certificate in Teaching & Learning for Higher Education. Bethan is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy and was nominated in 2015 and 2016 by students for a Teaching Excellence Award – Winner and Highly Commended respectively. Read Bethan Alexander's full profile here.

Dr Shuyu Lin’s expertise lies in value creation and appropriation in the fashion ecosystem. Her research aims to extend the application of network-based strategic management and social capital theories to the discipline of aesthetic innovation. Exploring both structural and relational mechanism in open innovation has been at the centre of her research interest. Following a BA in Journalism, Shuyu pursued her career in the fashion industry as a PR consultant and fashion editor. She then received the degree of MSc in Management with Marketing and PhD in Management from the University of Bath. Shuyu delivers across a number of courses in the Fashion Business School, including MA Global Fashion Retailing. Specialisms include business strategy, retail internationalisation and Masters project.

Dr Lan Wang is lecturer in Economics and Finance at the Fashion Business School. Lan is a member in Centre for Business and Climate Change at University of Edinburgh Business School. She has been completed PhD in climate finance at University of Edinburgh, MSc in Carbon Finance from University of Edinburgh (2013), and MSc in Corporate Finance from ICMA Centre, University of Reading (2010). Lan had two-year financial industrial working experience at Bank of China and participated in consulting and research projects granted by World Bank and British Consulate Guangdong General in China. She also gained teaching experience in the modules of Principle of Finance and Energy Finance during her PhD. Lan research interest is in green finance, sustainable investment, climate policy, and carbon market design. She has published on Journal of Environmental Science and Pollution Research in carbon market efficiency.

Dr Shahpar Abdollahi is a senior lecturer (associate professor) of Marketing at London College of Fashion. She holds a Ph.D. in Management Science from King’s College London. She holds a M.Sc. in International Business from the University of Groningen, with a specialisation in International Marketing.  Before joining LCF, Shahpar held research, lecturing and supervisory positions at King’s College London, Cranfield Business School, University of Essex, London College of Fashion (LCF) and Instituto Marangoni. Her Doctoral research focused on innovation and the role of networks in the success of new product development. Her research interest and focus lies on power of networks, Influencer Marketing, brand storytelling and value co-creation. Given her professional and market research background, Shahpar is particularly interested in Luxury Branding, Fashion Marketing and Fashion Management.

Shushan Karapetyan is the course leader for MA Global Fashion Retailing at LCF, and lectures both on the MA Global Fashion Retailing and LCF MBA courses.
Prior to joining LCF, Shushan was a Marketing Lecturer and Course Coordinator at the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, where she taught Marketing Management, Retailing, International Business and Business Communications.
Prior to embarking on an academic career, Shushan held leadership roles in a wide range of retail organisations from innovative start-ups to heritage brands and multinational conglomerates. Shushan has created collections for iconic Canadian brands such as Birks Jewellers and Buffalo David Bitton (part of Li & Fung group) and developed licensed products for international household name brands such as Prada, New Balance, Victoria’s Secret and Skechers.
Shushan has also worked in the mass market sector developing and managing products for Costco worldwide, Walmart and even Dollarama. Her management experience spans from mass market Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) to luxury made-to-measure (MTM) and bespoke tailoring – from Walmart to Costco to Prada to Savile Row.
Throughout her career, Shushan has managed offshore production and partners in more than 20 countries across 6 continents.
Her specialties are Product Development, Merchandising, Supply Chain Management, Branding and Luxury Marketing.

Adrian Gauci is lecturer in Fashion Management with teaching experience specialising in Fashion Marketing, Leadership, HRM and Strategy at leading universities in New York and London.  Adrian published articles in the Journal of International Business and Law and was CEO of the American Marketing Association chapter at Hofstra University in New York. Adrian also attended several academic conferences in the US and UK. He is also certified in public speaking by Toastmasters International. He led consultancies at  Merrill Lynch Centre and other enterprise software corporations in New York. Adrian run his own consultancy based in London and New York.  Adrian read a dual MBA with distinction in Management and International Business at the Frank G. Zarb School of Business in New York on full international academic scholarship. Adrian was also awarded a Master in Integrated Marketing Communications from San Diego State University and University of Malta. He was ranked on the Dean's list on both courses. Adrian was recently awarded a teaching excellence award from LCF for his MBA teachings and a Teaching Fellow Award from the LSE Management Department. Adrian led business development teams in New York and London and also works in industry consultancy projects. His hobby is portraits photography using analogue and having a drama degree is also acted in several motion pictures for international cinema release.

Dr Helen Beney is a visiting lecturer at LCF. She has spent 30 years in fashion retail with positions as Buying and Design Director for brands in Arcadia, Otto Versand, and Sears. She has also worked as a supply chain management consultant and developed training programmes in business strategy for buying and merchandising teams in brands such as ASOS.  Helen was the Fashion Business Programme Director at the London College of Fashion and is currently a doctoral researcher in innovation and sustainable supply chain management at the University of Sussex.

Lois Baile started her career in the late 1980s through a merchandising route leading to UK and International Directorships within major corporate fashion multi-channel retailers. She has extensive experience of planning, trading, allocation and replenishment including change management within businesses to effectively prepare for strategic redirection. Her career started within the Arcadia Group and progressed with BHS, Debenhams, House of Fraser, New Look, First Friday (consulting and training). The last 5 years have been spent abroad working in Italy and Turkey for global retailers Bata, LC Waikiki and Defacto.

Sarah Walls is a senior lecturer and has over eleven years of teaching experience in Higher Education, on the Pg. Cert Buying & Merchandising, BA Buying & Merchandising and MBA as well as developing and delivering LCF short courses and masterclasses for industry professionals. She began her buying career after a Bachelor of Science degree in Textile & Knitwear Technology from De Montfort University, with high street giant Topshop. From assistant buyer to head of buying across numerous brands in her career, she has extensive experience in buying and supply chain with specialisms in product/ range development and range building, combined with in-depth experience of trend prediction. Her more recent experience as a partner in a retail consultancy covers a wide spectrum of brands and retailers, from multiple high street brands to privately owned small chains, start-ups and designer boutiques.

Fees and funding

Home fee

£32,720

This fee is correct for 2024/25 entry and is subject to change for 2025/26 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

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

£32,720

This fee is correct for 2024/25 entry and is subject to change for 2025/26 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

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.

Scholarship search

Entry requirements

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:

  • 2.1 degree at Undergraduate Level, or equivalent
  • And 3 years work experience, to include employment, self-employment, internships, work placements in fashion related sector 

APEL (Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning)

Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may, in exceptional cases, still be considered; the course team will consider each application on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case. 

English Language Requirements 

IELTS level 7.0 with a minimum of 6.0 in reading, writing, listening and speaking. Please check our main English Language Requirements.

Selection criteria

The course seeks to recruit students from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds and welcomes applications from mature students.

The course team seeks to recruit students who can demonstrate that they are: 

(1) People who aspire to study for an MBA with a specific focus on the fashion sector. This could include people who have been working in fashion or who are particularly gravitating towards the fashion industry from related industries and would like to take full advantage of a fashion context at MBA level;

(2) High achievers who have the potential to be future fashion industry leaders able to inspire, manage, direct and lead;

(3) Global citizens able to interact effectively within an international student cohort;

(4) Equipped with professional experience of a minimum of  3 years in the wider fashion sector or related industries (to include relevant employment, self-employment, internships, work placements). 

(5) People with intermediate to senior managerial / consultancy experience who want to accelerate their career and undertake more senior roles within organisations operating in the fashion, lifestyle and related industries. This includes:

  • Self-funded candidates who invest in their personal and professional development;
  • Candidates sponsored by employers who have been identified for career progression as part of staff development initiatives;
  • Entrepreneurs who have created their own business and want to explore strategies and tools to manage this more effectively, expand it and grow it. 

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

Not applicable

Round 2:

3 April 2024

Decision outcome

Round 1:

Not applicable

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
Not applicable
3 April 2024
Decision outcome

Not applicable

End of June 2024

All applications received by 3 April will be treated equally. If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Read more about deadlines

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

Not applicable

Round 2:

3 April 2024

Decision outcome

Round 1:

Not applicable

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
Not applicable
3 April 2024
Decision outcome

Not applicable

End of June 2024

All applications received by 3 April will be treated equally. If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Read more about deadlines

Apply to UAL

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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, CV and written task.

Personal statement advice

Your personal statement should be maximum 500 words and include:

  • your reasons for choosing the course
  • your current creative practice and how this course will help you achieve your future plans
  • any relevant education and experience, especially if you do not have any formal academic qualifications.

Visit our personal statement page for more advice.

CV advice

Please provide a CV detailing your education, qualifications and any relevant work or voluntary experience. If you have any web projects or other media that you would like to share, please include links in your CV. If English is not your first language, please also include your most recent English language test score.

Written task advice

In 400 words, please respond to the following discussion:

“Identify how and why the drivers of ultra-fast fashion continue despite Gen Z awareness of the resulting environmental impact”

Please include text referencing and a bibliography. This will not be included in the word count.

Step 2: Numeracy and written test

Once we have received your application, you will be asked to complete a basic numeracy test and a short written response to an article under a time constraint. You will receive email links to the tests for your completion.

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.

Applying to more than 1 course

You can apply for more than 1 postgraduate course at UAL but we recommend that you apply for no more than 3 courses. You need to tailor your application, supporting documents and portfolio to each course, so applying for many different courses could risk the overall quality of your application. If you receive offers for multiple courses, you'll only be able to accept 1 offer. UAL doesn't accept repeat applications to the same course in the same academic year.

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

We do not accept any deferral requests for our postgraduate courses. This means that you must apply in the year that you plan to start your course and you will not be able to defer your place to start at a later date.

Application deadlines

For postgraduate courses at UAL there are 2 equal consideration deadlines to ensure fairness for all our applicants. If you apply ahead of either of these deadlines, your application will be considered on an equal basis with all other applications in that round. If there are places available after the second deadline, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Careers

All our postgraduate 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 focused on the UAL Creative Attributes Framework while studying through:

* 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 jobs board for all years.

* Advice on setting up your own brand or company.

Career paths

Through the curriculum and extra curricula opportunities, MBA Graduates will be well prepared to secure positions in the rapidly changing fashion sector. Research by OC&C (2016) identifies future growth in central office roles, significant shifts in required graduate skills and a “fight for talent” amongst recruiters. MBA graduates will be able to demonstrate “cross-functional awareness”, an understanding of end-to-end activities and contribute to the achievement of key performance indicators for the business on cost control and profit maximisation.

It is expected that these graduates will take ownership of their own career planning, demonstrate strong interpersonal skills and be able to work in flexible, multi-functional teams to innovate solutions to business problems. They will be exposed to the latest research, industry practice and the “seismic shifts” in technology and internationalisation that challenge the industry. MBA graduates will be analytical, able to ask the right questions of the abundance of Big Data available. Some employers show a preference for MBA graduates in their business, others favour MBA graduates on Graduate Management Trainee Schemes and retail consultancy.

Career choices can include retail management, international sourcing, logistics management, buying and merchandising, human resource management, consumer insight and digital marketing management and roles in implementing strategic transformation and roadmaps. Our MBA graduates will also elect to develop their own businesses or work in Social Enterprises related to the sector.