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Postgraduate

MA Fashion Cultures and Histories

Images of menswear both historical and modern day on a white table.
Student Work: Responses to the subject of ‘Menswear: queering histories & interrogating narratives’, Fashion Histories Unit session | MA Fashion Cultures and Histories | London College of Fashion | UAL
College
London College of Fashion
Start date
September 2024
Course length
12 months

This course explores cultures of fashion, style and dress through critical fashion history and theory. We advocate a self-aware cultural history practice and equip students with tools and knowledge at a post-graduate level in this discipline.

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.

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.

The MA Fashion Cultures and Histories programme at the London College of Fashion prepares students to become definably independent researchers, informed critics, as well as communicators, generating new knowledge about fashion in its multiple contexts.

Why choose this course at London College of Fashion

  • Unique course: MA Fashion Cultures and Histories is a leading theory-based Master’s specialising in fashion studies, offered by a dedicated fashion college in London.
  • Focus on research: Students develop a suite of specialised skills, competencies and knowledge to generate independent and original research across academic and industry contexts.
  • Industry links: Students work closely with industry and cultural partners to communicate critical insights and knowledge, addressing current concerns and new directions within the field of fashion.
  • Leading Fashion Scholarship: the course is embedded within London College of Fashion’s Cultural and Historical Studies Department, a diverse and dynamic research community at the forefront of Fashion Studies.

Course overview

MA Fashion Cultures and Histories takes an interdisciplinary approach to the theoretical analysis of fashion as a key marker of social and cultural change, and a means of understanding the relationship between individuals and communities. Students on the course develop high level writing, research and analytical skills, preparing them to become informed critics and communicators, generating new knowledge about fashion in its multiple contexts and shaping the ways it is understood. 

It is the only theory-based Master’s degree in a dedicated fashion college in London, providing students with a grounding in relevant, innovative and critical fashion histories and theories. This course is committed to embedding UAL’s principles for Climate, Social and Racial Justice. Taught by London College of Fashion’s Cultural and Historical Studies Department, students join a unique community of researchers at the forefront of fashion studies, using their knowledge to enact meaningful and transformative change.

This course responds to shifting dynamics within the fashion industry, and the increasing need for critical thinkers and cultural leaders, who can activate fashion knowledge within the workplace. Through this course, you will learn vital leadership and research skills that will enable you to reflect and articulate fashion knowledge across cultural difference, within professional and academic contexts. You will actively generate new thinking about fashion and help to shape the ways in which it is understood, presented and evaluated. In providing the tools for constructing compelling narratives about fashion for specialist and general audiences, the course prepares you for future-facing careers in research, publishing, education, museums, think tanks, institutes, within the fashion and culture industries, or to undertake further study in a fashion-related subject.

Climate, Social and Racial Justice

The course is committed to embedding UAL’s Principles for Climate, Social and Racial Justice.

Course units

Collaborative Challenge (20 credits); Assembling Theoretical Approaches (20 credits); and Fashion Histories (20 credits) are taught in Block 1. Research Proposal (20 credits); Fashion Narratives (20 credits); and Research for Professional Contexts (20 credits) are taught in Block 2. MA Project is taught in Block 3.

These units involve the types of learning and assessment outlined earlier in this document. Each student will have one 30 minute tutorial during the four core course units (Assembling Theoretical Approaches; Fashion Histories; Fashion Narratives; Research for Professional Contexts), and work closely with tutors in three cross-college units (Collaborative Challenge; Research Proposal; MA Project). Students will also have a 20 minute pastoral tutorial in each Block to discuss their progress, goals and student experience.

Learning and teaching methods

Alongside more traditional methods, such as lectures, seminars, workshops, field trips, and group and individual tutorials, the course cultivates the following set of teaching and learning strategies. 

Enquiry-based learning

A core aspect of each unit is embedded activities that cultivate student-led enquiry into the areas under study. This includes, but is not limited to, strategies such as provocations that students are invited to independently research in preparation for class, and methods-based research such as participant observation in public spaces and sites that develop the themes of the set readings. This strategy elaborates the agency students have to shape the focus of their learning, which is otherwise primarily evident in their ability to research a topic of their choosing in each of their assessments.

Collaboration

The College-wide Collaborative Challenge, offered in Block 1, offers students a key opportunity to develop skills of collaboration within and external to their own cohort. Other units in the course builds on these abilities, such as the Research for Professional Contexts unit in which students are invited to collaborate in response to the live brief or critical debate. As collaboration is a core principle of this course, students will also be encouraged to initiate self-directed collaborative projects, such as public-facing events (talks, screenings, roundtables) to which prospective students, industry contacts, other MA cohorts within UAL, and alumni will be invited; and to organise and participate in enhancement activities, such as class trips and outings or extracurricular research activities. 

Knowledge Exchange

Given that this course seeks to intervene in and innovate both the fashion industry and the field of fashion studies, it follows that engaging with its urgent debates would be a central component. On this course, students engage closely with researchers and cultural partners, creating persuasive responses to live briefs and initiating independent projects. Through theoretical and practical approaches, students engage imaginatively, creatively and critically with the fashion industry, and the wider cultural sector. They learn how to generate new thinking about fashion through innovative research and how to communicate ideas across professional and academic contexts. 

Peer-to-Peer Learning and Feedback

Peer-to-peer learning and feedback connects to two of the five core principles of the course, community and criticality. Developing the skill of offering collegial and constructive criticism is key for a career in academia, one of the industries our graduates enter. This is embedded in the course, as students present their ideas in class and read and critique each other’s work as part of the ongoing formative feedback generated across Blocks 1 and 2. 

Expert Talks

Experts from the fashion industry and leading scholars from across UAL and other HEI’s are regularly invited to share their expertise with the students in an array of forms, including guest lectures, panels, and workshops. These talks are embedded in the curriculum, complementing and extending the core delivery. Students are encouraged to respond in the classroom as well as in their own scholarly practice, and to nominate scholars and practitioners who they wish to invite to speak to the cohort. 

UAL Showcase

Explore work by our recent students on the UAL Showcase

  • Torso Unveiled: Revealing Skin in Menswear
    Torso Unveiled: Revealing Skin in Menswear, Sofia Anna Dolin, 2024 MA Fashion Cultures and Histories, London College of Fashion, UAL
  • Kalamkari and the Anglicised Chintz
    Kalamkari and the Anglicised Chintz, Pallavi Chamarty, 2023 MA Fashion Cultures and Histories, London College of Fashion, UAL
  • Female Identity Representation in HBO's Succession
    Female Identity Representation in HBO's Succession, Spencer Xiao, 2024 MA Fashion Cultures and Histories, London College of Fashion, UAL
  • Reinstating of Pleasure
    Reinstating of Pleasure, River Smith, 2023 MA Fashion Cultures and Histories, London College of Fashion, UAL
  • FASHION MUST DIE - HERE’S WHY
    FASHION MUST DIE - HERE’S WHY, Rebeca Montenegro, 2024 MA Fashion Cultures and Histories, London College of Fashion, UAL

Course trips and visits

  • MAFCH-course-trips-1.jpg
    CSM Museum & Study Collection | MA Fashion Cultures and Histories | London College of Fashion | UAL
  • MAFCH-course-trips-2.jpg
    CSM Museum & Study Collection: Cocktail Dress by Alexander McQueen (S/S 2003); A-line Tyvek ‘paper’ dress by fashion designer Giles Deacon (February 2013) | MA Fashion Cultures and Histories | London College of Fashion | UAL
  • MAFCH-course-trips-4.jpeg
    ‘Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion’ exhibition, Design Museum, London, 2023 | MA Fashion Cultures and Histories | London College of Fashion | UAL
  • MAFCH-course-trips-3.jpg.jpeg
    ‘Africa Fashion’ exhibition, V&A, London, 2023 | MA Fashion Cultures and Histories | London College of Fashion | UAL

Latest news from this course

Staff

Fees and funding

Home fee

£13,330

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.

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.

International fee

£28,570

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.

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

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows: 

  • An Honours degree at 2.1 or above in a related discipline. Applicants with a degree in another subject may be considered, depending on the strength of the application 
  • OR Equivalent qualifications 

APEL (Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning) 

Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by: 

  • Related academic or work experience (minimum of three years) 
  • The quality of the personal statement 
  • A strong academic or other professional reference 
  • OR a combination of these factors 

Each application will be considered 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 procedures fully comply with the Equal opportunities Policy of UAL and all interviewers have undertaken Fairness in Selection training.

The course seeks to recruit students who demonstrate some of the following:

  • a clear academic interest in the study of fashion through a multidisciplinary approach
  • evidence of cultural awareness and engagement with social and historical debate
  • relevant experience working in the fashion (or related) industries
  • a capacity for intellectual enquiry and reflective thought
  • a developed and mature attitude to independent study and intellectual growth

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Video task deadline

Round 1:

16 January 2024

Round 2:

16 April 2024

Decision outcome

Round 1:

End of March 2024

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)
3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
Video task deadline
16 January 2024
16 April 2024
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
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:

13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Video task deadline

Round 1:

16 January 2024

Round 2:

16 April 2024

Decision outcome

Round 1:

End of March 2024

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)
3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
Video task deadline
16 January 2024
16 April 2024
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
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

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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

As part of your initial application, please submit a written task responding to the following direction (1,500 – 2,500 words):

“Choose 1 key area of interest within the field of fashion culture and history and explain why you think it is important and interesting. For example, you may want to talk about a particular garment or a style of dress or perhaps you might want to focus on a theme such as the relationship between clothes and memory or the influence of digital culture on fashion media.”

Your written task must take the form of a 1,500–2,500 word essay. It must include a bibliography and equivalent standard academic referencing system. It can also include an appendix if necessary. The bibliography and appendices will not be included in the word count.

Step 2: Video task

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

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

Video task advice

We’d like you to submit a 2-3 minute video to help us learn more about you. When recording your task, please face the camera and speak in English.

What to include in your video task

  • Tell us why you have applied to study MA Fashion Cultures and Histories.
  • Explain what you hope to study on the course and how this will help you achieve your future career ambitions.

Read our guidance for how to submit your video task and which file types we accept.

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 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 jobsboard for all years.

* Advice on setting up your own brand or company.

Career paths

Masters graduates have an acknowledged advantage in the employment market, obtaining work in a wide range of vocational and academic fields related to fashion. Previous graduates have gone on to lecture in related fields in Europe and America, worked in fashion curation and archives, journalism, styling, retail consultancy, as well as to higher level research degrees (MPhil or PhD). Our graduates are working within the industry at institutions including Museum of London, the V&A, BBC, Parsons, Kerry Taylor Auctions and Garde Robe, as well as for commercial brands such as Net-a-Porter and Burberry.