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Postgraduate

MA Fashion Journalism and Content Creation

MA Fashion Journalism. Project titled, 'Around Us magazine No1' by student, Ke Zhang.
College
London College of Fashion
Start date
September 2024
Course length
12 months

This fashion journalism masters course equips students with the skills to become an articulate and aware fashion writer in the current media landscape.

Apply to start in September 2024

This course has places available for UK applicants only. We are no longer accepting applications from international students for 2024/25 entry to this course. International applications for 2025/26 entry will open in Autumn 2024.

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.

Why choose this course at London College of Fashion

  • Career opportunities: graduates have gone on to work across magazine and newspaper journalism, magazine styling and image making, for the likes of Harrods and Dash magazine.
  • Industry links: strong networking links facilitate freelance opportunities in the industry. Students will have access to events and industry speakers such as Lucinda Chambers.
  • Professional skills: students are equipped to set up their own media products as businesses on completion of the course.

Course overview

MA Fashion Journalism and Content Creation is a well-established course that has been designed for graduates/professionals who wish to explore the changing face of fashion journalism and content creation, whether that be from an academic, consumer or entrepreneurial perspective. In the light of globalisation and numerous ongoing controversies surrounding the fashion industry, the course examines a number of sociological and ethical issues that are emerging for journalists and content creators. 

The course offers a proactive approach to the rapidly changing global landscape and challenges the role of the fashion media and examines how, as a practitioner, you can successfully disseminate your editorial message through it.   

You’ll be encouraged to challenge the current fashion system and develop authentic and provocative editorial strategies that could potentially have both social and politically active outcomes.  

Focusing on both the written word and the curated fashion image, the course will teach you expertise in both commercial content creation and traditional journalism as well as publishing; in short, how to be a commentator, editor, and entrepreneur, both digitally and in print.  

You will engage with a broad range of media and journalistic topics through a number of different approaches, from theoretical discourse, to vocational publishing and digital projects, developing a skill base that fosters a broad variety of expertise.   

Course content encompasses an in-depth knowledge of the fashion industry globally (in both western and non-western contexts), to practical editorial and technical skills that will enable you to assemble and create multi-platform products that incorporate both traditional journalistic and content creation skills together with more experimental methodologies. 

What to expect 

  • Exposure to industry: Engage with a number of industry professionals from a variety of fields (digital, creative, editorial, publishing), and examine the broader market forces that are contextualising the industry commercially and creatively.  
  • A holistic view of journalism: Investigate both traditional and disruptive technologies within fashion communication – from traditional media publishing and zine culture to digital journalism and content creation for brands.  
  • Opportunities to personalise your learning: Depending on your career aspirations, choose to produce a traditional dissertation, book proposal or commercial media product during your self-negotiated Master’s project. 
  • An expert teaching team: Guided by tutors with decades of experience working in the industry, develop key, practical journalistic skills, and learn how to apply them to the fashion industry. 

Research at MA Level 

Research is core to the curriculum and pedagogical approaches for the course. The development of effective approaches towards research enquiry is central for the emergence of a critically reflective and culturally aware practitioner/learner. An iterative approach highlighting the crucial interrelationship between theory and practice, and the value of interdisciplinary modes of interrogation for the potential generation of new knowledge is prioritised. Throughout the course, an understanding of the processes and methodologies of research will be developed within the discipline and situated within a broader cultural arena.   

The integration of theoretical and/or philosophical frameworks provide ways to look at the world in relationship to project work. A systematic approach to research is supported, including the shaping of ethical and achievable research questions and prototyping (of ideas) that may lead to new insights, connections and understanding. Through the course core research capabilities are developed, tested, and extended to underpin progressive cycles of reflexive practice. The application of research and critical perspectives in both theory and practice using a range of techniques and research methods are evaluated through formative and summative assessment. This helps to identify areas for potential improvement and development appropriate to your professional aspirations and advanced research potential that culminate in the proposition and independent pursuit of the Masters Project.  .  

Climate, Social and Racial Justice 

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

Course units

Global Fashion Media and Markets (40 credits)

Exploring Commercial Fashion Content (20 credits) 

PG Elective Units (20 credits) 

Fashion Journalism for Change (40 credits) 

Masters Project (60 credits) 

Learning and teaching methods

During your course you will engage with learning and teaching that includes both online and face-to-face modes. The scheduled activity for the course will be delivered through a combination of live, synchronous and asynchronous on-line learning. This is often described as blended learning. These sessions will include lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, peer review, technical sessions and masterclasses with industry practitioners.

For your final master’s project you will be expected to engage with independent research and set your own programme of work under the guidance of a designated supervisor/Course Leader. The method of research, development of ideas and organisation of material will depend on your chosen subject area and your negotiated project outcome for assessment. You will be expected to engage in regular progress meetings with your supervisor/Course Leader.

UAL Showcase

Explore work by our recent students on the UAL Showcase

Student and graduate work

Latest news from this course

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Andrew Tucker, Course Leader

A fashion journalist, author and consultant with almost three decades of working in the industry, Andrew Tucker has covered some of the most renowned fashion shows in history and interviewed the world’s greatest creative luminaries – from Alexander McQueen and Gianni Versace to John Galliano and even Martha Stewart. With contributions to magazines like The Gentlewoman and Fantastic Man, Tucker continues his career as a journalist, as well as an author of fashion books and a creative advisor for British Fashion Council and LOCOG, the organisation he helped plan cultural aspects of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Read Andrew Tucker's full profile Read Andrew Tuckers full profile here.

Carrie Mok, Programme Director

Both 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.

Hannah Zeilig Phd, Lecturer

A widely published researcher and an enthusiastic teacher, Hannah Zeilig is Reader in Arts and Health at London College of Fashion and a visiting research fellow at the University of East Anglia. Her work is transdisciplinary and influenced by her own experience of living with bipolar disorder. Throughout it, Zeilig explores co-creativity as an approach to support agency, wellbeing, and citizenship for people with dementia and severe mental illnesses. She supervises multiple PhD students and gives lectures on ethics, qualitative research, as well as older people and fashion.

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 MA Fashion Journalism and Content Creation 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 is considered on its own merit. 

English Language Requirements 

IELTS level 7.0 with a minimum of 6.0 in reading, writing, listening and speaking.  

Historically, applicants come from the following academic and professional backgrounds. 

BA (Hons) - English, History, Economics, French etc – humanities as a whole 

Or 

BA (Hons) - Fashion, Textiles etc – applied and fine arts as a whole 

Or 

BA (Hons) Journalism or Media Studies. 

MA Fashion Journalism and Content Creation regularly recruits working journalists looking to widen their professional experience into the fashion sector, given the specific skill set it requires. It is envisaged that the revalidated degree, with its emphasis on content creation and future scoping, will continue to attract such applicants.

Selection criteria

The course seeks to recruit students who can demonstrate:

  • A strong commitment and motivation towards a career in an aspect of fashion media
  • Awareness and relevant experience of fashion 

Appropriate knowledge and skills commensurate with planned entry into the course. 
 

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

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)
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
End of June 2024

This course is still open to applications from UK students and will remain open until 31 July or until all places are 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)

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)
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
End of June 2024

We are no longer accepting applications to this course for 2024/25 entry from international applicants. Applications for 2025/26 entry will open in autumn 2024.

Read more about deadlines

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 complete both tasks:

Task 1: Industry analysis

Please respond to 1 of the following topics (500-1000 words):

  • Has the explosion in fashion blogging been beneficial or detrimental to the online reader experience?
  • You have been given £100,000 to launch a fashion magazine (print or online). Identify a gap in the market and how you would like to fill it.
  • By what criteria would you judge a fashion publication (print or online) to be successful or unsuccessful and why? Please analyse 2 publications of your choice that are aimed at different market sectors.
  • Is celebrity culture largely beneficial or detrimental to the fashion media industry?

Task 2: Journalistic style

Please write a journalistic piece on 1 of the following topics (500-1000 words):

  • A profile or interview with someone working in the fashion industry.
  • An analysis of a trend that goes beyond simple catwalk references that can also reflect societal, economic or technological change.

For both tasks, please use Harvard referencing to cite any research. This will not be included in the word count.

Step 2: 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

Master's graduates have an acknowledged advantage in the employment market, obtaining work in a wide range of vocational and academic fields related to fashion. Previous MA Fashion Journalism graduates are now working in areas such as magazine and newspaper journalism, magazine styling and image making, lecturing in cultural studies and researching and developing concepts for television.

The MA also provides an excellent preparation for higher level research degrees (MPhil or PhD), with an increasing number of graduates undertaking research in fashion related subjects, in practice or theory or entering into education as lecturers.