BA (Hons) Textile Design

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:

120 UCAS tariff points which can be made up of one or a combination of the following accepted full Level 3 qualifications:

• Three A Levels at grades ABC (at least one subject must include Art, Art and Design or Design and Technology)
• Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (Level 3 or 4) and one A Level at grade C or above
• Distinction, Merit, Merit at BTEC Extended Diploma (preferred subjects include Art, Art and Design or Design and Technology)
• Merit at UAL Extended Diploma
• Access to Higher Education Diploma equivalent to 120 UCAS tariff points (preferred subjects include Art, Art and Design or Design and Technology)
• Or equivalent EU/international qualifications, such as International Baccalaureate Diploma

And three GCSE passes at grade 4 or above (grade A*–C).

Entry to this course will also be determined by assessment of your portfolio. A very high proportion of successful applicants complete a Foundation Diploma in Art and Design.

APEL - Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning

Exceptionally applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered. 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
• 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 cannot guarantee an offer in each case.

English language requirements

IELTS score of 6.0 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking (please check our main English language requirements webpage).

Applicants are selected according to their demonstration of potential and current ability to:

Work imaginatively and creatively in two and three dimensional visual media:

• Engage with experimentation and invention
• Show imagination and ambition in proposals for your work
• Take informed risks.

Demonstrate a range of skills and technical abilities:

• Through your portfolio, demonstrate a range of approaches to Design development, material manipulation and sensitivity to colour
• Originate ideas from personal experience or visual research and progressed through logical stages to finished design solutions
• Evidence of handling a material or medium with sensitivity to its qualities
• Demonstrate an awareness of planning and time management skills.

Provide evidence of intellectual enquiry within your work:

• Demonstrate relevant research
• Evidence your ability to critically reflect and evaluate your achievements.

Demonstrate cultural awareness and/or contextual framework of your work:

• Evidence an interest in contemporary art and design
• Identify social and/or cultural influences on your work.

Articulate and communicate intentions clearly:

• Discuss your work in individual and group situations
• Present your work appropriately and effectively.

Demonstrate commitment and motivation in relation to the subject and the course:

• Develop your own ideas and address both set and personal project briefs
• Show willingness to collaborate
• Show initiative.

What we are looking for

We are looking for lively, energetic, committed, creative people who are hard-working and adaptable and those for whom fabrics, colour, pattern and form have a special fascination.

What happens next

Initial application check

We check your application to see if you meet the standard entry requirements for the course.  If you do, you will be invited to submit a mini portfolio through UAL’s online portfolio review system.

Digital portfolio

Your portfolio should consist of no more than 30 images and should consist of recent artwork and should reflect your creative strengths. You can create the pages in any layout (For example: presentation boards) but they should be uploaded as jpeg images. It should include:

• Sketching
• 2D and 3D work including experimentation and development
• Material and Media manipulation
• Inspiration and research material
• Demonstration of textile techniques and skills.

The only files that can be uploaded as part of the portfolio are:

• Images: bmp, gif, jpg, jpeg, png
• Audio: mp3, mp4, ogg, wav, wma
• Video: avi, mp4, mpg, mpeg, mkv, mov, wmv

Portfolio advice

Your portfolio should demonstrate the following:

• Creative development, whether for a college project or in your personal work. By creative development, we mean ideas that have originated through your own experience and research and progressed towards potential visual proposals
• Ideas, visual research and experimentation are more important than finished design solutions and can be shown in two-dimensional work, or through material experimentation and 3D manipulation
• It is important that the creative work you include reflects and demonstrates your thinking, initiative and personal commitment to a particular project, theme or idea.

Please remember:

• The quality of the work is more important than the quantity
• Where possible, large or 3D work should be photographed and scanned
• Please organise your work by project, with supporting work presented alongside final outcomes.

Interview

Following the review of the portfolio we select a small number of applicants to move on to the next stage of the process.  These applicants will be invited to an interview either online or by telephone.

How we notify you of the outcome of your application

You will receive the final outcome of your application through UCAS track.

Feedback

This course receives a high number of applications, and unfortunately we cannot provide feedback to everyone who is unsuccessful. We can only provide feedback after you have had an interview.

If you would like to request feedback – please email csm.ukeu@arts.ac.uk. We are only able to provide feedback to you directly, or to someone you have told us in writing can receive it on your behalf.

Each and every application is carefully considered by a member(s) of our academic team. With so many strong applicants to choose from, it is often a very difficult decision to make. If you are unsuccessful, you are welcome to apply to us again in the future.

BA Textile Design graduates are equipped to pursue a wide range of careers as designers, designer-makers, researchers, buyers, stylists and illustrators.

They also work in concept and trend forecasting, in the theatre or in journalism, and are able to embrace a wide variety of opportunities presented by the global textiles and design industries. Many go on to postgraduate study.

The Course encourages a culture of ‘flexible specialists’ with a wide range of transferable design skills. Graduates have embarked into successful careers working with companies such as: Calvin Klein, Mark Fast, Alexander McQueen, Paul & Jo, Givenchy, Nissan Europe, Gainsborough, Vanners, Fiorette, Mascioni, H&M, Ford, Nokia, M&S, Ted Baker, Oasis, Dazed and Confused, Anthropology, Lyle & Scott, Liberty and others.

Recent BA Textile Design alumni activity demonstrates the breadth of student activity within the subject, with these names among others achieving prominence: Alice Temperley, Ptolemy Mann, Alex Gore Brown, Elaine Ng, Leutton&Postle, Sian Zheng Terence Coran, Lisa Stickly, Wallace & Sewell, Mary Katranzou.

Awards

Recent graduates have been awarded:

• British Fashion Council Award
• Vauxhall Fashion Scout Award
• Texprint Colour, Pattern and Lululemon
• Shortlisted for Designer of the Year 2013, Elle Decoration
• TED Fellowship
• Surface Design Award Finalist
• Peter Collingwood Trust Award
• Worshipful Company of Weavers Award
• Worshipful Company of Framework, Knitters Award
• Clothworkers’ Foundation Print Bursary
• Clockpit Arts/ Clothworkers’ Foundation