Psychology MSc at Northumbria gives you the academic credentials, research expertise, and professional recognition to pursue a rewarding career in psychology - whatever your background.
Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), successful completion of this course gives you eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC): the essential first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
Open to graduates of any discipline, you will have the opportunity to explore the full breadth of the subject - from biological and cognitive psychology to individual differences, social psychology, and research methods - before channelling your knowledge and skills into an independent research thesis.
Close-knit, postgraduate-only cohorts give you direct access to staff and a genuinely supportive learning community from the moment you arrive.
This extended degree offers an alternative route into higher education if you don't meet the standard entry requirements. Your foundation year helps you build skills, confidence and creativity across the creative arts, with a focus on fine art, combining studio and workshop activities, lectures, seminars and hands-on experience with technology.
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This extended degree offers an alternative route into higher education if you don't meet the standard entry requirements. Your foundation year helps you build skills, confidence and creativity across the creative arts, with a focus on fine art, combining studio and workshop activities, lectures, seminars and hands-on experience with technology.
Your modules will help you to realise your creative potential and prepare you for a meaningful fashion career. They foster design thinking, authentic research, and creative fashion design and communication skills. Learning outcomes will assess your knowledge and understanding, intellectual and professional skills and personal attributes through design and make projects, sketchbooks, critical study, presentations, and portfolios.
In first year, you will work with your expert specialist team to build fundamental knowledge and skills in fashion design practice using thinking-through-making methods to explore the formal elements of fashion design in 2D and 3D. You will learn about materials and methods, research skills, and design and make meaningful fashion through pattern cutting, sewing, print, knit and digital methods.
In second year, you will work purposefully on industry-relevant, collaborative projects in response to global issues impacting fashion; informing the development of your own values, interests, ambitions and creative identity. Digital fashion technologies workshops will enhance your emerging specialist creative practice and craftsmanship skills alongside the professional, interpersonal and portfolio skills in preparation for choosing your Year 3 options.
In third year, you will develop your career readiness, entrepreneurship and intercultural awareness through first-hand experience of the fashion workplace, international study opportunities, and creative studio practice. You will choose from national and international industrial placements, enterprise placements, study abroad, or from live, simulated and competitive projects. You will record your experience(s) and share with tutors and peers.
In final year your specialist creative practice is situated within current global debate and explores the interface between theory and practice within a professional portfolio, conceptual collection and critical study. Your portfolio showcases your vision of the future of fashion, professional creative identity, skills set, methodologies and career readiness to multiple audiences, within the context of your professional ambitions.
Module information is indicative and is reviewed annually therefore may be subject to change. Applicants will be informed if there are any changes.
In this module, you will delve into experimental design processes that are directly applicable to your future role in the ever-changing field of design. The boundaries between established design disciplines are continually shifting due to the ongoing collaborative nature of design projects calling on multiple skill sets, technological advancements, evolving design trends and societal needs.
The main objective is to provide you with the opportunity to explore making practice through different media, by acquire new skills or gaining experience in areas that are unfamiliar to you. For example, different briefs might explore 3D printing, upcycling, narrative storytelling and illustration or coding for designers. You will be encouraged to experiment and will be rewarded for taking creative risks. Throughout this process, you will develop into a more competent and self-assured designer, essential for a professional design career.
This module introduces you to the technical skills and approaches you will need to support the development of your own creative practice and craftsmanship throughout your studies.
As a BA Fashion student, you will learn how to work safely and responsibly in the pattern cutting, sewing, print, knit and digital technical workshops, via specialist technician-led inductions.
Our highly experienced technical team and tutors will enable you to reinforce this learning via the manufacture of a classic garment that will underpin your creative fashion project work and begin your journey as a fashion designer. You will learn how to pattern cut and use authentic industrial methods and techniques in our industry-standard workshops.
You will practice the fundamentals of accurate hand-drawn working drawings that will underpin the development of your technical understanding and employability skills.
During the module you will record and reflect upon your learning and skills development in an annotated Technical Process Journal (TPJ). This will underpin your making throughout the programme and work symbiotically with the modules Introduction to Fashion Cultures and Fashion Practice to inform your creative process.
All students must pass the technical Health & Safety inductions to be able to work independently and book space in the technical workshops during the academic year.
This module introduces you to fashion cultures through the exploration of the intersection between the use of dress to express individual and cultural identity, fashion history, contemporary fashion industry practices and the global challenges and debates that are shaping the future of fashion. You will take part in a series of collaborative and individual research-based activities to develop an understanding of the relationship between fashion theory and practice and understand its potential as a catalyst for creative and critical thinking You will learn how to conduct authentic, relevant research, using responsible methods, sources and materials, and how to interpret the findings for creative purposes, and meaningful fashion outcomes. Through the development of your new knowledge of fashion design history and making practices, at the intersection of personal and cultural identity and the global challenges faced in fashion, you will expand your visual design vocabulary.
The historical and theoretical elements of the module are presented in lectures reinforced through interactive seminars and workshops. These give context to practice-based workshops on the fashion formal elements of silhouette, colour, pattern, texture, detail, line and proportion, in relation to the moving human body.
Over the course of this module, you will record and develop your work in a Creative Process Journal (CPJ), developing skills in 2D and 3D research methods and critical reflection. A 1500-word essay will contribute to this developmental journey, providing the opportunity for you to demonstrate your growing knowledge and understanding of fashion culture and your practice within it.
This practical, thinking-through-making module challenges you to create 3D fashion outcomes based on real-world issues that are shaping the future of fashion, e.g. climate change, social inclusion, responsible practice, etc.
Throughout this module you will be expected to apply your previous learning in fashion cultural research, ideation of fashion design concepts and formal elements through pattern cutting, print, knit and industrial garment manufacturing techniques. You will take a creative risk-taking approach to the design process to reimagine and realise an iconic garment in your first design and make project.
To contextualise your practice, you will be introduced to new fashion research methods such as drawing as a creative thinking tool, creative sampling, and garment analysis to learn about the design process from technical, socio-cultural, industrial, design and functional perspectives. You will learn from the teaching team’s specialist expertise to position your work in cultural and industrial environments. Your creative practice will be underpinned by theoretical content including responsible practice and circular fashion principles to enable a deep understanding of cultural value, form and function, and how it relates to your values and interests.
You will book access to technical workshops to explore, sample, toile, and realise your fashion ideas in collaboration with your tutors. You will present your resolved fashion prototypes on the moving body.
This is a practice-based module that is informed by micro lectures on key issues that will support your learning and stimulate your curiosity for your theoretical and practical research. You will learn about the creative practice of fashion drawing and develop the knowledge, skills and techniques needed to create impactful, relevant and personal fashion images.
Using thinking-through-drawing methods, you will work in a Creative Process Journal (CPJ) to explore the role of drawing in fashion and its application to research, ideation, visualisation and communication processes through drawing as a way of knowing, and as a creative thinking, visualisation and communication tool.
In exploring how fashion images are constructed to convey meaning, the module also enables you to take a discursive approach to human-centred issues of inclusion, such as the decolonisation of the beauty ideal, and contribute to the debate around the political positioning and the power relationships between the creator and the subject, the observer and the observed.
You will learn how to navigate the challenges facing fashion illustration and to visualise fashion’s formal elements, creatively and responsibly for a diverse audience.
Work produced in this module will inform your 2nd year portfolio content.
You will develop your understanding of academic conventions in UK higher education aligned to your level of study, including expectations around critical analysis, structure, argumentation, evidencing, and referencing. The module focuses on developing communication strategies that will help you express your ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments and spoken activities. You will also reflect on your current academic and language skills and develop strategies for development ahead of your assessments.
In this module, you will explore some of the most important emerging design issues and practices that are shaping contemporary design and design research. As designers, we are in a perpetual state of evolution, responding to a world that is constantly in flux, where new challenges and opportunities arise on an almost daily basis.
This module occurs at a critical and timely stage in your design education, where you will delve into the heart of design's developing practice opportunities or most compelling dilemmas. You will learn to identify, analyse, and propose innovative opportunities to these dynamic and often complex situations. You will also learn to react to these challenges by working with others, leveraging your collective skills and knowledge to develop more nuanced design outcomes.
Emerging issues and practices may include a diverse range of topics, from sustainability, responsibility, inclusivity and diversity to technology and innovation, which may in turn have implications for cross-cultural design and global design trends.
This module develops critical fashion thinking skills through the exploration of the symbiotic relationship between creative fashion practice, the most current debates and critical issues faced by the fashion industry and the theories used to explain fashion phenomena. It challenges and equips you to approach your fashion practice through the development of critical thinking, cultural and social understanding, and ethical awareness not only vital for academic success but also a successful career in fashion design with potential to effect change through practice.
In this module you will be given the opportunity to explore your fashion practice in relationship to the most pressing social, environmental, cultural, political and technological issues with which the fashion industry is grappling today. You will be introduced to different theories to help make sense of real-world phenomena and be facilitated to respond through your creative practice. Topics for exploration could include environmental and social sustainability; issues of class, gender and queer identity; sub- and counterculture; agism and body image; storytelling and branding; globalisation and localisation; fashion, the body and embodied experience; the impact of technological change on fashion; and ethnicity, race, colonial legacy and the decolonisation of fashion.
Current debates and critical issues will be introduced and analysed through a mixture of lectures, seminar discussions and debates as well as workshops. You will continue to finetune your ability to conduct and apply detailed analytical research, object and visual analysis to fashion design practice and increase your confidence to articulate your viewpoints in speech and writing.
In the studio, you will be encouraged to respond to at least one of the critical issues explored through sampling, making or local initiatives. You will fuel your curiosity in researching a fashion design question pertinent to your own creative practice and generate original written and practical outcomes, and by using mixed research methodologies to inspire your creative practice generating original written and practical outcomes.
In this module, you will interpret contemporary global design issues aligned to your own values, creative identity and creative ambitions. You will develop progressive knowledge of aesthetic principles and skills in fashion craftsmanship for future fashion scenarios, and the development of your creative identity.
By developing your design skills and technical knowledge developed in Level 4, you will create a research-rich, fashion-forward concept to explore new ways of thinking about and fabricating fashion. Your research and development will be recorded in a creative 2D output to communicate your distinctive individual fashion interests and style.
Theoretical research appropriate to fashion practice will inform your creative fashion practice via specialist skills development in pattern cutting and garment construction, constructed knitwear or printed surface textiles. By engaging in meaningful design development via a thinking-through-making methodology, you will undertake creative sampling, prototyping and ideation in 2D and 3D formats; developing your knowledge, craftsmanship and conceptual thinking aligned to your personal values, areas of personal interest and professional ambitions.
You will be encouraged to integrate traditional and digital media with a view to communicating your fashion outcomes to diverse audiences.
Outcomes from this project will establish a personal design philosophy to underpin the Collaborative Project and provide content for your Professional Practice Portfolio.
The module will develop intellectual, practical and personal skills and attributes relevant to your specialist creative practice.
In this module you will collaborate with the programme’s industrial, cultural, community or educational partners to generate original fashion solutions to real-world problems. You will work with specialist tutors and technicians to develop meaningful fashion outcomes that are grounded in authentic research and move beyond initial aesthetics. You will develop an understanding of the relationship between the creative and commercial requirements of fashion design.
The module will challenge you to broaden your knowledge of fashion and extend your previous experience. You will focus on an ‘elevated’ fashion market level as a conduit for developing progressive knowledge of aesthetic principles and skills in fashion craftsmanship.
Building on knowledge gained in Fashioning Identity, Concept and Craftsmanship you will advance your understanding of pattern cutting and garment construction, constructed knitwear, and surface printed textiles using traditional or digital methods through specialist thinking through make approaches. You will resolve contemporary issues currently facing the industry presented in the collaborative brief. Your conclusions will further develop your creative practice and personal ambitions.
The module will allow you to work with industrial partners to develop your professional skills and understanding through Live project briefs and/or the opportunity to take part in national competitions. This will enable you to initiate your personal professional network and make considered decisions about your career readiness for industrial placement and employment.
Work for this module may contribute to the design placement portfolio in Block 3.
Global themes: Sustainability, climate change, global health, AI, technology, political unrest, etc.
Human or planet-focused responsible design practice: social inclusion, gender, equity, mobility, global thinking, health and wellbeing, hunger, security, UNSDGs, circular fashion practices, climate change, pollution, etc.
This Professional Practice module supports your development as a future fashion professional by nurturing your ability to evaluate and communicate your specialist practice knowledge, skills and personal attributes to a diverse audience. You will learn about placement and study abroad experience and destinations, and how to approach the application process for a successful outcome.
The module is designed to extend your knowledge of the fashion industry and workplace, facilitate the development of your professional skill set, and enable you to build career readiness within the context of your own professional ambitions, beginning with your third year Design Placement, Design Study Abroad, and Creative Studio options. It will enable the development of the digital and interpersonal communication skills you will need to take full advantage of future opportunities through your Professional Practice Toolkit, and Digital Portfolio.
Your Professional Practice Toolkit will facilitate and record your reflective approach to learning, engagement with your studies, and support your career readiness through analytical, self-initiated research into the fashion industry and its relevant careers and roles. It will document the creation of professional digital assets, such as a creative C.V. and cover letter.
Your Digital Portfolio, as an electronic showcase of your work, will express your creative identity, capture your design processes and present your most engaging content aligned to fashion industry practices, relevant to your third year option applications. It challenges you to expand and creatively explore a range of multimedia, using both digital and physical techniques, and use it to present your previous project work purposefully and professionally.
You will develop your understanding of academic conventions in UK higher education aligned to your level of study, including expectations around critical analysis, structure, argumentation, evidencing, and referencing. The module focuses on developing communication strategies that will help you express your ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments and spoken activities. You will also reflect on your current academic and language skills and develop strategies for development ahead of your assessments.
Optional modules may include:
On this module, you will undertake a brief that will either tackle current challenges to designers or explore design’s role in near-future visions of society. The module will challenge, inspire, and propel you into the future as a visionary designer or ‘change maker’ equipped to address some of the pressing issues of our time.
Design challenges and our responses are increasingly complex. Technology has automated many of the simplest design tasks, leaving designers to focus on solving more complex problems. To help tackle them, most designers work in multi-disciplinary teams. Even more individual design specialists such as designer-makers work co-operatively with other craft specialists, manufacturers and business professionals to bring their work to market.
Therefore, this module led by design tutors and other subject specialists enables you to work with peers and collaborators to address contemporary challenges or future opportunities. The choice of briefs may be developed in partnership with professional design teams, set by design competitions or written by your tutors in response to important design research or practice challenges.
In this module you will explore the interplay between theoretical, technical and creative practice to propose a concept and methodology for a fashion collection. You will develop a personal fashion design research proposal written and referenced to academic standard that contextualises the proposed work in a contemporary industrial and cultural context, positioning your collection at its centre. In parallel, you will propose and explore specialist 2D and 3D experimental technical and creative practice that develops your practical research methodology and confirms your personal creative identity.
You will learn how to work independently to conduct primary and secondary research with integrity and purpose, and to explore and interpret key themes and challenges that impact the future of fashion and your own areas of interest and personal practice.
Using thinking-through-making methods relating to your specialist creative practice you will scope the potential of your proposed concept and initial ideation. In practical studio and workshop sessions you will have the opportunity to develop your expertise and knowledge in the use of specialist Fashion skills and technologies, and to contextualise pattern cutting, constructed knitted fabrics, printed textiles or digital technology within your Fashion collection.
The outcome of this module will provide substantial evidence of your autonomy and unique fashion design abilities in preparation for your progression into the fashion workplace or post-graduate education. You will create a Career Readiness Plan (CRP) that contextualises your concept research and developing specialist creative practice to your own professional goals.
In this two-component module, you will learn to interpret and position your proposed Fashion Concept within the contemporary global fashion arena through the development and presentation of a conclusive critical written study, and practical resolution as specialist samples, garments or artefacts that define your project methodology.
By conducting a critical written study in component 1, you will develop your contextual research skills in reference to the latest critical debates, evaluation methods, or design strategies for fashion, that will underpin your fashion concept integrity and cultural relevance. In component 2, you will choose a study option that shapes your Specialist Creative Practice in a Fashion Atelier, Runway or Digital pathway in line with your Career Readiness Plan (CRP), that develops your expertise in the skilled use of fashion applications, tools, methods and production processes to professional standards.
You will learn to critically analyse fashion design research and development through a well-illustrated and communicated process book or media equivalent and technical specification, that demonstrates your specialist practical methodology, technical abilities and reflective practice skills whilst identifying areas for self-improvement or future exploration, presenting your fashion concept to professional standards ready for realisation in consecutive modules.
In this module, you will learn how to realise your Fashion Collection for a new season, fashion genre or market level through application of your identified Specialist Creative Practice (pattern-cutting, printed textiles or constructed knitwear) within an Atelier, Runway or Digital study option pathway. Working independently in studio and workshop sessions that simulate real-life industry situations and supported by academic and technical specialists, you will learn how to translate your proposed fashion concept into a series of professional samples and garment prototypes in response to the current zeitgeist and relevant design challenges that impact your own vision for the future of fashion. Through the process of documented experiential learning and reflective practice, you will develop your individual design handwriting and technical ability, building confidence in your design ability and demonstrating your capability to creatively and contextually challenge existing fashion conventions. Whilst realising your collection and documenting your creative process, you will effectively begin to build and present accomplished design content in line with your Career Readiness Plan (CRP) ready for the creation of your professional portfolio in Block 3.
Deliverables: Specialist Creative Practice
Study Option 1: Fashion Digital Project 2 (Visual proposal + 2D + 3D Technical and Creative Process Journal)
Study Option 2: Fashion Atelier Project 2 (visual proposal + 3D sampling + Technical Specification + Creative Process Journal)
Study Option 3: Fashion Runway Project 2 (Visual Proposal + 3D Toiles + Technical Specification + Creative Process Journal)
This module prepares you as a designer for the future's challenges by fostering skills in risk-taking and problem-solving. Building upon previous study, you will develop, conclude and present your own vision for the future of fashion to professional standards using advanced intellectual and creative skills that demonstrate your personal design handwriting, specialist knowledge and technical strengths. To produce your collection, you will work in atelier-style design studios and industry-standard pattern-cutting, print and knitwear workshops, with supportive extended studio activity using a range of appropriate equipment, 2D and 3D technology. Working closely with internationally experienced fashion practitioners and researchers and supported by technical expertise to develop your knowledge and understanding in your chosen specialist design area, the unique fashion collection that you produce will reflect your learning and be relevant to your chosen specialism and personal fashion career aspirations. Your engagement in extended specialist creative practice and fashion craftsmanship within this module will underpin your employability and further build and present accomplished design content ready for the creation of your professional portfolio in semester 3.
Deliverables: Digital Clo3D Project, knit, print, sample or garment(s).
Study Options:
1: Fashion Digital Project 3 (2D + 3D crafted realisation + Technical and Creative Process Journal)
2: Fashion Atelier Project 3 (3D crafted realisation + Technical Specification + Creative Process Journal)
3: Fashion Runway Project 3 (3D crafted realisation + Technical Specification + Creative Process Journal)
In this module, you will craft a professional fashion portfolio to showcase your creative identity, tailored to your career aspirations in industry, enterprise, or post-graduate education outlined in your Career Readiness Plan (CRP). This portfolio will represent the culmination of your academic, creative, and professional expertise, highlighting your specialised skills in pattern cutting, print, knit, or digital technologies. It will articulate your design philosophy, engage with current debates, and emphasise responsible design practices in align with your own values and interests. To achieve this, you will elevate your communication skills and employ divergent and critical thinking to address the complexities of presenting your Level 6 work to diverse audiences and for a range of purposes, such as interviews, assessments, or competitions. You will demonstrate autonomy and professionalism in responding to opportunities and unexpected challenges in a decisive and professional manner.
Your portfolio will explicitly address entry-level workplace requirements, integrating your unique perspective on global issues, innovative solutions to design problems, and your vision for the future of fashion. You will select portfolio formats (2D, 3D, 4D, or mixed, multichannel approach) aligned with your CRP and promotional opportunities. Content will include a CV and various self-promotional materials, such as social media profiles, personal websites, and industry platforms.
You will develop your understanding of academic conventions in UK higher education aligned to your level of study, including expectations around critical analysis, structure, argumentation, evidencing, and referencing. The module focuses on developing communication strategies that will help you express your ideas clearly and coherently in written assignments and spoken activities. You will also reflect on your current academic and language skills and develop strategies for development ahead of your assessments.
Standard Offer 112 UCAS Tariff Points
From a combination of acceptable Level 3 qualifications which may include: A-level, T Level, BTEC Diplomas/Extended Diplomas, Scottish and Irish Highers, Access to HE Diplomas, or the International Baccalaureate.
Find out how many points your qualifications are worth by using the UCAS Tariff calculator: www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator
Contextual Admissions 96 UCAS Tariff points
Northumbria University is committed to supporting all individuals to achieve their ambitions and we understand that every applicant’s circumstances can be different, which is why we take a flexible approach and assess your individual circumstances and potential when reviewing your application.
To find out more, review our Northumbria Entry Requirement Essential Information page for further details www.northumbria.ac.uk/entryrequirementsinfo
GCSE Requirements:
Applicants will need Maths, Statistics, or Physics and English Language at minimum grade 4/C, or equivalents.
Additional Requirements:
A portfolio of creative design work is required. Get advice on preparing your portfolio here:https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/study-at-northumbria/coming-to-northumbria/portfolios/
International Qualifications:
We welcome applicants with a range of qualifications which may not match those shown above.
If you have qualifications from outside the UK, find out what you need by visiting www.northumbria.ac.uk/yourcountry
English Language Requirements:
International applicants should have a minimum overall IELTS (Academic) score of 6.0 with 5.5 in each component (or an approved equivalent*).
*The university accepts a large number of UK and International Qualifications in place of IELTS. You can find details of acceptable tests and the required grades in our English Language section: www.northumbria.ac.uk/englishqualifications
For further admissions guidance and requirements, please visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/admissionsguidance Please review this information before submitting your application.
The UK tuition fee for 26/27 is £9,790 and is set in line with the UG Government's tuition fee cap. The University may increase this fee in subsequent years in line with any changes to the tuition fee cap. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect.
The remaining fees relate to the International Soccer Academy and accommodation fees. Accommodation fees may increase in subsequent years. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of the re-issuing of tenancy agreements.
Tuition fees in the academic year 2027/28* will be £10,050. Fees are set in line with the UK Government's tuition fee cap. The University may increase fees in subsequent years in line with any changes to the tuition fee cap. Increases will be linked to inflation. For example, increases may be linked to RPIX (Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments) Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect. Student fee loans rise in line with the tuition fees cap.
*if your course is longer than one year
* Fees subject to annual increases over the course of the period of study. Students will be liable for payment of any/all tuition fees which are not sponsored by their employer or other third party.
This is the tuition fee for your first year of study. You should expect to pay tuition fees for every year of study. The University may increase fees in the second and subsequent years of your course at our discretion in line with any inflationary or other uplift. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect.
Tuition fees in the academic year 2027/28* will be £10,050. Fees are set in line with the UK Government's tuition fee cap. The University may increase fees in subsequent years in line with any changes to the tuition fee cap. Increases will be linked to inflation. For example, increases may be linked to RPIX (Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest payments) Students will be notified of any increase ahead of it taking effect. Student fee loans rise in line with the tuition fees cap.
This is the programme fee for your first year of study. The programme fee includes the international tuition fee, International Soccer Academy and accommodation fees. Accommodation fees may increase in subsequent years. Students will be notified of any increase ahead of the re-issuing of tenancy agreements.
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