Costume Design for Film & Television with Integrated Foundation Year

Develop your skills by entering the creative industries on an Integrated Foundation Year degree.

If you’re interested in taking on a new subject that you’ve not had the opportunity to study in depth before, or have been out of education for a while, then our Integrated Foundation Year courses might be for you. These four-year courses include an introductory year to help you build the core skills needed for specialist degree-level study.

This is a chance for you to let your imagination run wild and explore your creativity, expand your professional skills and develop enhanced subject knowledge in the domain you want to study. We’ll help nurture your expertise in problem solving, risk-taking, designing and making as you develop your abilities through five core modules.

After your foundation year, you’ll have a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, a developed practical and technical skill set and the confidence to excel in your chosen degree subject when you join other students for the rest of your course.

Cultivate the skills to enter the world of costume design on-screen.

Costume designers play a powerful role in the storytelling process, working from script to screen to create a character’s signature style.

This course will equip you with in-demand expertise in garment design, acquisition, alteration and creation, as well as the knowledge and flair to achieve your vision. You will have opportunities to engage with fashion artefacts and costume from our museum-quality Textiles & Dress Collection and fashion archives to inspire accurate and evocative costume design.

Armed with core skills including drawing, cutting and wardrobe curation, along with a career-launching showreel and the confidence to collaborate with industry professionals, you’ll have the edge over your peers as you enter this vibrant industry.

You will:
Develop technical, design thinking and production skills in your chosen specialism.
Learn teamwork, leadership and project management skills through a variety of learning environments.
Develop critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills through the development of unique and innovative projects.
Complete your chosen degree over a four-year period.
Master core techniques such as drawing, cutting, wardrobe pulling and fitting
Investigate the social, cultural and environmental factors that influence memorable costume designs of our time
Analyse industry applications such as music promos, commercials and costume breakdown, applying this knowledge to innovative challenge-based projects
Utilise our extensive wardrobe store and textiles and dress collection to achieve your vision of a character
Refine your skills as a costume practitioner in your final year through a collaborative screen production project to develop your professional portfolio

From costume design to wardrobe curation, exploring contemporary fashion history to interpreting scripts and characters and learning how to work as part of a creative team, we'll equip you with the creative, practical and entrepreneurial skills you'll need to succeed in this vibrant industry.

Foundation Year:
In your foundation year, you'll study five core modules: three short modules in the first study block and two in the second (one short, one long). These are all designed to help you explore the foundational elements of both creative practice and your chosen specialism. You'll gain relevant technical skills, learn to experiment and take risks, develop an understanding of professional practice, have opportunities to work across disciplines and collaborate with other students on live project briefs.

After your foundation year, you'll have a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, a developed practical and technical skillset and the confidence to excel in your chosen degree subject when you join other students for the rest of your course.

Modules:
Explore
Technique
Apply
Industry
Launch

Year one:
During the first year of this costume design degree, you'll be introduced to fundamental skills such as research, drawing, pattern cutting, garment alteration, fitting techniques, script analysis and costume plotting. You'll also learn how to become a costume designer that can analyse characters and scripts through the lens of anthropological, socio-political, psychological and cultural concepts. Practical work will be supported by lectures and written work exploring the history and theory of film and visual culture.

Modules:
Making
Histories
Communicating
Connections
Emerging

Year two:
In year two you'll continue to develop your design profile through an exploration of screen theory, costume breakdown and industry applications, such as styling for music promos and commercials. Alongside your creative practice, you'll also gain vital skills for successful freelance practice, including budget organisation, self-management and collaboration.

Modules:
Wearing
Classifying
Appearing
Performing
Theories
Branding

Year three:
In your final year on the costume design degree, you'll prepare for entry into industry by refining your skills through ideas pitching, a major collaborative screen production project, and portfolio creation.

Modules:
Investigations
Daring
Working
Being
Showing

We regularly review course and module content to ensure our students receive a high-quality and rewarding academic experience. As such, there may be changes made to the curriculum which are not immediately reflected in the content displayed on our website. Optional modules may be updated to maintain the best experience. Any students or applicants affected will be informed of approved changes directly.

Foundation Year assessments are 100% coursework based.
Assessment will take place at the end of each module, and you'll get feedback and evaluation throughout the year. You'll be assessed through visual, verbal and written assignments, including your portfolio and a reflective journal. In your foundation year all assessments are pass/fail to encourage students to take risks and engage with the feedback provided.

Progressing in your specialism
Students studying on courses with an Integrated Foundation Year must successfully complete and pass all foundation modules before they can progress to the next stage of their course.

Your specialism:
100% of your assessment will be coursework.

Assessment methods
Assessment can take the form of artefacts (such as pieces of costume you have made), portfolios, projects, reports and dissertation.
Formative feedback will be ongoing through regular tutorials with academic staff and visiting professionals, and summative feedback will take place following the end of the designated study block assessment periods.