Southampton Solent University & Warsash Maritime School - Careers at Sea Open Day (On-Campus)
14 Mar 2026, 09:30
Southampton
Got a passion for creative design? Not quite ready to undertake a full honours degree? Solent University’s Design Foundation Programme is perfectly suited to students who may not be from an art- design- or fashion-related background or whose qualifications do not meet the admissions requirements of their chosen course.
To help get you up to speed, this one-year foundation course provides all the creative, technical and study skills needed for entry onto a degree-level art, design or fashion course. Upon completion, you will be able to progress onto a range of art-, design- and fashion- related courses here at Solent.
The course begins with a five-week group project. This enables students to mix with like-minded peers and helps them to settle in quickly. This project also helps students to decide which area they might like to follow at a later stage.
The following ten weeks are spent introducing students to the world of art, design and fashion. This includes design history, vocabulary, methods and academic foundation. This ten-week block will also give students the opportunity to learn and apply two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualisation techniques, giving them the tools required to conduct their final project.
This final project takes place in the last fifteen weeks of the course and is based around the specific discipline that the student will go on to study. The project will be supported by tuition in visual presentation techniques, enabling students to communicate their concepts, development processes and final proposals.
Students will also receive instruction in verbal communication and presentation techniques, increasing their confidence in pitching design ideas.
Students can develop an understanding of the ethos and expectations associated with degree-level study, enabling them to more easily make the transition to higher education.
What does this course lead to?
You will go on to study the BA (Hons) Fashion Management with Marketing course.
Who is this course for?
Our design foundation programme is ideal for students who aren’t quite ready to undertake a full undergraduate degree, either because they aren’t from an art- design- or fashion-related background, or they don’t quite meet the entry requirements.
FOUNDATION MODULES:
Industry Skills
Industry Awareness
Materials and Methods
Research and Ideas Development
Personal Development Planning
Degree-related project
On successful completion of your foundation year, you will automatically progress onto the 3 year BA (Hons) Fashion Management with Marketing course where you will study the following modules:
YEAR 1 - CORE MODULES
Retail Environment
Marketing Principles
Introduction to Fashion Business
Ethical and Sustainable Fashion
Digital Concepts
Fashion Finance
YEAR 2 - CORE MODULES
Fashion Buying and Merchandising
Omni Channel Marketing
Fashion Market Research
International Fashion Communications
Product Development
YEAR 2 - OPTIONS (Please note that not all options are guaranteed to run each academic year)
Fashion Futures
Fashion Merchandise / Planning
YEAR 3 - CORE MODULES
Research Proposal
Work Based Learning
International Strategic Business Practice
Final Major Project
YEAR 3 - OPTIONS (Please note that not all options are guaranteed to run each academic year)
Innovation and Technology
Brand Development and Communication
To accommodate individual differences in both learning styles and communication skills, the foundation course will apply a programme of summative assessment methods. This programme will include portfolios, reports, verbal presentations and reflective statements. Each module will employ a mix of methods appropriate for that module. For example, the module ‘Personal Development Planning’ will be assessed by reflective statement and an accompanying portfolio.
The following entry points are available for this course:
For information about applying to Solent as an International applicant, please visit https://www.solent.ac.uk/how-to-apply/entry-requirements/help-for-international-students
IELTS a minimum score of 5.5 overall with a minimum of 5.0 in each component.
TOEFL (IBT) a minimum score of 71 overall with a minimum of 19 in each component.
| Test | Grade | Additional details |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 6 | with a minimum of 5.5 in each of the four components |
We understand that each student is unique. At Solent we encourage individuality and have adopted a balanced approach to Admissions, by considering exam results alongside portfolios / interviews or auditions.
Our contextual offer scheme allows offers below our standard academic entry criteria to those who have faced challenges which has impacted their performance and predicted higher grades, by taking into account additional selection criteria such as a strong portfolio, interview or audition.
This section shows the range of grades students (with UK A-Levels or Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diplomas) who received offers were previously accepted with (learn more). It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place. Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.
We are unable to show previous accepted grades for this course. This could be because the course is new, it's a postgraduate course, there isn't enough historical data, or the provider has opted out of sharing their entry grades data for this course - learn more.
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Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
Go onto work and study
The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.
| Location | Fee | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Republic of Ireland | £5760 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £5760 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £5760 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £5760 | Year 1 |
| Channel Islands | £5760 | Year 1 |
| England | £5760 | Year 1 |
| EU | £15050 | Year 1 |
| International | £15050 | Year 1 |
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.
No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Solent University offers a number of bursaries, grants and scholarships. For more information, please visit https://www.solent.ac.uk/finance/grants-bursaries-scholarships/bursaries
East Park Terrace
Southampton
SO14 0YN
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Email:admissions@solent.ac.uk
Phone:+44 (0) 23 8201 5066