Textile Design 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.

Create sustainable textiles using innovative and traditional techniques.

Join a new era in textile design, where the thread of sustainability runs through the creation of contemporary fabrics for fashion, interiors and art. On this Textile Design course, you’ll master traditional and digital processes as you innovate with weave, print and mixed media techniques, from 3D construction and natural dyeing to exquisite hand-embellishment with beading and embroidery.

Based in lively, industry-linked studios, on our Textile Design degree you'll be supported by professional designers and makers. You’ll develop confidence, technical expertise and critical judgment evidenced through your original and environmentally conscious textile designs.

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.
Learn essential skills for woven, printed and mixed-media textiles, with sustainability embedded throughout
Work in fantastic facilities, using industry-standard kit such as industrial sewing machines, screen printing workshops, digital embroidery machines and weaving looms
Have opportunities to collaborate with degree students in areas such as fashion design, fashion marketing and interior design, across a range of projects
Take on live briefs set by companies such as The Natural Fibre Company, to boost your professional portfolio
Embrace artisanal, traditional craft methods – such as hand-dyeing using plants from our Dye Garden – alongside the latest mechanical and digital production techniques mirroring industry practice
Study at one of only six universities supported by the Worshipful Company of Weavers, which offers individual scholarships and educational grants
Have the chance to travel to events such as Première Vision, the international textile and trend forecasting show in Paris

Through this career-focused Textile Design degree, you’ll learn about technical process and production alongside environmental and sustainability issues surrounding the textile industry. You’ll learn how to design and make woven, printed and mixed media textiles for a broad range of outcomes, including fashion, interiors and one-off artefacts. Preparing for your career, you’ll also learn how to innovate and take creative risks, communicate professionally, network and approach potential employers.

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:
The first year of the Textile Design course supports you to develop individual creative skills and a unique voice as a designer. The modules are designed to help you to become adept at deploying a range of textile production methods with consideration for responsible, environmentally sustainable design. In studio based practical projects, you'll be supported through tutorials and workshops with design development and technical textile processes.

You'll learn to use professionally equipped studios to create constructed and surface design textiles.

Modules:
Colour and Pattern
Belonging
Responsible Material and Design
Histories

Year two:
During the second year of your Textile Design course, you'll gain an understanding of the range of markets and audiences available to you, and learn to communicate your creative vision, concepts, and design narratives externally.

You'll be encouraged to take creative risks, working with a range of techniques and share the development of your practice in regular group tutorials.  Advanced workshop processes are delivered in areas such as jacquard design, digital embroidery, and complex repeat design.

The year is characterised by communication, collaboration and professional practice by working on live briefs and entering competitions.

Modules:
Process
Connection
Responsible Production
Collaboration
Theories

Year three:
Alongside writing your dissertation, you’ll create your own studio briefs in order to design and produce original textiles. This usually (but not exclusively) takes the form of collections of samples.

You’ll also start creating your professional portfolio and other self-promotional materials, and have the chance to take part in the New Designers exhibition in London.

Modules:
Futures
Investigations
Innovate
Identity

As part of our process of continuous improvement, we routinely review course content to ensure that all our students benefit from a high-quality and rewarding academic experience. As such, there may be some changes made to your course which are not immediately reflected in the content displayed on our website. Any students affected will be informed of any changes made 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
There is formative and summative feedback given throughout your studies to help you progress your skills. This Textile Design course is also assessed via portfolio, journals, reports and written assignments:

Portfolio assignments include research, development, and production of textiles. Portfolios often consist of a sketchbook, technical files and textile outcomes presented on sheets or in an appropriate manner
Journals are formal ways of documenting the technical development and outcomes of projects
Reports are used to describe your process and contribution on collaborative assignments
Written assignments are assessed essays, for your cultural studies modules. There is a one written assignment per year
Dissertation or final-year project
Foundation year assessments are 100% coursework based