Overview
There’s nowhere like London for learning fashion management and marketing, and no course more professionally focused than this one.
London is one of the world’s biggest fashion capitals. From Mary Quant’s iconic 1960s mini skirts to Vivienne Westwood’s dramatic punk frock, from Carnaby Street to Brick Lane, London has always been where avant-garde fashion bounces off the zeitgeist. So where better to study than here in the heart of London?
This is a very practical course, but don’t expect to learn pattern-making! Instead, you’ll gain hands-on exposure to business operations which will be invaluable in building a global career in fashion management and marketing. You’ll benefit from your tutors’ extensive industry experience and contacts, and you’ll be able to make the most of the countless opportunities for learning which lie beyond the university’s doors.
Why Coventry University London?
We believe that there is no better place to learn about business than to study in the heart of one of the most successful business and financial centres in the world. Launched in 2010 and located in the City of London, we are minutes away from the Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange, and are surrounded by several blue chip companies.
COVID-19
The University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2020/2021 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Due to the ongoing restrictions relating to Covid-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedStudent experience
All the support you need, in a top student cityHeart of the City
Minutes from the Bank of England and Stock Exchange
Course information
On this course, you’ll live and breathe fashion. Surrounded by London’s vibrant streets, and taught by industry experts, you’ll learn to create global success for any type of fashion label.
Are you interested in creating, marketing and managing sustainably successful brands? Then this very practical course is for you. You’ll learn from a team of experienced tutors who have outstanding fashion experience, many of whom remain active in the industry and in research.
You’ll be encouraged to explore all that London has to offer – everything from its fabulous street markets to high-street retailers and exclusive luxury brands. However, we’ll also bring the industry to you: you’ll hear from guest lecturers like fashion stylists, photographers and fabric researchers, and you’ll be taken to visit designer ateliers, trend forecasting agencies, trade shows and museums. You’ll network with figures from industry, and could even work on a live project for a client. You’ll also enjoy field trips in the UK and Europe, organised by your tutors.
This course also allows students to join directly to year 2, subject to the completion of a level 4 qualification, or directly to year 3, subject to the completion of a level 5 qualification. Please note that students joining directly to year 2 or 3 within the 2021/22 academic year will study a slightly different BA International Fashion Management and Marketing course specification. Find out more information by contacting registry.london@coventry.ac.uk.
Course Specification
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Modules
Coventry University is ranked 15th in the UK Guardian University Guide 2020
In more detail...
Although you’ll also get a solid academic grounding, this is a very practical course designed to offer excellent preparation for employment or self-employment in fashion management and/ or marketing. With all of London on your doorstep, you’ll have countless opportunities to get involved with names, brands, events and ideas, both as part of the curriculum and responding to your own independent interest.
London
Fashion is London’s heartbeat, so where better to immerse yourself in this industry? Perched as it is between uber-cool Shoreditch and London’s financial district, our campus is ideally placed to help you discover everything from emerging independent labels to established global brands, as well as fashion consultancies and global trend laboratories. Soak up inspiration from the V&A, the Fashion and Textile Museum and London Fashion Week, and explore invention and reinvention in London’s amazing street markets – such as Camden, Spitalfields, Portobello Road and Brick Lane.
Tutors
You’ll be taught by experienced and enthusiastic tutors with strong backgrounds in fashion, whether in PR, sustainability, production, consultancy or research. They have extensive networks of fashion contacts, which they exploit mercilessly to offer students outstanding opportunities to mix with the industry – which could eventually open up employment opportunities for you.
Internationalisation
This entire course is considered from a world perspective, preparing you for a career which understands global issues and which could be based anywhere in the world. Our overseas students offer additional perspectives to everyone’s learning, as they’re encouraged to share their home context while comparing and contrasting it with fashion in the UK or the Western world.
Facilities
Our campus has its own exclusive fashion studio, offering a versatile space for lectures, group work, networking, technology and other resources.
Career support
You’ll be encouraged to gain practical experience by working part-time in fashion; undertaking client projects; and doing internships. You’ll get valuable insights into career development from guest speakers in industry. Soft skills are emphasised, so you’ll build your confidence, your entrepreneurial skills, and your ability to present yourself and your ideas. Your tutors will be happy to check job applications and CVs at any stage, and our Employment Team can help with any salary negotiations.
- Coventry University is ranked 12th in the UK (and rising), according to the Guardian University League Tables 2018
- Living, studying and even working in London will give you extraordinary exposure to one of the world’s biggest and best fashion capitals
- The hands-on nature of this course means it’s designed to help you transition more quickly and easily into the world of paid professional work when you graduate
- You’ll complete your course with a clear idea of the career options open to you in fashion management and marketing – and even in related and unrelated industries.
- You’ll be encouraged to use your observations, critical analysis and research skills to develop a habit of lifelong learning which will serve you throughout your fashion career
- You’ll develop your confidence as an individual, as well as within a team, and you’ll become more skilled in researching, writing up and presenting your work to a wide range of audiences
Your main study themes are:
- Internationalisation – Deepen your understanding of the local-yet-global nature of fashion, and how to manage key globalisation issues such as the supply chain, ethics and sustainability.
- Innovation – Explore the extent to which fashion is about ‘the new’, against a backdrop of changing technologies, materials and consumers trends, and how to keep a fashion brand relevant.
- Brand – Understand key principles of brands and how they engage with both businesses and consumers. Consider how to manage brands for long-term success within the context of short-term trends.
- Strategy – Learn to take a strategic and sustainable approach to business: fashion concepts need the investment of time, skill and capital to transform them into enduring business successes.
We’ve designed a course which is as professional and practical as possible, taught by tutors with solid industry backgrounds and engaging as much as possible with the industry itself.
Fashion is ‘out there’, not ‘in here’. That’s why, in addition to your time in seminars and lectures, you’ll do a lot of learning beyond the classroom. Working independently or with your fellow students, you’ll learn to treat every exposure to fashion as an opportunity for critical analysis which can inform your work.
You’ll be encouraged to pursue self-directed learning by exploring the streets, markets and stores around you, conducting store observations to develop your research and critical-thinking skills. You’ll be encouraged to go out and examine how fashion is marketed according to its context; for example, in urban and rural settings.
With so much on offer around you, you’ll make the most of London’s museums, exhibitions and special collections, both contemporary and historical. You could visits events such as London Fashion Week; Pure London (Britain’s leading fashion-buying event for businesses), and/ or Première Vision Paris (the global event for fashion professionals). We’ll also aim to organise visits to designer ateliers and marketing/ trend forecasting agencies.
Your tutors will use their personal contacts to develop internship opportunities and to bring in guest speakers, clients for live projects, and speed networking events. You’ll work with employers on buying and merchandising projects, and develop your expertise in digital media to research global trends and create brand campaigns. Past students have met with fashion stylists, product designers and developers, fabric researchers, photographers, and a co-ordinator of London Fashion Week.
Teaching methods may include:<br> Lectures, seminars, textbooks, workshops, debates, case studies, consultancy projects, simulations, business plans and online collaborations.
Because we’re committed to providing an experience which closely mirrors real business life, you’ll be assessed purely through coursework relevant to the fashion industry. That’s why there are no exams and no essays (other than your final-year dissertation or report). Instead, you’ll produce a range of individual and group-based project work and presentations, just as you would in industry.
This will include developing digital media from brand strategies, creative projects, experiential and digital campaigns, blogs, apps and website designs. You’ll have the opportunity to work on client-briefed projects, and you’ll produce business reports and presentations including standard management reports and pitches to industry professionals.
On successful completion, you should be able to:
- explain the different roles in fashion, from trend analysis to design, manufacture, wholesale and retail
- contextualise the historical, cultural and commercial aspects of global fashion
- understand the role fashion plays in world economies, especially emerging markets
- identify key drivers of change and growth in fashion
- articulate the importance of ethics and sustainability
- understand the polar extremes of fashion, from local markets and pop-up shops to luxury global fashion brands and designers’ shows
- communicate with audiences in the fast-growing, consumer-centric global market
- compare and contrast the nature of fashion in online and offline businesses
- demonstrate your understanding of the complex nature of strategic decision-making across international fashion organisations
- interpret and apply business, marketing and management concepts, models and techniques to problems in an international fashion context
- communicate and conduct business using industry terminology and language relating to fashion, business and marketing across a range of global fashion cultures and contexts.
In a typical week you will have up to 9 contact hours, with a mix of lectures, seminars and workshops.
This entire course is set in an international context, so global considerations will underpin every aspect of your learning. Firstly, you’ll explore key global issues such as cultural diversity, sustainability and ethics.
Secondly, you could travel abroad to observe and engage with fashion businesses and events. Plus, there’s an opportunity to add in a ‘sandwich’ year, either for a work-experience internship (which could be in the UK or overseas) or to study at a university abroad. Either of these could take you to Europe or anywhere else in the world.
Thirdly, you’ll work alongside an international cohort who will bring fascinating insights on fashion and business from their home countries.
Entry Requirements
We will consider other qualifications for a pre-result unconditional offer providing that you have an appropriate proven performance at GCSE (or equivalent) level and predicted grades in line with grades that we expect to see at A-level. Other qualifications that we may consider for a pre-result unconditional offer include: the International Baccalaureate Diploma, BTEC Level 3 qualifications, Cambridge Pre-U and combinations of qualifications (e.g. BTECS plus A-levels).
An unconditional offer is what it says it is. So if you don’t meet your predictions then your place at Coventry is still guaranteed. However we would hope and expect that you continue to work hard to make the most of your potential and be best prepared to study at university level.
We can’t but our experience over the years has shown us that students like you with a track record of high grades and excellent predictions are very likely to achieve those grades. Our assessment takes into account all elements of your application to allow us to take a holistic view of your potential. There is still the opportunity to gain one of the Coventry University Scholarships if you achieve the required grades so there is a financial incentive to aim high. Unconditional offers are only made to individuals who have demonstrated their commitment so we believe their focus and determination is unlikely to waver in the final stages of their qualifications.
No, the unconditional offer is only available to those who will take up their place in 2019.
Additional costs not included in the fees:
Field trips and course materials, such as printing.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
This future-forward, globally astute course is intended to propel you into an exciting professional fashion management career anywhere in the world.
When you graduate, you’ll have a huge array of career options. You might choose to go into marketing, management or leadership, and the entrepreneurial skills you’ll learn will also prepare you for self-employment, if that’s what you want. You’ll have strong employer appeal thanks to the practical, international and London-based nature of your studies, as well as your ability to develop innovative solutions to real business problems.
Our focus on world issues means that international opportunities will be open to you on graduation. You’ll be equipped to contribute to the work of global brands; understand the role fashion brands play in diverse economies; and have a strong grasp of why ethics and sustainability must increasingly connect fashion to global society.
97%
of students in work or further study six months after they left university
DLHE 2015/16
Where our graduates work
This course is geared towards the marketing and management of fashion brands, rather than fashion design or production. So when you graduate, you’ll be ideally placed to begin a career as a buyer or product developer, or you might choose to go into merchandising, the supply chain, sustainable fashion, brand management or consultancy. You could work agency- or client-side in PR, digital marketing, advertising, creative direction, account management or trend forecasting.
Your skills will be transferable across a wide range of industries, so you won’t be limited to fashion if you’d like to branch out. You could easily go into management or marketing positions in retail, cosmetics, hair fashion, health & leisure, events, or indeed any other sector.
Disclaimer
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2020/21 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.
