If you already have experience in textile or surface design this course will allow you to develop your portfolio to a professional standard and, if you choose, develop a range of products on which to found your own business.

The choice of materials, processes and markets is up to you and you will have access to a wide range of workshop facilities. You will also have the opportunity to collaborate with other fashion and textile students. The course accepts students from other backgrounds too such as graphic design or fine art who want to reorientate their career.

WHAT'S COVERED IN THIS COURSE?

Your learning will be focused on studio and workshop practice, featuring personal programmes of study and joint lectures and seminars.

You’ll also enjoy specialist interpretations of art, craft and design supported by our highly experienced course team.

The course provides a forum to discuss and analyse the professional, commercial and cultural dimensions of textile and surface design in contemporary society.

Based at our city centre Parkside campus, you will have access to a wide range of conventional and CAD facilities available in constructed and printed textiles, 3D prototyping, ceramics and glass, as well as the opportunity to collaborate with a faculty full of creative students.

Your learning environment will encourage you to become an adaptable, flexible and knowledgeable graduate, equipped to pursue a career in the textile and surface design field. 

You’ll enjoy excellent opportunities for work experience and live industry briefs, giving you practical, professional exposure and an awareness of the challenges and opportunities of the sector 

Our programme is designed to ensure that upon graduating, you are:

• A better and more confident designer
• A reflective practitioner who has learnt how to keep developing as a designer
• An independent thinker and researcher able to initiate your own creative projects individually and/or collaboratively
• Able to conceptualise and discuss the nature of your work both orally and in writing
• Critically aware of the context of your creative practice relative to the marketplace and the wider culture.

The successful completion of MA Textiles and Surface Design will deepen your practical and theoretical insights and techniques, giving you the confidence to build your own professional career as a designer. You will also develop your critical skills such that you can form, evaluate and communicate complex concepts that reflect your individuality and independent thought. You will develop your creativity, your aesthetic sensibility and an in-depth knowledge of a personally chosen area of specialisation, which will equip you with the necessary skills to gain meaningful employment.

PLACEMENTS

Live collaborations, internships and work experience can form part of your projects and studies, and you’ll benefit from the networking opportunities this provides.

You are encouraged, particularly during the PgDip and MA stages of the course, to seek external experiences and feedback from professionals and companies active in textile and surface  design. 

Often students can arrange placements to begin immediately after they have finished the course.  You are able to identify companies or places for work experience through the Research Strategy module. The course team will also help you apply for, or prepare for, placements and work experiences.