Studio Practice (Fashion Image & Styling) top-up BA (Hons)

Program Overview

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Studio Practice (Fashion Image & Styling) (top-up) at UCA

UCA’s one-year BA (Hons) Studio Practice degree course in Fashion Image & Styling is the ideal way to boost your existing qualifications or prepare for postgraduate study.

Taught at UCA’s Epsom campus, this course is essentially the final year of our three-year degree and will prepare you to engage at all levels of the global style business, from high street retail through to luxury brands.

And, as it sits with and is closely aligned to both BA (Hons) Fashion Photography and BA (Hons) Make-Up & Hair Design, you’ll be able to work collaboratively on shoots and other projects.

Taught by a range specialist academics and experienced industry professionals, you’ll have gain insight into industry commissions, professional roles, and have a chance to hear from industry leaders. You’ll also be able to develop, refine and contextualise your own work in relation to diverse industry outputs and working models.

As well as developing highly specialist skills for fashion stylists and image makers, you’ll gain a wealth of transferable skills, too, including research skills, critical reflection, ethical judgement, cultural knowledge, communication skills, teamwork and project management.

Course Entry Options

• BA (Hons) (top-up)
  • Equivalent to the final year of an undergraduate degree, this course enables you to build upon an existing qualification such as a foundation degree or an HND.

Course Details

• Institution code: C93
• UCAS code: TBC
• Campus: Epsom
• Start date(s): September 2025, September 2026
• Duration: 1 year full-time
• Entry requirements:
  • 240 credits from a relevant degree
  • International equivalent qualifications

What You'll Study

• Year one (equivalent in level to year 3 of BA course)
  • Project Pitch: Your final year begins with a project pitch week. This is your opportunity to share ideas that you will have developed over the summer about your degree project, receive feedback and fine tune it before you start actively working on it as part of your last year at university.
  • Innovation for Industry: How we communicate and present our concepts for innovation in fashion imagery is crucial to successful visual communication and, ultimately, relevance and longevity for both ourselves and our clients. In this unit, we will introduce you to a client who will set a research question that is relevant to current industry practice. Using the research question as a starting point, you will take a broader view of what you determine to be the definition of ‘innovation’ in response to the client brief and also to your own developing portfolio, specialist skills and practice. You will need to identify and present new and innovative concepts, and propose an original idea to support a launch, a product, a reinvention of a product, or perhaps a narrative within a specific media arena.
  • Critical Thinking for Publication: Following on from your Academic Proposal (completed at the end of Year 2) and your summer project, you’ll define your angle or argument, and communicate this through creative content for a specified platform or publication. The creative outcome will be supported by a research document in which you reflect on your learning journey. You will evidence the growth of the argument and contextualise the topic within the global fashion industry.
  • Graduate Career Fair: The Graduate Career Fair taking place during the first week of your second term to help your job search as you prepare for life after graduation. Companies that are actively hiring in your sector will be present to give you information about them, the kind of candidates they are looking for and their hiring process.
  • Creative Direction for Fashion: The development of a creative business narrative, within the world of Fashion Image and Styling and at all levels of the industry, is among the most complex, yet most rewarding tasks within the marketplace. There are three components to this final unit, which showcases the skills and insight you’ve gained over the course of the degree:
    • Specialist Outcome & Presentation: you’ll create a substantial project that focuses on your area of professional interest and showcases your specialist skills. This work could be a body of editorial work, a series of films, photography or even a retail or installation project.
    • Research Document & Personal Development Planning Career Document: you’ll extend your research skills and complete your own career document. You will be expected to demonstrate and identify innovative forms of communication, and then use your creative skills to plan how you will realise and communicate your fashion concepts. Your planning career document is to support you in your professional practice after graduation.
    • Graduate Portfolio & Promotional Showcase: An online Graduate Portfolio and an emailable Promotional Showcase is the perfect place to promote your personal signature brand, which clearly expresses your individual strengths and skillsets. The projects selected to display in your portfolio must articulate imaginative and professional methods of communication and should be related to a career direction.

Specifications

• Course information 2025/26 entry
• Student regulations

Fees & Funding

• UK: £9,535
• EU: £9,535 (see fee discount information)
• International: £17,500

Facilities & Equipment

• On campus there are campus printmaking workshops with dedicated technical support, photographic studios with professional lighting rigs, and digital media suites equipped with Macs and PCs, programmed with specialist design software.

Entry & Portfolio Requirements

• UK:
  • 240 credits from a relevant degree (120 credits at level 4 and 120 credits at level 5), with a minimum of 55% overall
  • Foundation Degree in a relevant subject
  • Higher National Diploma in a relevant subject
  • Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)
• International and EU:
  • Non-UK equivalent qualifications
  • English language requirements

English Language Requirements

• To study at UCA, you'll need to have a certain level of English language skill. Please check the level of English language required.

Program Outline

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Degree Overview:

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Studio Practice (Fashion Image & Styling) (top-up) BA (Hons):

This one-year intensive program builds upon an existing foundation degree or HND to equip students with specialist skills and knowledge for careers in fashion image and styling.

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Objectives:

• Gain specialist skills in fashion styling and image making
• Develop a strong understanding of the global fashion industry and its diverse roles
• Hone research skills, critical thinking, ethical judgement, and cultural knowledge
• Enhance communication, teamwork, and project management capabilities

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Description:

Taught by experienced academics and industry professionals, the course delves into industry commissions, professional roles, and insights from leading industry figures. It allows students to develop, refine, and contextualize their work within various industry outputs and working models.

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Key Features:

• One-year intensive program
• Builds upon an existing foundation degree or HND
• Focus on specialist skills and knowledge in fashion image and styling
• Taught by industry professionals and experienced academics
• Collaborative opportunities with related programs
• Develops a wide range of transferable skills
• Prepares graduates for diverse roles in the global fashion industry

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Outline:

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Year One (Equivalent Level to Year 3 of BA Course):

• Project Pitch: Develop and refine project ideas for the final year.
• Innovation for Industry: Address industry-relevant research questions through innovative approaches.
• Critical Thinking for Publication: Develop and publish creative content for a specific platform.
• Creative Direction for Fashion: Develop a business narrative for fashion image and styling.
• Specialist Outcome & Presentation: Showcase specialist skills through a substantial project.
• Research Document & Personal Development Planning Career Document: Extend research skills and plan professional development.

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Careers:

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Potential Career Paths:

• Fashion stylist
• Image consultant
• Fashion editor
• Creative director
• Personal stylist
• Fashion photographer
• Visual merchandiser
• Brand manager

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Opportunities and Outcomes:

Graduates are equipped with the skills and knowledge to pursue diverse careers in the global fashion industry. They are prepared to work in various roles, from high street retail to luxury brands, and possess the ability to adapt to evolving industry demands.

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Other:

• The program emphasizes the development of transferable skills, including research, critical thinking, and communication.
• Students have access to state-of-the-art facilities, including printmaking workshops, photographic studios, and digital media suites.

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• BA (top-up) course: £9,250
• BA (top-up) course: £9,250 (see fee discount information)
• BA (top-up) course: £16,950