Key information
Challenge traditional and contemporary uses of fashion and textiles and create opportunities to promote new approaches and processes in fashion and textiles.
- Level
- Postgraduate Taught
- Delivery type
- Full Time, Part Time
- Degree qualification
- Postgraduate MA
- Mode of delivery
- On-Campus
- Duration
- 1 year
- Location
- Scottish Borders
- Start date
- September, January
Our MA Fashion and Textile Design gives you the opportunity to explore concepts and contemporary topics in design, fashion and textiles through practice-based learning and an in-depth study of design. You’ll challenge traditional and contemporary uses of fashion and textiles and look at ways to create opportunities to promote new approaches and processes in fashion and textiles.
The postgraduate master’s degree is aimed at those with an art and design background, who are looking to challenge established practice and offer new insights. The programme allows you to study an area of fashion and textiles that interests you most, while you work on inter-disciplinary projects and reflect on the creative collaborations between subject areas within the School of Textiles and Design, to foster design innovation.
You’ll gain the knowledge, skills and competencies to meet the diverse demands of the fashion and textile industries and develop an inter-disciplinary understanding of key issues relating to the design, management, and innovation in fashion and textiles. You’ll gain the necessary attributes to set you up for a successful career upon graduation.
Upon completion of the programme, you’ll emerge a competent and confident professional ready to tackle the global fashion and textiles industries with an in-depth understanding of the creative process and its management in both international and local contexts.
Your student experience
Your learning will be informed by our Fashion, Textiles and Design faculty and staff, whose work covers many key areas including:
- Smart Nanotextiles – Nanofibres and Nanoyarns
- Fashion Technology
- Fashion Sustainability
- Design Innovation
- Printed Textile Design
- Medical Compression Design
- Textile and Apparel Supply Chain Management
- Brand Management and Marketing
- Garment Making and Pattern Cutting
Go Global
With Go Global, Heriot-Watt's global student programme, you can carry your studies to new places and experience new cultures, expanding your horizons on the way. You'll discover what it means to be a true global citizen and emerge prepared for wherever your career journey will take you.
Inter-Campus Transfer
Course content
September Intake - Scottish Borders
Mandatory September
- Design Thinking and Innovation
- Fashion and Textiles - Experimentation and Research
Optional September
- Textile materials and sustainability
- Sustainable Design & Management
Mandatory January
- Fashion and Textiles Development and Practice
- Research Methodologies
Optional January
- Design Technologies
- Business Enterprise
Mandatory May
- Masters Design Collection
January Intake - Scottish Borders
Mandatory January
- Fashion and Textiles Development and Practice
- Research Methodologies
Optional January
- Design Technologies
- Business Enterprise
Mandatory September
- Design Thinking and Innovation
- Fashion and Textiles - Experimentation and Research
Optional September
- Sustainable Design & Management
- Textile materials and sustainability
Mandatory Second January
- Masters Design Collection
Fees and funding
| Status | Full Time | Part Time |
|---|---|---|
| UK | £10,528 | £5,264 |
| International | £19,816 | £9,908 |
- Status: Your residency status is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course.
- International: 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland - see above).
Additional information
Note: the fees indicated above will apply if you begin your studies in September. If you choose to join us in January instead, the fees below will apply.
January 2025 intake tuition fees
| Status | Full Time | Part Time |
|---|---|---|
| UK | £9,152 | £4,576 |
| International | £19,056 | £9,528 |
- Status: Your residency status is usually defined as the country where you have been ordinarily resident for the three years before the start of your course.
- International: 'International' includes applicants from European Union countries who do not hold Pre-Settled or Settled status in UK. (This does not include students from the Republic of Ireland).
Scholarships and bursaries
Postgraduate scholarships and bursaries
We aim to encourage well-qualified, ambitious students to study with us and we offer a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries to achieve this. Over £6 million worth of opportunities are available in fee and stipend scholarships, and more than 400 students benefit from this support.
Entry requirements
We have standard entry requirements for all of our courses that you will have to meet.
A minimum of a 2:2 honours degree or non-UK equivalent. A portfolio, or other supporting evidence that demonstrates an understanding of design-led processes and outcomes. Examples may be fashion and/or textiles design, but other evidence demonstrating a broad base of creative practice is equally considered. Evidence of creative-related experience from a work environment is also encouraged. Please include your CV as part of your application.
Why Heriot-Watt
We're the top university in Scotland for graduate outcomes which means that more of our graduates are employed or in postgraduate education than any other institution in the country and we ranked 5th in the UK.
We're also rated number one in the UK for CEO or MD roles, meaning more of our graduates go on to become CEOs or MDs than any other university in the whole of the UK. On top of that, we have beautiful campuses, across the globe, so you'll get a truly international education. Our Edinburgh Campus is home to Oriam, Scotland's National Sports Performance Centre combined with plenty of wellbeing resources, prioritising fitness and mental health for all students. Our Global Research Institutes look at solving real world issues such as climate change and saving our oceans as well as working on the next medical technological breakthrough and the future of AI and robots.
Student life
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