The course
- Delivery
- Full-time, Part-time, Per course
- Course type
- Taught
- Location
- Scottish Borders
- Entry date
- September
This innovative course looks at the current and future areas of ethics in fashion research, production and design practice.
Contact
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Contact
Catherine Fenton
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Telephone
+44 (0)1896 89 2225
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Contact
Admissions
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Telephone
+44 (0)131 451 4657
Overview
Our MSc Ethics in Fashion is research led, and focuses on analysing the industry, whilst also exploring changes in practice and the diversity of stakeholders in the supply-chain.
It’s aimed at ethically-aware graduates, and established professionals, with a background in fashion, textiles, design, source management and corporate affairs. The course offers you the chance to refresh and extend your current knowledge and skills, using the outstanding fashion and textile facilities that we have to offer.
The MSc Ethics in Fashion is taught at our Scottish Borders Campus in Galashiels. To find out more about this subject, visit the School pages.
Course length
The full-time course starts in mid September and lasts one year. The course can also be taken part-time over two years.
Our students
The taught programme has been created for those wanting to work, or already working in the fashion and textiles industries, in design, sourcing management, buying, journalism and corporate affairs. The qualification provides a set of fresh perspectives and insights for an existing first degree qualification, or relevant experience in any of the above areas or similar for those wanting to be part of the dynamic changing industries.
Industry links
The School of Textiles and Design, and the research staff have strong global industry and NGO links in design, corporate social responsibility reporting and corporate affairs, social enterprise. In addition teaching staff are Fellows of the Fellowship of 500, in the Ethical Fashion Forum. There are both courses, and research opportunities to work with local and international industry.
The programme has been designed to utilise selected core postgraduate courses offered within the School and introducing courses specific to Ethics in Fashion, thus encouraging inter-disciplinary participation and discourse, and membership of the a growing research community.
It’s excellent to see Heriot-Watt taking a lead in this key area. Brands and manufacturers are increasingly keyed into such topics and consumers are of course hugely engaged. We need designers and others in the fashion business who can integrate ethical thinking into their products.
A Masters of Science on Ethics in Fashion is exactly what was missing in fashion education. Sustainability and ethics are key issues for this industry. Those who are not able respect people and the environment in their supply chain cannot stay in the sector for long. Today, all major players have a CSR officer integrated in their business, a profile that didn’t exist until a few years ago. Having this MSc is a true work of innovation.
Objectives
- Analyse the ethics in supply-chain practice
- Speculate on, and develop, effective methods of communicating ethics
- Identify and map outcomes and consequences of unethical and ethical practice
- Speculate and apply new criteria within the supply-chain
- Analyse the motivations and roles of consumers in the ethics discourse and practice
- Identify best practice models across the traditional fashion and textiles industries, social enterprise and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
- Research independently the role of ethics in fashion practice and theory