Key information
This highly creative textiles course balances theory and practice in fabric design methodology and fabric production techniques.
- Programme code
- W232
- Level
- Undergraduate
- Delivery type
- Full Time
- Degree qualification
- BA (Hons)
- Mode of delivery
- On-Campus
- Duration
- 4 years
- Location
- Scottish Borders
- Start date
- September
Our BA (Hons) Design for Textiles (Fashion, Interior, Art) programme will provide you with an expertise in designing and producing innovative fabrics for a variety of outcomes. You’ll be encouraged to develop your own visual handwriting and taught how to translate and express this using a variety of media.
At the core of your textile design education is an appreciation of raw materials, innovation in technique, learning an in-depth design process, and how to design sustainably and responsibly to meet both the global and local challenges we face.
The programme underpins originality and innovation with a strong technological understanding, so graduates are well equipped to join industry and make a meaningful contribution to the field. Recent graduate destinations include designers for printed, woven and knitted fashion and furnishing fabrics, accessories, wall coverings, gallery pieces, greeting cards, gift wrap and stationery, new textile product development, trend prediction and colour forecasting, entrepreneurs, practitioners, and educators in sustainable textile design including visible mending.
The combination of general textile lectures with teaching in innovation and design process, will boost your knowledge in both traditional and cutting-edge approaches. You’ll acquire an understanding and knowledge of knitted, woven and printed textiles, digital and Computer-Aided Design (CAD) technologies, marketing strategy, and sustainable practices within the fashion, interior, and textile art industries. This will enable you to respond effectively to the design challenges facing textile and related companies and apply your designs skills to the current and future needs of industry, making you highly employable upon graduation.
In your third year, you will have the opportunity to specialise in print, weave, or knit and either complete an industry placement or a collaborative industry project. Staff will support you in securing placement opportunities or in answering the collaborative design brief. This experience will further develop your knowledge and experience of working with industry and build upon your existing practical and theoretical skills providing you with invaluable industry experience for your CV. During your placement or project, you will have the perfect opportunity to make industry contacts and take another step towards your dream career. In addition, you will have opportunities to travel internationally, such as optional field trips to Paris for Premier Vision or Milan for Fashion Week, or to study abroad via our many well-established exchange programmes to the USA, India, or France to gain a global perspective of the textile industry. Exchange opportunities exist with Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia in the USA, The Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC in the USA, the National Institute of Design in India, or at ENSAIT, Anger Cholet or Lyon in France.
In your fourth year, you will complete a textiles project, developing visual, written, and verbal evaluation skills, in response to your self-identified project/design brief. You’ll be required to demonstrate your mastery of textiles, by using colour, fabric making and finishing techniques to produce a contemporary design statement. This programme allows you to develop and apply your learned skills, techniques, and knowledge to undertake your honours project in your final year and build upon your specific interests in design for textiles, which culminates at our Graduate Showcase and normally exhibition at New Designers in London which are both well attended by industry professionals.
Your student experience
Your learning will be informed by our fashion, interiors, textiles, digital design, and marketing faculty and staff whose work covers many key areas including:
-
Smart Nanotextiles – Nano-fibres and Nanoyarns
-
Textile Product Development
-
Fashion Sustainability
-
Design Innovation
-
Printed Textile Design
-
Woven Textile Design
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Knitted Textile Design
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Medical Compression Design
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Textile and Apparel Supply Chain Management
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Brand Management and Marketing
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Digital CAD technologies
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.
European Exchange
Worldwide Exchange
Course content
September Intake - Scottish Borders
Build a foundation for your future development with a combination of lectures and practical classes designed to help you choose your specialism. Practical projects in printed, woven and knitted textiles and CAD are underpinned by design development projects covering areas such as drawing, painting and material manipulation. We encourage you to explore sampling and mixing techniques to discover a wealth of fabric outcomes.
Mandatory September
- Rethinking Design 2: Develop and Deliver
- Rethinking Design 1: Discover and Define
Mandatory January
- Textiles in Practice 1
- Textiles 1
Fees and funding
Status | Fee |
---|---|
Scotland | Paid by SAAS |
England / Wales / N Ireland / Rep of Ireland | £9,250 |
International | £19,456 |
- 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
Please note that there is an additional consumable fee, charged per year of study.
Scholarships and bursaries
Bursaries for students from England, Northern Ireland or Wales
In addition to government loans and grants towards the costs of fees and living costs, we are offering generous financial support to attract and support eligible undergraduate students from England, Northern Ireland or Wales:
- Heriot-Watt University Bursary (up to £3,100 per year)
Entry requirements
We have standard entry requirements for all of our courses that you will have to meet.
Standard entry requirements
- Highers ABBB (including English)
- A-Levels BCC
- Int. Baccalaureate 29 points
- BTEC DMM (in a relevant area)
- Please check that you meet our University-wide National 5/GCSE (or equivalent) English and Maths requirements.
- Please see below for details about Portfolio submission
Minimum entry requirements*
- Highers BBBC (including English)
- A-Levels BCC
* Minimum: under our Fair Access Policy, we will relax our standard entry requirements for some Scottish students depending on their circumstances. Our minimum requirements will apply if you:
- live in an area within the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation lowest 20% (SIMD20), or
- are care experienced.
We can also make exceptions for some Scottish students with grades above minimum but below standard. Read more about our Minimum and standard entry requirements.
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.
Employability
Work and study
Salary
Potential career paths
- Design occupations
- Information Technology Professionals
- Artistic, literary and media occupations
Student life
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