BA(Hons) Fashion Design degree course – one of top seven in UK
The University’s BA(Hons) Fashion Design with Marketing and Production has been accredited by Creative Skillset
Tue, 11 Feb 2014 15:16:00 GMT
Fashion Design with Marketing and Production achieves Creative Skillset accreditation
Outfit designed by Jessica Renner, photographed by Alex Beldea.
THE University of Huddersfield has been confirmed as an elite institution for fashion design degree courses. It is one of a small group that has won a new and prestigious accreditation from a major industry body.
After a rigorous selection process, the University’s BA(Hons) Fashion Design with Marketing and Production has been accredited by Creative Skillset. Since 1995 this organisation’s ‘Tick’ programme has been established as the principal accreditation for Higher Education courses in fields such as film, radio, TV, computer graphics and advertising. Now the programme has been extended to include fashion and is described as “the industry’s new kitemark of excellence for undergraduate fashion design courses”.
In the first phase of accreditation, 23 UK institutions applied, but just seven made it through the demanding process, which was overseen by leading figures from the fashion industry.
Creative Skillset’s verdict on the University of Huddersfield’s BA(Hons) Fashion Design with Marketing and Production programme included praise for the impressive employability rate of graduates from a course with “a creative approach to design where innovative, traditional and computerised pattern cutting, as well as illustration, is central to all work.”
It is stated that “students’ work books were beautifully presented and backed up by detailed technical reports which particularly impressed employers offering work experience. 
The course secures the best jobs on graduation
The University of Huddersfield’s Head of Fashion and Textiles, Dr Kevin Almond, said he was delighted by the accreditation.
“The philosophy of our fashion design courses has always been based on the skills that we teach and I think that this is real recognition of what we have been doing since we started 20 years ago.
“What we try to do is instil a love of all the activities involved in making clothes as well as designing them,” continued Dr Almond. “The two things are integral – a designer can’t design something unless they really understand how to make a pattern, how to make the first sample and all of the technical activities involved.”
Students who choose the course often secure the best jobs on graduation, said Dr Almond. “The industry is crying out for good design people who have got a really great understanding and technical skills.”
Outfit designed by Jessica Renner, photographed by Alex Beldea.
Rigorous process for selection
The Course Leader for the BA(Hons) Fashion Design with Marketing and Production is Claire Evans, who successfully steered it through the Creative Skillset accreditation process. First she had to prepare a lengthy and detailed document and then make a presentation to a panel that included key figures from the industry, such as designers and entrepreneurs Betty Jackson CBE and Anne Tyrrell MBE.
“I took a lot of garments down and I had an hour to sell the course. It was quite a daunting task!” said Course Leader Claire Evans.
When it was learned that the University had passed this first phase, a Creative Skillset delegation headed by Anne Tyrrell came to Huddersfield for a day and quizzed staff and students about the course.
Eventually, it was learned that the Fashion Design with Marketing and Production was one of the small number of courses nationwide that would receive the first accreditations.
“It was an amazingly rigorous process and Creative Skillset really wanted to set the bar high,” said Claire Evans. “But now that the coveted Tick mark had been obtained, it will help the course to attract students and develop new links with the fashion industry.”
