Fashion Journalism 1
Develop an eye for a good story and learn the most commonly used journalistic styles and areas of focus adopted by the contemporary fashion journalist, in this introductory unit. You’ll also learn the diverse range of platforms on which fashion is communicated, including new techniques and nuances such as broadcast journalism, podcasts and digital marketing. You will investigate the differences of styles between them, in terms of style, structure, focus and language.

Fashion Vocabulary
You’ll discover the language of fashion in this unit – the terminology and descriptive language a fashion journalist needs to help readers picture what you're discussing, going beyond the surface and appearance of accompanying visuals.

Fashion Media and Industry
You’ll learn about the industry itself and gain a greater awareness of complementary industries to fashion as well, on this reflective unit. You will be asked to choose one of three web-based projects to work on. The first is to produce a website promoting a fashion brand, a website featuring your own editorial work or a moving image website, such as a vlog. You will also investigate your work placement/study abroad opportunities for year two.

Introduction to Fashion History and Theory
Establishes the basic framework of historical knowledge. This is vital for developing a contextual understanding and also introduces the tools for visual and textual analysis. 

Fashion Journalism 2
Using research methodologies and techniques, you’ll develop your journalistic voice through four tasks – ‘trend’ feature, opinion piece, interview feature and investigative news feature – all set to a deadline as per industry expectations. You’ll learn how a headline and initial reportage can grab attention, and how taking care to use the right description, terminology and appropriate imagery can earn a reader’s trust.

Fashion Publishing
Using skills you have gained from the previous unit, you will work in groups to develop a vision for a new magazine, identify an appropriate audience and create a product aligning with both. As part of the process, you'll explore the typical structures and hierarchies of fashion titles across numerous platforms, and how they elicit information about their audiences.

Work Placement and Portfolio
Through a mandatory three-week work placement, either with the same or multiple providers, you'll experience the inner workings of your chosen sector of the industry first hand. Adopting the process of investigation, application, interviewing and participation, you'll then reflect on these experiences directly and through the production of a portfolio, allowing the input of these experiences to further shape your career pathway and/or aspirations for the future.

Theories of Culture, Identity and Communication
This unit introduces key issues and academic debates circulating in contemporary discussion of design culture. You’ll use interdisciplinary theories and methods for analysis, and take part in lively and contentious debates during seminars.

Study Abroad (optional)
This optional unit gives you the chance to spend time in an overseas educational institution.

Innovation in Fashion Publishing
You’ll select an area of fashion publishing, including (but not limited to) specific market sectors, platforms of dissemination, specific publishers or specific titles and conduct a detailed research analysis of its past and present, culminating in ideas for its future. You'll be encouraged, where possible, to take a more global perspective.

Final Major Project and Portfolio
You'll create what's fundamentally your own brief, producing two outcomes. The first is your Final Major Project – an independent print publication together with an online/digital version to marry in with it – and your portfolio, which will demonstrate your skills, abilities, motivations, interests and a personal manifesto of creative practice.

Dissertation
This is a period of self-directed individually-negotiated research on a subject related to the contextual and/or theoretical concerns of your discipline or chosen area of practice.

Or

Combined Dissertation and Critical Reflection
Consists of two periods of sustained, individually negotiated research on subjects which are likely to be related to the contextual and/ or theoretical concerns of your chosen areas of practice. This is towards the provision of structured argument. In the first section, you'll undertake a dissertation, by engaging with research appropriate to you chosen subject area. In the second, you'll undertake an individually negotiated project of critical research and reflection that provides a contextual framework for, and analysis of, your own practice and/or visual interests.

This course offers the opportunity to study abroad for part of your second year. To find out more about studying abroad as part of your course please see the Study Abroad section:

• Study abroad information

The course is taught by practising journalists and editors with a wide range of skills and experience working for newspapers, magazines, websites, blogs, broadcast and television, having worked for titles such as:

• Time Out
• Harrods
• Selfridges
• The Independent
• Metro
• The Sunday Times
• The Guardian
• InStyle
• The Daily Express
• The Sunday Express
• Channel 4 
• Topman
• Pop Magazine.

Fashion Journalism at our Epsom campus enjoys close fashion and creative industry links across multiple media and fashion companies, enabling students to undertake work placements with magazines such as:

• Elle
• Vogue
• Dazed and Confused
• Love
• InStyle.

Our students also undertake placements with:

• Independent magazines
• PR agencies
• Advertising agencies
• Model agencies
• High street brands
• Designer labels
• Individual stylists
• Creative directors
• Fashion designers.

In addition to this, our unique Core Lecture Programme invites guest speakers from different levels of industry, across a many different disciplines and backgrounds. Recent speakers have included editors, authors, photographers, stylists, curators and publishers.

Graduate employability from our Fashion Journalism degree is very high, as the transferable skills acquired throughout the course open the doors to a range of different roles within fashion and the wider creative industries. This course doesn’t just produce writers and journalists, but also marketing and PR professionals, and digital and social media content managers. Graduates have also pursued careers in fashion styling and buying. Examples of graduate destinations include:

• Net-a-Porter
• Oasis
• Liberty
• The Tate
• Bloomingdales
• The Financial Times
• The Metro
• John Lewis
• Jigsaw UK
• Harrods
• Grazia
• Glamour
• Harper’s Bazaar
• Men’s Health
• ASOS
• Dazed & Confused
• The Huffington Post.