MA Entrepreneurship: Fashion & Creative Industries

This industry-focused programme aims to give you the confidence to plan, develop and launch your own start-up business by the time you have completed the course. You will be equipped with the relevant transferable professional skills and be capable of producing industry-appropriate business propositions.

This is a broad and forward-thinking programme that examines a range of areas within the fashion and creative industries. You are encouraged to identify opportunities in the market and propose your own business solutions using relevant innovative and traditional start-up models and methods.

The emphasis is on developing the right industry knowledge and practical business skills to establish and develop a sustainable creative business.

You will be supported in your transition from student to business owner (or employee), connecting theory, business models, academic study and industry-thinking with the world of business and entrepreneurship in the creative industries. You will acquire an approach to learning that allows you to advance your knowledge and develop new skills to a high level upon graduation.

Highlights of the Course

• Access to professional industry mentors both from Condé Nast Publications and the wider fashion industry.
• The option to launch your own business before you complete the course.
• The opportunity to learn how to set up or develop your business using contemporary methods combining theory and practical professional skills.
• Outstanding industry speakers.
• Careers advice.

Programme Structure

This course is also available as a part-time course delivered over two years, structured as eight 10-week terms.

Modules on the MA Entrepreneurship

Brand Communication & Marketing Strategy

This module introduces you to contemporary communication methods used within the fashion and creative industries to sell their brands. You will examine successful communication strategies and explore the formats, technologies and themes brands use to target their markets. The module also provides opportunities for you to develop visual communication and the software skills required for successful brand communication.

Creative Entrepreneurship

This exciting module introduces you to the world of entrepreneurship, examining key considerations and challenges in the fashion and creative industries. You will also explore a range of entrepreneurial business models and theories, and be able to evaluate the attributes and strategies used by successful entrepreneurs and their value within global economies. While learning to recognise market opportunities in the fashion and creative industries, you will apply models of reflective practice to encourage you to recognise your own personal traits, qualities and skills.

Critical Research: Understanding Audiences

You will be introduced to a range of research methods and techniques used to develop an insight into audiences to enhance your ability to think critically and analytically. This is essential to underpin your creative practice, market understanding while maintaining an academic focus.

Business & Financial Modelling for Creative Industries

This module aims to help you develop a business plan that will attract investment from potential stakeholders and act as a guide for launching a new venture. The planning undertaken at this stage will underpin the final entrepreneurship project, when the concept will be developed further, in readiness for launch.

Final Masters Project

This module provides you with the opportunity to combine theory and practice by bringing together all the knowledge you have gained throughout the course and applying it practically to the launch of a new business. By further developing and preparing to launch your own fashion- or creative-industry business, you will build on the business ideas, market research, branding and financial planning carried out during the course. You will also continue to develop your skills in project management and leadership.

You will develop your own individual briefs and clearly set out your project aims and objectives. You may choose to work in consultation with an external business partner or collaborator, arrangements for which will be made with your project supervisors. All students will be given the option to have an industry mentor throughout this module.

Entry Requirements

Students must be aged at least 18 years old on 31st August at the start of the academic year in which they intend to join this course. An academic year runs 1st September-31st August annually. For the duration of the academic year, a student is considered to be their academic age for admissions purposes, regardless of when their birthday falls within that academic year.

An honours degree, preferably at 2:1 or above, or an equivalent EU/international qualification.

You are not required to have a business concept to apply for this course.

Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)

Exceptional applicants who do not meet the standard entry requirements may still be considered through APEL if they can extensively demonstrate the skills and capacity necessary for academic study at postgraduate level. Sometimes experience is as beneficial as what is learnt in a classroom. The admissions and academic teams will consider applications that show exceptional strengths and alternative evidence, which may include:

• Work experience
• Non-accredited courses
• Extensive reading and research
• A brilliant, relevant and credible personal statement
• An exceptionally strong academic or professional reference
• OR a combination of these

Each application will be considered on its own merit, although we cannot guarantee every applicant an offer.

English Language Requirements

IELTS level 6.5 or above or equivalent Secure English Language Test (SELT)

Selection Criteria

We select applicants according to potential and current ability in the following areas:

• A strong personal identity
• The potential to benefit from the course
• Excellent communication skills
• Evidence of motivation and commitment

How to Apply for the MA Entrepreneurship Programme

All applicants are required to complete the online application form using the “Apply now” button.

To join the course, you are not required to have a fully formed business idea as part of the course consists of researching and developing an idea for a new business. However, if you do already have a business idea, please provide a basic summary of the concept as part of your application.

Successful applicants will be invited to the College for an interview.

If you have any questions, please email the Admissions Team

For the MA degrees, applicants are required to submit their application no later than six weeks before the course starts. 

Although the focus of the MA is on entrepreneurship and encourages students to launch their own business, the skills gained on the course are also highly relevant to the increasingly broad range of job opportunities in today’s fashion and creative industries. Entrepreneurial qualities are particularly valued in these highly creative and visionary industries.

Possible Career Options Include:

• Launching a business / start-up
• Business director
• Business management
• Marketing
• Branding
• Buying
• Merchandising
• Retail management

The unique positioning of the College and range of industry contacts provide numerous opportunities for you to pursue work-experience placements and internships in relevant career areas, and the College careers advisors are always on hand to support you during and after the course. Not only does the College have contacts within the Condé Nast Publications and Condé Nast International networks, it also has links with major fashion houses and other leading lifestyle and creative businesses.

For more information on careers, please visit our Careers in Fashion webpage.

Paying the Course Fee

In order to confirm and secure a place on this course, students will be asked to pay a deposit of £1,200 at the point of receiving an offer from us.

UK students can pay the tuition fee in instalments throughout the year.

International students will be asked to pay their course fee in full in advance of arriving at the College and prior to the issue of a confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).

For complete fees information visit Terms and Conditions

Bursaries & Alternative Funding

There are no bursaries or funding options currently available for this course.

Additional Course Costs

There is an optional study trip abroad that is not covered by the course fee. This takes place in the spring and further information is provided at the start of the course.

Alumni Discount

Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design offers course fee reduction to our alumni.

For more information visit Terms and Conditions

Studying & Living in London

For more information on the costs of living in London – including accommodation advice – please see our Accommodation and Living Costs pages.

You will be studying this course with the only UK fashion education provider that operates from within the fashion industry. This exceptional environment provides you with a unique perspective on learning how to set up a business and how businesses in fashion and the creative industries operate, as well as providing access to numerous experts in their fields.

With weekly guest speakers from a broad range of professions within the fashion and creative industries, you will be learning directly from the best in the industry.

The Campus

Condé Nast College is situated in a historic building at Bedford Square, in Central London.

The area was built between 1775 and 1783 and is one of the best preserved set pieces of Georgian architecture in London.

The square has had many illustrious residents including Lord Eldon, one of Britain’s longest-serving and most celebrated Lord Chancellors, who lived in the largest house in the square for many years. Other famous residents include the second Duke of Devonshire; William Butterfield, an architect; and H H Asquith, a former Prime Minister.

The square takes its name from the main title of the Russell family, the Dukes of Bedford, who owned much of the land in what is now Bloomsbury.

Bedford Square is in the heart of Bloomsbury, an exciting area for academia and the arts; originally made famous by Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Set.

The College is a short walk from the headquarters of Condé Nast, as well as Vogue House, which our students visit as part of their exposure to the professional world.

Who Teaches at the Condé Nast College?

The academic team at the College offer an unrivalled knowledge of the fashion sector; they are kept constantly up to date through their unique industry links. Staff encourage students to think independently and critically, and individual students’ skill sets and strengths are nurtured and supported throughout the course.

Visiting Lecturers & Guest Speakers

During your course, you will also be taught by our academic staff as well as industry guests and visiting lecturers.

• Osman Ahmed, senior editorial associate at The Business of Fashion
• Georgia Murray, fashion editor at Refinery29
• Nova Dando, creative director
• Aled John, head of business development at Condé Nast International
• Paul Nesbitt, head of audience research at Condé Nast International
• Dr Kate Nelson Best, fashion and media scholar

Students on the programme also have access to the College-wide industry lecture programme that takes place once a week. Previous industry speakers have included:

Adwoa Aboah, Miles Aldridge, Victoria Beckham, Nicholas Coleridge, Anna Dello Russo, Edward Enninful, Bella Freud, Sarah Harris, Tommy Hilfiger, Anya Hindmarch, Henry Holland, Caroline Issa, Lulu Kennedy, Yasmin Le Bon, Natalie Massenet, Tamara Mellon, Suzy Menkes, Roland Mouret, Kate Phelan and Matthew Williamson.