BA (Hons) Fashion Communication & Industry Practice

The two-year programme takes place over 8 terms with transition from level 4 to level 5 taking place in term 3, and transition from level 5 to 6, taking place in term 6.

The course offers a unique blend combining academic rigour and industry engagement with practical and professional skills acquisition, drawing on the expertise of Condé Nast Publications and the College’s wide network of industry professionals.

You are encouraged to develop your understanding of how the fast-paced and ever-changing fashion and media industries operate, and to consider your potential future role within these industries.

Course Schedule Year 1

Course Structure

Exceptional ideas and eye-opening perspectives come from everywhere and anywhere. We are looking for those of you who want to learn about the fashion and media industries and believe you may have something important to say about the future direction of fashion.  If you would like to join our broad community of students, academics, industry professionals, and alumni…if you value imagination, creativity, and innovation and are open to new ideas, then this could be the course for you.

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.

The standard entry requirements for this course are:

• Three A-levels graded BBB, or an equivalent EU / international qualification
• GCSE English and Maths at Grade C (4) or above
• Aged 18 years or older on the first day of the course

The College also accepts equivalent qualifications, such as BTEC and International Baccalaureate Diploma qualifications; the preferred International Baccalaureate (IB) score is between 28-32.

Condé Nast College students who have completed a Vogue Fashion Certificate or Foundation Programme can also apply for this course.

Completion of a Diploma in Foundation Studies (Art & Design or Art, Design & Media) also fulfils the entry requirements.

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 demonstrate the skills and capacity necessary for academic study at this 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 and for those who require student visa Secure English Language Test for UKVI.

Full information can be found on our International Students page.

Application Deadline

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

Application Form & Reference

To apply for the BA (Hons) Fashion Communication & Industry Practice degree, you can apply directly to us using the “Apply direct” button. Alternatively, you can apply via UCAS.

Apply directly to Condé Nast College

Apply via UCAS – our course code is W230.

All applicants for the BA (Hons) Fashion Communication & Industry Practice will need to provide an appropriate academic reference. This needs to be submitted with your application.

Referee Considerations

When choosing a referee, please consider the following:

• If possible, your referee should be someone who knows you academically. If you are currently (or were recently) in education, your reference should be from a tutor, teacher, lecturer or head of school/department.
• If you have not been in education in the past two to three years, please ask an employer, placement or volunteering supervisor, or trainer.
• Do not ask family, friends or current/past partners to write you a reference – the referee must know you in a professional or educational context.
• The reference should discuss your suitability for the course and for higher education, and include your work ethic, interaction with other students and whether a future career in the fashion industry is for you.
• If you are an A-level student and your reference is from a teacher, they should also add your predicted grades.

Portfolio

Along with your application, you are also required to submit a portfolio of your visual and/or written work that shows your interest in the fashion industry. If you are applying through UCAS, you will need to send this to us separately at admissions@condenastcollege.ac.uk.

Portfolio Guidelines

We are looking for a collection of examples that show creative and written work. This can include work completed for current or previous studies along with pieces undertaken specifically for an application for the BA FCIP at Condé Nast College.

A portfolio should include work that enables us to assess both intellectual and creative abilities. We look for individuals who show the commitment and self-discipline required to produce work to the highest standards.

Portfolio Overview

Listed below are suggestions to help when collating a body of work to submit as a digital portfolio alongside an application:

• Drawing and artwork illustrations which reflect the use of different media and use of colour – think also about form and composition
• Research-based sketchbooks/notebooks / annotated visual diaries, showing a working process and contextual and/or historical research and understanding
• Written work, ideally fashion-related – blogs, articles, essays, journalistic/analytical reviews, etc
• Examples that demonstrate an understanding of different software programs relevant to the course
• Examples of image-making, e.g., photographic work, styling, scenography, and filmmaking
• Evidence of creative problem-solving
• A willingness to engage on a variety of topical and cultural issues.

A portfolio is an opportunity to demonstrate and professionally present a diversity of creative and intellectual skills, and innovative work. We want to see evidence of creativity and originality, along with a commitment to exploring the fashion, media, and luxury lifestyle industries. 

Where examples of work do not already exist in line with the above suggestions, self-directed projects undertaken for the purpose of creating a portfolio can be submitted using these points as guidelines.

Undergraduate Portfolio Requirements

We’ll require a digital portfolio of 10-15 quality pieces of work that reflect strengths aligned with the scope of the course. Using the above guidelines to help curate a small body of work, we’d like to see a selection that MUST INCLUDE:

1. At least TWO written pieces of work (minimum of 800 words each). One-piece should comment on a relevant fashion or media issue or topic, and the other piece can be of an applicant’s choosing.
2. At least TWO creative pieces of work which could relate to the following types:

• Photographic work
• Videography work
• Styling
• Concepts for magazine covers or pages
• Illustrations and drawings, graphics, infographics
• Research, sketchbooks, and work in progress – try to show processes and creative problem solving

Applicants are free to choose further works to complete the required number of pieces of work that best represent their skills, potential, and career aspiration. If work is going to be sent off for assessment on a current course, please try to ensure photographs are taken of it beforehand so that it can be included in the digital portfolio for this course,

Portfolio Submission

Portfolios should be submitted as one file/body of work, ideally as a PDF with links to any pieces (such as videos) which cannot be displayed within the document, and should be included with an online application.

We can also accept portfolios in the form of a website/blog/video; a document with a link to the relevant portfolio format should be submitted within the application in place of a PDF portfolio document.

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Interview

Applicants who have successfully completed the first stage of the application process will be invited for an interview (either in person, or via Zoom for students unable to attend) by email. The interview typically lasts 20 to 30 minutes and will aim to assess your suitability for the course. It is paramount that you use this opportunity to show imagination, creative thinking and professional ambitions. Above all, you need to show that you can communicate your ideas and thoughts about fashion in three ways – visually, verbally and in writing. The College is looking for students that will actively contribute to the course and take an original approach to their work.

Soon after the interview, we will write to inform you of the status of your application. If you are offered a place, you must confirm (in writing) that you wish to accept our offer. We will then send you the invoice for your tuition fee, and you must pay a non-refundable deposit of £1,200 to secure your place on the course.

Contact

For further information or any queries regarding entry requirements or admissions, please contact the Admissions Office.

In order to confirm and secure your place on the course, you will be asked to pay a deposit of £1,200 when you receive your offer. The deposit option is not available if booking within six weeks of the course start date.

UK students can pay the tuition fee in instalments over the two years of the course.

International students will be asked to pay their first year course fee in full and in advance of arriving at the College.

Tuition fees can rise each year in response to market conditions.

Please note that the Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design is not currently eligible for students to receive loans from Student Finance while they are studying here.

The College offers a limited number of means-tested bursaries for this course, which cover the full fee. These are available to lower-income households only. For information on our bursaries, please visit our fees and funding page.

Additional Course Costs

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

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

Alumni Discount

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

For more information visit Terms and Conditions

“We look forward to welcoming the very brightest and most able of the College’s students onto our highly coveted work experience programmes.”

Hazel McIntyre, HR Director at Condé Nast Publications

With our unique access to the fashion industry, the College prepares students for employment through live industry projects and work placements, and provides expert career advice to students and graduates.

The technological developments of recent years have driven new opportunities in the Fashion Communication sector, and there is no longer such a distinct separation between fashion media and fashion retail. Professionals now move seamlessly between editorial roles and positions with major fashion brands and retailers, and this shift has greatly widened the scope of available careers.

Students on this course will also have access to our Career Services including, but not limited to:

• Strengths testing
• CV editing
• Mock Interviews
• Career path planning

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

Previous students graduating from our BA (Hons) Fashion Communication degree have gone on to work at:

• Condé Nast
• Vogue
• Glamour
• Aisle 8
• Net-A-Porter
• Harvey Nichols

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 insight into fashion communication in all its forms, as well as providing access to numerous unrivalled 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 of Fashion & Design?

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

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, Matthew Williamson and many more.