The Textiles programme offers five specialisms: Printed, Knitted, Woven, Mixed Media Textiles, and Soft Systems. You’ll base your study within one of the specialisms.

Across our specialisms, we endeavour to extend your knowledge and experience of textiles using both individual and team project activities. Often we deliver these in conjunction with external industry partners to offer opportunities for professional engagement and practice.

In your first year you’ll take three units.

Studio Unit 1 (20 credits): Thinking through making: Materials, Tools + Narratives

This unit of study places you within your Textiles specialism (Knit, Weave, Print, Mixed Media, Soft Systems) and asks you to critically engage with the processes and methods of making/production. This includes aspects of materials, tools and models of practice. You undertake a series of technical challenges associated with the craft foundation and making aspects of your Textiles specialism.

You are expected to demonstrate understanding and competency with regard to these specialist skills in the production of the body of work for assessment.

As the unit progresses you are required to develop a unique and individual response to the project brief that goes beyond technical competency and demonstrates your creative capability to challenge the accepted boundaries of Textiles practice. You will develop your own conceptual frameworks for the development of their individual work. This is evidenced in a body of work that has an individual and unique expression in the use of colour and materials and demonstrates technical competency. The body of work will be presented and assessed towards the end of Term 1.

Studio Unit 2 (30 credits): Contextual Application + Location.

This unit sits across specialisms and asks you to elect a contextual platform to explore and challenge the location of your practice.

Elective platforms are offered that broadly reflect significant areas of Textile practice (Currently they are Colour, Materials and Finish or CMF , Body, Space, Gallery & Futures). There are both common and distinct approaches across the different platforms. Students need to recognise where there are overlaps between the platforms and where distinct understanding and approaches are required.

Elective project briefs are set for the contextual platforms that may be delivered in conjunction with another programme, industry or external partner.

You are expected to demonstrate appropriate understanding and competency with regard to your elected area of practice in the appropriate development of ideas and production of a body of work for assessment that responds to the given brief.

The context project work will be presented and assessed at group critiques either at the end of Term 2 or early in Term 3, depending on Easter dates.

Studio Unit 3 (10 credits): Individual Creative Identity

This unit of study builds on the knowledge, skills and experiences learnt through Studio Units 1 & 2 and asks the students to develop their individual creative identity through a period of independent study.

This will include the development of new research, proposals for the innovative development of the ideas and the ability to critically analyse their own work and that of others.

You are asked to present your work at group critiques in Term 3. During these crits the work will be assessed and students will be asked to comment on your overall progression during year 1.

Your second year will be devoted to independent study and the self-driven creation of work which challenges the boundaries of the discipline and builds on your creative identity.

All studio-based MA students follow a weekly schedule of Critical & Historical Studies (CHS), a College-wide initiative that provides you with the intellectual framework to build a coherent relationship between theory and practice.

CHS delivers exciting, thought-provoking and inspiring lectures by experts within the programme and high-profile visiting lecturers. You’ll have the opportunity to explore the theoretical background and aspects of your chosen discipline through a tutored dissertation process, as well as receiving individual tutorial support from our team of expert tutors.