No matter what your background, if you want a career in the exciting fashion andclothing industries then our MSc courses are for you! Our aim is to give you theskills necessary to gain entry into management positions in the industry. You will begiven an overview of aspects of business, marketing and fashion technologies, thenchoose to specialise in one area!

Hollings FacultyDepartment of Clothing Design and Technology

MSc International Fashion MarketingMSc Strategic Fashion Buying

MSc Clothing Product Development1 year full-time or 3–5 years part-time

Course Content

In order to proceed to management levelroles you will need a thoroughunderstanding of all aspects of the fashionindustry to help you make strategicdecisions in the workplace. The firstthree units that you study from Septemberto January are aimed at providing youwith this broad knowledge.

Fashion Business – 20 creditsn By studying this unit you will acquire anoverview of the business aspects of thefashion and clothing industry, such as

financial management and corporatecontrol, in both the UK and overseas.You will also explore some of therelationships that exist in thecontemporary apparel supply chains.

Fashion Marketing – 20 creditsn This unit will enable you to understandmarketing strategies and conceptsspecific to the fashion industry. It willhelp you understand how businessorganisations work and why certainfashion companies or organisations aresuccessful while others are not.

Fashion Technology – 20 creditsn In this unit you will become familiarwith the technology involved in garmentpreparation and development. You willresearch clothing product development,CAD technologies, textiles andanthropometrics.

Once you have this broad knowledge ofthe different aspects of the industry youcan build upon it by specialising in one ofthree areas, either: International FashionMarketing, Strategic Fashion Buying orClothing Product Development. Thespecialist area you choose will reflect the

title of your final award. So from Januaryto May you will choose between thefollowing units:

International Fashion Marketing – 40 creditsn During the study of this unit you willdevelop an understanding of thestrategic relationship betweeninternational retail fashion marketingand logistics. You will be able todemonstrate a critical understandingand application of marketing knowledgerelating to the factors affecting theglobal fashion industry. or

Strategic Fashion Buying – 40 creditsn At the end of this unit you will be ableto demonstrate your criticalunderstanding and application offashion buying, incorporating thestructure and dynamics of aninternational fashion supply chain. or

Advanced Product Development – 40creditsn This unit provides the opportunity foryou to demonstrate your in depthknowledge and understanding ofadvanced product technology. You willcover theoretical aspects of productdevelopment as well as new andemerging technologies in materials,CAD and the development andmanagement of clothing products.

During the whole of the period fromSeptember to May your learning will beunderpinned by a study of relevantresearch methodologies through:

Research Methods – 20 creditsn MSc level work involves understandingappropriate research methods andhaving an ability to apply them toselected issues and this unit isdesigned to support you as you movefrom undergraduate academic activitiesto operate at Masters’ level.

Between May and September, oncompletion of the taught elements of the

programme, you are required to prepareand submit a substantial piece of personalresearch carried out independently.

Dissertation – 60 creditsn This is a substantial piece of individual,personal research, in the region of15,000 to 20,000 words, which is carriedout independently by the student withsupport of an academic tutor. It allowsyou to demonstrate your abilities toevaluate and analyse both primary andsecondary research related to a specificsubject area and present validconclusions to that research.

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching consists of a series of lectures,seminars, tutorials and practical basedworkshops. These are supported bydemonstrations, discussions, grouptutorials, presentations and self-study

sessions. Study visits to fashion capitalsand international trade fairs are usuallyorganised where the researchopportunities support the content of theprogrammes.

Assessment practices vary but examplesinclude: examinations, written courseworkassignments in the form of term papers,group or individual presentations,practical based research projects and theindividual dissertation.

Careers

Due to the vocational nature of ourMasters courses, we find that ourgraduates are highly employable and theyare qualified to enter a range of roles inthe fashion industry. Graduates havetypically found career opportunities inmarketing, manufacture, retailing andproduct development with recentgraduates having found positions invarious worldwide locations including theNetherlands, Hong Kong, China,Australia, Japan and Europe.

International Students

We welcome applications frominternational students who will berequired to demonstrate a sufficiently highstandard of English language ability.Applicants from outside the UK shouldprovide evidence of their competence inthe use of written and spoken English, forexample: IELTS 6.5, TOEFL 575, TOEFLCBT 233, TOEFL IBT 90.

MMU International offers advice andsupport to international applicants andworks with a number of overseasrepresentatives who call tell you moreabout Manchester Metropolitan Universityin your own country.

The Faculty offers English languagesupport for all international studentsthroughout their period of study. Thissupport is provided via lectures andworkshop sessions in academic English

Study period: September – May

Research Methods 20 credits

Study period: September – January

Fashion Business 20 credits

Fashion Marketing 20 credits

Fashion Technology 20 credits

Study period: January – MayChoose from:

International Fashion Marketing 40 credits

Strategic Fashion Buying 40 credits

Advanced Product Development 40 credits

Study period: May – September

Dissertation 60 credits

“All the coursework requires a lot of self-study, learning theoriesand reading papers. However, in seminars the theory is appliedspecifically to the garment industry and explained in-depth to helpyou understand contemporary fashion marketing logistics. Thishelped me greatly when I came to write my presentation.”

Yoko – International Fashion Marketing.

and study skills, which take place duringthe first term. In addition to these, one-to-one personal tutorials are availablethroughout the year. These enablestudents to discuss their written work andto develop the language skills necessaryfor their specific subject.

More information for internationalstudents can be found at:www.mmu.ac.uk/international

Entry Requirements

A good honours degree, normally 2.1 orabove, in any discipline, or a relevantprofessional qualification acceptable to theAdmissions Panel. Applicants withsubstantial recent and relevant clothingrelated employment and experience arealso encouraged to apply.

How to apply

Applications should be made on theUniversity standard Application formwhich is available atwww.mmu.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/applyIf you have any further questions visit ourhelp pages at:www.studenthelp.mmu.ac.uk

“I decided to study in Manchester because in Aisian countries it isconsidered to be a key city for the textile and clothing industries.There is a saying, ‘if you have a Manchester degree in textiles orclothing, you will never need to look back.’ It has been my dreamto study here for many years.”

Tarannum – Clothing Product Development

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Please telephone 0161 247 2740.

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Further information

Department of Clothing Design and TechnologyManchester Metropolitan UniversityHollings Faculty, Old Hall LaneManchester M14 6HR

MMU Course EnquiriesTo make a course enquiry go to www.mmu.ac.uk/course-enquiry

This information is correct at the time of going to press. For terms and conditions applicable to the provision of the University’s

Educational Services please refer to the prospectus. Updated April 2011