UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Practice: Fashion & Textiles

The full title of this award qualification is UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Creative Practice: Art, Design and Communication. University of the Arts London (UAL) Awarding Body supports innovative approaches to programme design and specialist delivery models within broader contexts. Therefore Pre-Degree students at Plymouth College of Art are offered the opportunity to pick from five creative pathways including; Art & Design, Fashion & Textiles, Film, Animation & Media Production, Graphics, Illustration & Game Arts, and Photography.

Our Extended Diploma in Fashion & Textiles programme provides students with a high degree of professional flexibility that can be mapped across various progression routes including freelance careers, creative and industrial employment, business development opportunities, university and higher-level apprenticeships.

No matter whether you are a filmmaker, photographer, designer, illustrator, artist, or something else entirely, this qualification provides an in-depth introduction to the creative industries, along with a broad foundation of related knowledge, skills and attributes that are part of the creative process. This provides you with an opportunity to develop your creative practice in a professional and agile manner, and work across different subject areas. It allows opportunities to collaborate, understand the wider aspects of creative practice and gives you the opportunity to explore, test and experiment in your chosen specialism, as you start to develop the employable and industry skills that will help you build a career.

This Level 3 Extended Diploma course is a two-year equivalent to A-levels, and we are pleased to be able to offer the option for students to also study the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (IBCP) alongside the Extended Diploma.

This is a fast-paced and practical route, giving you the skills to develop ideas and design for a range of areas in the fashion and textiles industries.

You’ll sample extensively across a variety of techniques and processes, developing an innovative approach to fashion and textile design. With projects across fashion design, garment construction, costume, printed textiles, interior design, fashion photography and styling, and fashion promotion including business, you will discover your strengths and define your future path.

Your learning will be supported by access to industry-standard facilities including industrial sewing machines, textile printing, photography and film equipment, Adobe creative software, and trend forecasting tools such as WGSN – with access to facilities at our undergraduate campus, such as 3D printing, laser cutting and more.

You'll enjoy the chance to work on live projects, making the most of our strong connections with industry professionals such as FotoPlus collective. You will have the chance to market and sell your finished products in pop-up shops, such as our student-led annual Design to Sell event. In previous years, students have also had the chance to dress and merchandise shop windows throughout Plymouth as part of the city-wide Fashion in The City event. Taking place in their first week of study, this opportunity encouraged them to think of themselves as practitioners from the very start.

We also have an established work placement offer, providing opportunities to work with companies such as matchesfashion.com and Hunger Magazine.

You’ll also take part in a lively programme of workshops and lectures involving established artists and designers, meaning that by the time you move on you’ll have a portfolio of high-quality work, relevant to your chosen career.

Plymouth College of Art’s IBCP will incorporate our acclaimed creative UAL Level 3 Extended Diplomas into a programme that also includes two International Baccalaureate Diploma subjects.

Adding the IBCP to your Extended Diploma is optional, and best suited to students aged 16 to 18 who have completed at least four GCSEs at grade 9 - 4 (A* to C) including English and Maths, and are ready to progress onto an A-Level equivalent course specialising in one of our creative subjects, with plans to go on to a competitive university or ambitious career.

The International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (IBCP) is an internationally-recognised framework of career-related education for post-16 students that seeks to develop confident, critical thinkers who are prepared for modern life and equipped with the cross-cultural skills needed to succeed in their future careers, within the UK and across the world.

As part of the IBCP, you’ll also complete two International Baccalaureate Diploma subjects, choosing from English Literature, Business Management, or Environmental Systems & Societies, and core IBCP skills, preparing you to understand other cultures, to understand how people from other cultures might view you, and how to adopt the best working practices to fit in and thrive in any working environment around the world.

Recent research has shown that IBCP students “enrol and persist in university at higher rates than the national average” and more than half go on to attend very competitive or better higher education institutions, demonstrating that the IBCP prepares you to attain some of the most selective university places in the world.

All IB Diplomas and the levels that they are taught are subject to demand - for this reason, applicants must list IB Diplomas on their application in order of preference.