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This is a four-year version of our popular BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism course, with an integrated foundation year. Share your passion for fashion with readers both online and in print. Write features, style photoshoots, report on catwalks, and design fashion spreads. Graduate with a portfolio of published work to impress prospective employers.
Develop the core skills of fashion journalism. Learn specialist skills such as catwalk reporting, styling, red carpet verdicts, street style photography, style icons and subcultures, social media, beauty, and video journalism
Access industry experts, placements, publishing opportunities, and field trips within the fashion industry – recent trips include our London Fashion Masterclasses. Graduate with both an honours degree in fashion journalism and the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism, the nationally recognised industry entry qualification, significantly boosting your employability as a fashion journalist.
Increase your practical experience by taking on reporting, editing and/or managerial roles on Fashion North, our student-run website covering fashion across the North East. Get involved in award-winning Spark Radio or Spark magazine, all based in our innovative mediaHUB, BBC Newcastle’s home in Sunderland and host to visiting journalists from organisations such as Trinity Mirror (Newcastle Chronicle, Journal) and Johnston Press (Sunderland Echo).
In your final year, you’ll go on placement on a fashion publication at the likes of Grazia, Elle, ASOS, and Glamour, putting what you’ve learnt into practice. You’ll undertake a project to produce your own fashion magazine or website which will add significantly to the portfolio of work you can present to prospective employers.
In the first year – the foundation year – you'll study five modules. After completion of this foundation year, you'll then move onto the Fashion Journalism honours degree course.
Teaching methods include lectures, demonstrations, seminars, workshops, group projects, and practical skills work. All our teaching staff have worked as journalists and have strong links with regional employers and industry organisations. We also invite experienced industry professionals to carry out regular guest lectures and classes.
Assessment is split between portfolios of practical work, essays, examinations, reports, and presentations.
We don’t currently display entry requirements for United States. Please contact the Student Admin team on studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk or 0191 515 3154.
Entry requirements are provided for guidance only and we may offer you an entrance interview which will help us determine your eligibility for your chosen degree. This enables us to consider making you an offer if you're perhaps a mature student who has been out of education for a period of time, or you've gained significant knowledge and skills through employment rather than traditional education.
1. Normally a minimum of three Level 2 qualifications (NVQ, GCSE, or equivalent), including maths and English language at grade C or above** and a minimum of 40 UCAS Tariff points from Level 3 qualifications (e.g. A or AS Levels, T Levels, BTEC certificates/diplomas, access courses, or equivalent) OR
2. Demonstrable evidence of appropriate knowledge and skills acquired from at least three years of post-school work experience.
If you're unsure of whether you think you might be suitable for the course, please contact us.
**If you've studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade, you'll need to achieve a grade 4 or above. Equivalent alternative qualifications are also accepted, such as Level 2 Key Skills in Communication and Application of Number.
If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.
The annual fee for this course is £9,250 if you're from the UK/Ireland/EU settled/pre-settled.
If you're a full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled student, you may be eligible to receive financial support to cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan.
Please note, this course isn't available to international students.
Learn more about settled status, pre-settled status, special discounts, visa requirements, and Common Travel Area (CTA) agreements for the Republic of Ireland applicants in our Help and Advice article.
Take a look at the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.
This information was correct at the time of publication.
This degree prepares you for writing and talking about fashion in magazines, radio, TV, and online media, as well as for retailers or brands. The industry qualifications also equip you to work as a general magazine or newspaper journalist.
The degree is highly relevant to many positions in industry, commerce, and the Civil Service, as well as to jobs in PR, the arts, and voluntary sectors.
Recent journalism graduates from Sunderland have gained jobs with employers such as Sky, MTV, The Guardian, Grazia, Elle, regional newspapers, and PR companies.
Rub shoulders with BBC Newcastle Journalists, get advice from former Sky News Journalists, and see a newsroom in action in our innovative mediaHUB.
You’ll be actively involved in the Fashion North website and have the opportunity to get involved in Spark Sunderland, the 24/7 Community Radio station based in the Media Centre. Spark has won many awards including four golds at the Student Radio Awards 2012, and holds the Nations and Regions Award for Best Radio Station in the North East. Students are responsible for all news-gathering, programme production, and advertising.
Sunderland’s daily newspaper, The Sunderland Echo, has a weekly page called 'On Campus' that is written entirely by students at the University. It’s an opportunity to find and research your own stories, take photographs, meet deadlines, and see your name in print.
Other opportunities for real-world experience include Spark online magazine and SportsByte, which are linked to our journalism and media courses.
Our academics are industry experts and have excellent relationships across the fashion industry including Vogue, Grazia, ITV, and BBC.
Broaden your horizons with inspiring trips – recently, students have enjoyed visits to the Clothes Show in Birmingham and Fashion Masterclasses in London with speakers from across the industry. The Student Style challenge with John Lewis Retail inspired students with an industry talk with stylist Josta Wood, followed by a styling challenge in-store.
You'll undertake a work placement module in your final year, though many of our students arrange placements for all three years. Recent student placements at fashion publications include Elle, Grazia, ASOS, Harper's Bazaar, and Fabulous, the Sun on Sunday’s magazine.
In the past, our students have commissioned and styled fashion shoots for magazines and newspapers, worked on catwalk shows and fashion weeks, and provided fashion reports for the websites of major retailers in the North East.
All students studying on-campus undergraduate fashion journalism courses can take up a CV-enhancing work placement, a University-led industry initiative, or a professional and business development boot camp. By the term placement, we mean we're offering you a taste of the industry which might last anything from two days to four weeks on a part-time basis.
Our students and graduates have been making a splash, winning awards and prizes across the board: