Fashion Journalism BA (Hons)

Prepare for a career as a fashion journalist or stylist. Learn editorial styling, catwalk reporting, trend forecasting, studio photoshoots and the history of Chanel and McQueen. Create a glossy fashion magazine or website and join the Fashion North team.

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Overview

By studying BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism at Sunderland, you'll develop essential fashion journalism skills such as catwalk reporting, editorial styling, studio photoshoots, street style photography, podcasting, social media stories and beauty and video journalism.

You'll learn from industry experts, publishing opportunities and fashion trips, while earning your National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) Diploma in Journalism, the industry-recognised qualification. You'll also get hands-on experience as part of the Fashion North editorial team and go on placements which have previously included Sunday Times Style magazine, Harpers Bazaar, Grazia, Elle, ASOS and Glamour.

See examples of our students' work:

Margot, a quarterly fashion magazine for creative women by Roseanne Bradley

Noelle, a festive Christmas fashion and beauty magazine by Caitlyn McAdam

Renewed, a budget-friendly sustainable fashion magazine by Megan Hagel, who now works as a copywriter at Harrods

Why us?

Our Journalism courses are 4th in the UK and 1st in the north-east (Guardian University Guide, 2024)
Our graduates are working as journalists and stylists at Victoria Beckham, Vogue, Mail on Sunday’s You magazine, ASOS, Harrods, Burberry and Stylist, among others
BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism is the only Fashion Journalism course in the country to be accredited by NCTJ. Learn more about the benefits of studying an NCTJ-accredited course.

Get real-world experience as an editor or writer for the Fashion North website in our innovative mediaHUB
Learn from industry professionals. Recent guest speakers include Alec Maxwell, Digital Creative Director at British Vogue. Read more about Alec's visit in March 2022
This course has 100% Overall Satisfaction (National Student Survey 2021)

Join our creative community: @SunderlandCreative #WeAreCreative

Get to know Spark, Fashion North and Sportsbyte, our students' award-winning websites for local news, local sport, fashion and arts and entertainment.

Our partners, accreditations and networks

Course structure

Teaching methods include fashion newsdays, attending editorial conferences and creating content for Fashion North, lectures, workshops, photographic studio time and group projects. All our teaching staff have worked as journalists and have strong links with national and regional media organisations. We also invite experienced industry professionals to host guest lectures and masterclasses.

Assessment is split between portfolios of practical work, essays, examinations, reports and presentations.

Part-time study

If you study this course on a part-time basis you will typically complete 40-80 credits in a year, rather than the 120 credits of full-time students. All modules are taught during the day time and you will be studying alongside full-time students.

Year 1 (national level 4):

Core modules:

Style Icons and Subcultures (20 credits)

Apply research and analytical skills to develop and evaluate written and visual material contextualising fashion history within the wider fashion world. Critically analyse the key theoretical arguments in fashion and build an awareness of the major designers, brands, publications and companies in the industry today. Develop a critical understanding of cultural, political and societal issues and events that have shaped fashion and the fashion media.

Media Histories (20 credits)

Trace the evolution of the mass media from the advent of print journalism in the 16th Century, through the establishment of the press, radio and television industries to the multi-platform digital and online technology of today.

Essential Journalism (20 credits)

Learn role of the journalist and the range of practical skills needed to produce news, magazine and sports content, including research, newsgathering, interviewing, copy presentation and writing style.

Essential Fashion Journalism (20 credits)

Learn how to report from the catwalk and the red carpet, forecast new fashion trends, and shoot street-style photography to develop a portfolio of fashion journalism, published on Fashion North. Research and critically analyse a fashion brand of your choice to understand the historical, economic and creative context of that brand, reflecting on its strengths and weaknesses.

Essential Media Law and Regulation (20 credits)

Learn the laws and ethical codes journalists must consider when preparing and publishing legally-safe and ethically-responsible content for print, online, broadcast and social media platforms. Explore areas including anonymity, libel, privacy, copyright, contempt of court and other statutes which affect journalistic practice and output.

Digital Storytelling (20 credits)

Develop digital skills for an online audience such as infomaps, graphics and other non-traditional storytelling techniques.

Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.

Year 2 (national level 5):

Core modules:

Fashion Journalism Newsdays (20 credits)

Learn and practice memoir-writing, group location shoots, social media storytelling and in-depth fashion interviewing during real world newsdays. Generate Fashion North ideas, attend editorial conference and execute your ideas to tight deadlines. Critically reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of your performance during newsdays.

Design and Editing Skills (20 credits)

Learn industry-standard design and editing skills using professional software. Build a critical awareness of the key elements of page design, grid structures, image manipulation and graphics and their relationship with magazine, paper and digital outlets and across the broader publishing and creative industries. Develop industry-standard editing skills to ensure every page of each project well-written, error free and publishable.

Newsroom Live (20 credits)

Build on the principles and practice of journalistic thought and apply them to online reports in a newsroom setting. Learn how to produce stories for online platforms, edit and proof-read, present effectively, add interactive elements, and publish them.

Social, Audio, Visual (40 credits)

Learn the skills needed to produce, record and edit audio and video content for use across social and web platforms. Explore the various approaches and best practices that continue to evolve in audio and video journalism. Discover how to generate awareness, engagement and conversion on social platforms, and how to build and engage audiences and communities in digital spaces.

Fashion Styling (20 credits)

Explore the techniques and processes of creative imagery for fashion media and brands. Learn the practicalities of styling, including the sourcing of themes, garments, models and hair and make-up artists. Act as stylist and art director to oversee your own studio shoots. Learn about the workings of fashion studios and understand the basic principles of fashion photography.

Optional modules:

Shorthand (0 credits)

Learn Teeline, the system of rapid handwriting, used by journalists to quickly write down the spoken word. Aim for 100 words per minute, the industry standard.

Final year (national level 6):

Core modules:

Advanced Fashion Journalism Newsdays (20 credits)

Learn advanced fashion journalism skills, including analytical features covering serious issues in the fashion industry, mobile journalism content packages, and podcasting. Generate Fashion North ideas, attend editorial conference and execute your ideas to tight deadlines. Critically reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of your performance during newsdays.

Journalism Practical Project (40 credits)

Plan and produce a piece of original work, such as writing and designing a magazine, researching and writing a series of in-depth investigative articles, setting up a website with appropriate content, producing a TV or radio documentary or creating a magazine or current affairs programme.

Journalism Placement and Employability (40 credits)

Prepare for graduate employment by creating a professional employability pack. Develop advanced understanding of the commercial, organisational, marketing and publishing facets of the journalism industry through workshops and lectures. Carry out a ten-day placement at a pre-approved media organisation with learning outcomes reflected in a logbook.

Optional modules (choose one):

Advanced Fashion Styling (20 credits)
Making your Content Pay (20 credits)
Advanced Digital Storytelling (20 credits)

Facilities

Our David Puttnam Media Centre is a buzzing place to study fashion journalism. As well as working in our mediaHUB on fashion content, you can volunteer with our award-winning radio station Spark Sunderland, write for one of our suite of websites or edit Spark Magazine. Get hands on in our journalism and digital editing suites. Learn from experts in this centre of excellence for training.

Entry requirements

Our typical offer is:

Qualification	Minimum grade
High School Diploma along with one of the following at the required grade: SAT I and SAT II, ACT or Advanced Placement	GPA 3.0 or above and: Sat score of 1100/1600 from SATs AP (Grades 3+ in at least 2 subjects) ACT (score of 26+)

If you don't meet our standard entry requirements, you can take one of the foundation pathways at our partners ONCAMPUS Sunderland. Find out more information and whether your course is eligible on our ONCAMPUS page.

If your qualification is not listed above, please contact the Student Administration team at studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk for further advice.

If English is not your first language, please see our English language requirements.

If you are studying a HND or Foundation Degree you may be able to enter onto the final year of our degree courses. For more information, please contact studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk

As part of our NCTJ accreditation we will also invite you to an informal interview. We’d like to hear about you, why you’re interested in fashion journalism, and tell you a bit more about our course and what makes us special.

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and finance

The annual, full-time fee for this course is:

£9,250 if you are from the UK/Europe*
£16,000 if you are an international student

The tuition fee includes the NCTJ exam fees. It covers the cost of one attempt at all seven exams required for the NCTJ Diploma, including each shorthand speed.

Tuition fees for part-time students are £6,935 per 120 credits. Please note that part-time courses are not available to international students who require a Student visa to study in the UK.

*European Union (EU), EEA (European Economic Area), and Swiss nationals who do not qualify for the EU Settlement Scheme are classed as international, however, for 23/24 admission you will receive a European student fee scholarship and will pay the home tuition fee rate for the duration of your studies. The discounted fee will be reflected in your offer letter. Learn more in our Help and Advice article.

Take a look at the Your Finances section to find out about the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

Posed person wearing fur coat, black beret and orange dress.

Career ready

This degree prepares you for a variety of careers in fashion. You may become a writer for magazines, supplements and newspapers, covering the fashion shows and interviewing designers. Some of our graduates now work as stylists, either for celebrities (such as Nicole Scherzinger and Jessie J); for a fashion house, such as Burberry; or for a fashion publication, such as You magazine or Mail on Sunday.

Other graduates have moved into public relations, or writing and styling while travelling the globe for retailers such as Gymshark.

The industry qualifications you will gain from this course also equip you to work as a general features or news writer for a magazine or newspaper.

Real-world experience – right on campus

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 David Puttnam Media Centre. Spark has won many awards 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.

Other opportunities for real-world experience include Spark online magazine and SportsByte, which are linked to our journalism courses.

Superb industry links

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 creating an online autumn/winter lookbook for shopping mall The Bridges, in-store styling challenges at John Lewis, and talks from fashion journalists, stylists, photographers and trend forecasters.

Work placements

You will 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 this course 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 are offering you a taste of the industry which might last anything from two days to four weeks on a part-time basis.

Join award winners

Our students and graduates have been making a splash, winning awards and prizes across the board:

Caitlyn McAdam was commended for Student Project of the Year for her magazine, Noelle in the 2022 NCTJ awards for excellence
Mariam Khattab won the 2020 NCTJ features category for her articles on the human rights of Muslims across the world
Joe Nicholson won the sports journalism award in 2019 for his portfolio of work
Emily Parker, highly commended in the 2017 NCTJ awards for excellence for her plus-size fashion magazine, Bold
Bethany Elsey was shortlisted for Royal Television Society North East Student Award for Best Documentary

Testimonial

"The programme offered at the University of Sunderland is the best fashion journalism course in the country. Fashion North is unique, with nothing like it elsewhere.

Students are supported throughout their three years on the degree and continually encouraged to improve their work and achieve higher standards. The team must be commended for their excellence in both teaching and pastoral care.

Working as a magazine consultant in the industry, I would have no hesitation in recommending this course for anyone who wants to become a fashion or lifestyle journalist."

Mary Hogarth
External Examiner and Lecturer at Bournemouth University
Author of Writing Feature Articles: Print, digital and online (2019) and Business Strategies for Magazine publishing: survival in the digital age (2018).

Meet the students

I would recommend the course to anyone who has a passion for fashion and journalism

Caitlyn McAdam
The work I produced on my course played a key role in securing my current job.

Doriane Lescouet
I'm really proud of the skills I've learned and I’m excited to show them off to future employers.

Samantha Boal

Related courses

BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism with Integrated Foundation Year

Contact

Contact the Student Helpline for further information about studying at the University of Sunderland:

0191 515 3000

student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries.

Page last updated: 24 November 2023

We aim to provide clear, accurate and timely information to prospective and current students. We continuously review and enhance course content in consultation with our students and the information provided on our website is the latest available. If you have received an offer from us to start a course, we will communicate any important changes to you in writing. We will always seek to ensure that our prospective students are fully aware of the basis on which they are accepting an offer.

Overview

Why us?

Join our creative community: @SunderlandCreative #WeAreCreative

Our partners, accreditations and networks

Course structure

Year 1 (national level 4):

Core modules:

Year 2 (national level 5):

Core modules:

Optional modules:

Final year (national level 6):

Core modules:

Facilities

Entry requirements

Fees and finance

Career ready

Real-world experience – right on campus

Superb industry links

Work placements

Join award winners

Testimonial

Meet the students

Caitlyn McAdam

Doriane Lescouet

Samantha Boal

Meet the team — BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism

Related courses

Contact