Business and Management (Fashion)

BA (Hons) Business and Management (Fashion) is a business of fashion course, not a fashion design degree. We’ll help you develop as a person to achieve your potential through teaching you about the business of fashion and how it works.

You can shape your own degree by choosing modules from outside of the Fashion pathway, enabling you to explore issues around a particular theme, such as marketing, sustainability or global affairs.

As the course progresses, you’ll develop specialist skills, including digital marketing skills, that will empower you to compete in this changeable and challenging environment.

Year one
Gain a broad understanding of today’s business environment, from the context that organisations operate in, through to trends in economic thinking and the importance of managing data in business.

Year two
You'll develop and expand your knowledge of global consumerism, fashion marketing strategy, and digital platforms, including retail and B2C. Module topics include fashion marketing and management, fashion in practice, marketing, and international business.

At the end of the year, you can choose to embark on a ten-month business placement or a ten-week summer placement – applying what you’ve learned so far in the real world. You can also choose to undertake a Professional Placement Year between your second and your final year.

Year three
You'll develop and explore your business learning, focusing on fashion marketing and visualisation. You'll also undertake an in-depth business research project in fashion, and have a chance to set up a business on your own or with fellow students.

Other topics that you can explore include: managing sustainability, successful freelancing, entrepreneurship, organisational strategy, leadership and management, and new trends in management.

You'll be assessed in a wide range of ways that will test your knowledge of the fashion business and your management skills. These could include presentations, work-related projects, group-work, computer-based simulations, podcasts, examinations, essays, videos, and business reports.

We offer variety in the way we teach: sometimes we'll set you problems so you can find the answers for yourself; sometimes we'll lecture. Most modules use a mix of lectures and small group seminars. There’s a good blend of in-person and online activities (using our Virtual Learning Environment, Ultra). We invite business leaders to Bath Spa to talk about their experience and we arrange visits to local businesses. All of our teaching methods facilitate your development as a self-directed learner.

You’ll also be given personal support in your studies – we're a friendly team of academics, committed to helping you achieve your goals.

To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.

As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.

We give you the opportunity to work with regional and national businesses in and around Bath. You’ll be working on live project briefs, helping organisations find creative solutions to their business issues.

Depending on your pathway and the modules you study, you can gain accreditation by professional bodies and get exemption from professional exams.

You'll take a practical approach to your course. Our Business and Management students have the opportunity to take part in a number of work experience opportunities, working on live projects, supported by our dedicated course leaders. You'll work directly with brands to pitch ideas, find solutions and develop your skills.

Some previous examples include:

• Fashion marketing project at Owen Barry, Tallulah and Hope, Savannah Miller and Finisterre
• Working on live events projects with Bath Festivals, Komedia and The Forum (based in Bath).

BA (Hons) Business and Management (Fashion) aims to prepare you for a variety of careers within the business side of the fashion industry, including working for fashion magazines, fashion blogs and websites, and ecommerce sites, or in fashion PR and marketing, fashion management, buying, and retail.

You'll gain an understanding of the fashion industry and the necessary skills, including digital skills such as digital marketing and social media marketing, to enable you to succeed in this fast-paced, consumer-focused, global industry.

We'll give you the opportunity to work with regional and national businesses in and around Bath. You’ll be working on live project briefs, helping fashion organisations find creative solutions to their business issues.

Former students have gone on to work with major up-and-coming and established brands across the country such as:

• Lipsy London (Social Media Manager)
• New Look (Merchandiser)
• Dents (Social Digital Marketing Assistant)
• and Uggs, Beauty Pie and The North Face.

Some have also established their own brands and businesses working in the fashion and lifestyle sectors.

If you’re a full-time undergraduate student starting your first year at Bath Spa University, you can apply for the Certificate in Global Citizenship, which you’ll study alongside your degree.

You’ll gain global awareness and add an international dimension to your student experience, and funding is available. On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be awarded a Certificate in Global Citizenship. This is in addition to your degree; it doesn’t change your degree title or results.

The Professional Placement Year (PPY) provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for, and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.

By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.

Before your PPY, you'll work to identify roles of interest and secure a placement. The Placements Team will support through timetabled sessions and 1:1 appointments.

As well as completing a minimum of 900 placement hours, you will complete two assessments demonstrating your skill development, growth in professional behaviours and how the PPY has impacted your future career aspirations.

Aiming to make work experience more accessible, we have introduced the PPY Bursary. Students undertaking a PPY can receive between £500 and £1,500 to be used towards placement costs such as travel, food, workwear or accommodation.

For more information and details of eligibility criteria, please visit the PPY Bursary webpage.

You'll have access to excellent facilities on Newton Park campus. These include:

• Commons building
• Newton Park Library
• Virtual learning environment (Ultra)
• Writing and Learning Centre.

Our library offers a wide range of printed and electronic business materials. This online material can be accessed on and off campus, enabling you to work at times that suit you. As a Bath Spa student, you'll also be given full access to LinkedIn Learning, a trusted resource for online learning in creative and digital topics such as marketing, design and social media.

See also:

• Business and Management subject resources
• Support with English as an additional language.