Textiles

Students are encouraged to develop their personal approaches to textiles through engagement with a range of projects that are designed to let you explore concepts and contexts and develop your practical skills. The course reflects the diverse range of approaches to contemporary textiles and so some students will choose to specialise in processes such as print, weave, knit or stitch while others will want to work with a range of processes. Some students will want to develop using our digital facilities such as laser cutting or digital textile printing.

As you progress on the course you are asked to develop a personal approach to textiles and to consider the audience or market for your work. We believe that it is important for you to think about why you are creating work and who you want to see it.

Regular tutorial feedback and peer group debate helps you to challenge your ideas and consider how you develop.

During your time on the course you will also have the opportunity to attend lectures, seminars and tutorials with a range of exciting visiting lecturers who contribute to the curriculum.

Level One

This is an exciting year where you are encouraged to develop skills and be experimental. The range of projects in Level One will help to introduce you to a range of practical textile processes and encourage you to develop your visual skills. You will have induction workshops in printed textiles, knit, weave and stitch. You will also engage in a range of drawing workshops that will support strategies for your visual research and development. The projects will also ensure that you start to develop your conceptual skills and you will also be asked to evaluate and reflect on your personal development on an ongoing basis. Throughout the year you will be encouraged to develop your skills in the workshop areas and to experiment with combinations of processes.

Level Two

In Level Two you will develop a greater level of independence in your studies. You will still be responding to project briefs but some of them will be competition briefs and live projects. You will develop the skills you have acquired in Level One and you will now consider the context for much of your work. We encourage all students to engage in some form of work placement as this gives a valuable insight into potential career paths and allows you to think about issues such as business development and marketing. We also ensure that your learning is supported through tutorial support and lectures from artists and designers working within textile related fields.

Level Three

In your final year you will refine and consolidate your ideas by undertaking a major project which will be practice - based and will also contain elements of academic writing to support the work. You have the opportunity to develop your ideas in much greater depth than before. Students may opt to work on one project or they may decide to create a series of projects that reflect specific interests. This can be negotiated with academic staff. This consolidation should prepare you for potential employment or further study.

What Makes Us Special

This course is special because it allows you to develop your practical textiles skills across a broad range of traditional and new textiles processes. We encourage students to develop their own pathway throughout the course but recognise the need for the development of skills that will allow you to achieve your goals.

Graduates from the course have gone on to work for companies such as DKNY and Cath Kidston or set up their own businesses as designers and makers.

The course has an excellent range of facilities including a digital fabric printer, a laser cutting machine, digital embroidery machines, domestic sewing machines, a range of knitting machines, a rug tufting gun, a range of weaving looms and screenprinting and dyeing facilities. This gives you the opportunity to explore a range of processes.

We also consider that our staff are key to making us special. Full-time and part-time staff are committed to developing the potential in each of our students. In the last few years academic and technical staff have received NUCA awards for their commitment to developing the student learning experience.

The course is developing a growing national reputation and this was evident recently in the award of three major prizes in the national Bradford Textile Society competition. This included the President’s Prize for outstanding work.

We have developed a range of contacts within textile related fields that allow us to support interesting work placement opportunities. Students have worked with fashion designers, weave mills, printed textile designers and artists who are all highly regarded in their fields.

We also select students to exhibit work at New Designers in London. This is a national showcase for the best graduates from UK colleges. This gives students the opportunity to show their work to potential employers, retailers and commissioners.

Students who successfully complete their undergraduate studies are also able to progress to a range of MA courses at NUCA in particular MA Textile Design.

Mode of Attendance : Full-time