Fashion Buying & Brand Management - BA (Hons) Degree

This degree can be studied as a three-year full-time degree or a four-year degree that includes a year of foundational study. Our foundation year is intended to prepare you for your subsequent years of studying, offering you the chance to strengthen your skills, knowledge and confidence.

The foundation year will be relevant to:

1. Students who have not achieved the required A-level points (or equivalent) score to enter the first year of the degree programme.
2. Mature students who have been out of the formal education system for some time.

Find out more about the foundation year.

Please note: You will need to apply using a specific UCAS code if you wish to undertake the 4 years including foundation. Please refer to Key Course Information at the bottom of this page.

Our degree integrates real-world experience into our teaching practices to enable a clear understanding of the Fashion Buying and Brand Management process. Assignments are based on industry examples and there are also guest lectures from fashion industry experts.

Year One (Level 4)

In your first year, all six modules (120 credits) are compulsory and designed to give you a solid introduction into the world of Fashion Buying and Brand Management.

Compulsory modules (20 credits each)

• Introduction to Fashion Marketing
• Fundamentals of Fashion Studies
• Principles of Fashion Buying
• Visual Merchandising and Promotion
• Digital Media for Fashion
• The Fashion Industry

Year Two (Level 5)

In your second year, five modules are compulsory (100 credits), and you select one optional module (20 credits).

You will enhance your expertise and abilities in Fashion Buying and Brand Management and put theory into practice within an industry work placement for your Fashion Buying in Practice module. You will be supported to secure a relevant work placement to gain hands-on experience and deepen your understanding of real-world marketing to boost your employability.

Compulsory modules (20 credit each)

• Fashion Buying and Merchandising
• Fashion Consumer Behaviour
• Creative Marketing Communications for Fashion
• Marketing Research Methods for Fashion
• Fashion Buying in Practice

Select ONE optional module (20 credits each)

• Experiential Fashion Strategies
• Fashion Product Development and Garment Technology

Year in industry

You have the option to spend a year in industry on a work placement after successfully completing your second year of study. We have a dedicated work placement team to support you in securing a placement. A year-long placement can boost your career prospects and give you an advantage when applying for jobs after graduation.

Year Three (Level 6)

In your final year, four modules (100 credits) are compulsory, and you select one optional module (20 credits).

You have the option to select either the Fashion Buying and Brand Management Project for a practical approach or the more academically focussed Fashion Dissertation.

You will also develop an in-depth understanding of sustainability and responsibility within the fashion industry and supply chain management across the globe.

Compulsory modules

• Strategic Fashion Brand Management (20 credits)
• Sustainability and Responsibility in Fashion (20 credits)
• International Fashion Supply Chain Management (20 credits)
• Fashion Buying and Brand Management Project OR Fashion Dissertation (40 credits each)

Select ONE optional module (20 credits each)

• Fashion Futures and Innovation
• Fashion Merchandising and Data Analytics
• Industrial Work Experience^

Optional modules are delivered subject to demand and availability.

^ If you're taking a year-long industry work placement between year two and three, you have the option to select 'Industrial Work Experience' as your optional module. If not, select another optional module.

The student-centred approach to learning and teaching will be encouraged through the use of specific teaching strategies, case studies, projects, tutorials, practical exercises, supplemented by the use of appropriate support materials, lectures from business experts, videos and computer software. Active engagement with the subject material enhances learning and many of the learning strategies used promote this.

Lectures
Lectures are a major part of the teaching strategy for the programme. Lectures are an effective way of delivering core material and establishing a framework for a module against which other material can be set.

Modular Subject Tutorials
Tutorials are meetings of a student or group of students with a lecturer or lecturers and are used in two ways within the programme:

• Expanding upon material covered in lectures through an enquiry-driven problem solving approach
• Remedial work to overcome any deficiencies in a student’s background knowledge.

Seminars
Seminars involve a student or students presenting previously prepared work to peers and a lecturer. This strategy is used to extend specific theoretical or practical concepts as well as introducing problem solving exercises. Seminars are used in most modules and provide students with valuable experience in presentational skills as well as providing staff with a method or assessing student-centred learning.

Practical Workshops
Practical workshops are used extensively in a number of modules throughout the programme. In these classes students are able to practise and refine their skills in a supportive environment where they can get feedback from a member of academic staff. Practical workshops represent a valuable transition between theory and practice.

Case Studies
Case studies are a teaching and learning strategy, which are employed in a range of modules; they also are a useful assessment tool. Students are presented with or asked to develop real or simulated complex problems which they are required to analyse in detail and then synthesise/present their own solution in writing or orally.

Business Experts
A key component of the learning experience is the intention to invite business experts, academic and in practice, to provide insights into their research work or business activity. A network of such experts will help provide specialist knowledge as well as bolster and promote the credentials of the programme. Such experts might be invited as guest speakers or requested to provide a more interactive workshop experience where appropriate.

All students will benefit from the team of dedicated personal tutors who provide a point of personal and regular contact. The Personal Tutors work closely with the Programme Directors and Year Tutors to ensure that the needs of students are effectively met and that their time at Cardiff Metropolitan University is both a pleasant and successful experience.

In addition to the Personal Tutors, the individual course specific academic support and guidance is provided by the Programme Director and the respective Year Tutor. This is particularly important in relation to both the choice of options which are available at year two and three and the selection of pathways.

You are continually assessed throughout the course on the basis of coursework, presentations and examinations. Assessments take the form of examinations (seen/unseen, open book, essays/short answers), essays, practical assessment, visual work, presentations, individual and group reports, most of which are focused on real-life cases studies.​

Feedback is given throughout the course both formatively and through formal assessment. Your personal tutor relationship will also help you work with feedback and identify strengths and weaknesses in your work and approach to study.​

Fashion Buying and Brand Management is a dynamic and fast-moving career choice. With new technologies and social communication media on the rise, the skills covered within this programme are more in demand than ever. During this course you will develop the key skills and understanding required for the fashion business. On successful completion of the course you will have the skills to gain a position in fashion buying and brand management, putting your skills to use in positions in buying, merchandising, sourcing, product development, trend research, product management, marketing, brand development and management and more.

This course has been designed in conjunction with the CIM in order to provide you with an opportunity to gain exemptions from their professional qualification. You will also be able to join the our CIM student chapter which encourages all students to engage in our marketing learning community through organising organise key speakers and managing marketing-focused events. Incorporate dynamic speakers and helpful networking events will enhance your learning experience. Finally, you will be able to engage in entrepreneurial activities such as entering the CIM Pitch.

The option of including a year of experience in industry in year three has been included to allow you to complete the degree with a level of practical experience. This option of practical experience can be incorporated in the three-year degree course undertaking practical work in industry during term time or in holiday breaks during the course.

The aim of the course is that study and practical experience give the best prospect of employability at the end of the degree course. As such, you have the opportunity to graduate with a wide base of marketing knowledge and the potential to be a specialist in strategic use of PR, marketing, digital marketing, integrated marketing communications, branding and global marketing. Furthermore, you will have had ‘real-world’ experience, the chance to engage in our CIM learning community. Cardiff Met Marketing students should stand out for their ability to apply theoretical knowledge in a practical environment.

Typical Offers

​​The following requirements are based on typical offers relevant to entering year 1 of the degree.

If you do not meet these entry requirements, we also offer a Foundation Year which allows progression to Year 1 upon successful completion.​

• Tariff points: 112
• Contextual offer: See our contextual offers page.
• GCSE: Five GCSEs at Grade C / 4 or above to include English Language / Welsh First Language, Mathematics / Mathematics – Numeracy.
• English Language Requirement: Academic IELTS 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in all elements, or equivalent.
• A level subjects: Minimum three A levels to include Grades CCC. No specific subjects required. Welsh Advanced Skills Baccalaureate considered as a third subject.
• BTEC National / Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma: DMM
• T Level: Merit.
• Access to Higher Education Diploma: No specific subjects required.
• International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma: 2 x H5. No specific subjects required.
• Irish Leaving Certificate: 2 x H2 grades. No specific subjects required. Higher level subjects only considered with a minimum grade H4.
• Scottish Advanced Highers: Grades DD. No specific subjects required. Scottish Highers are also considered, either on their own or in combination with Advanced Highers.

Combinations of the above qualifications are accepted if they meet our minimum requirements. If your qualifications aren’t listed, please contact Admissions or refer to the UCAS Course Search.

Further information on Overseas qualifications can be found here.

If you are a mature applicant, have relevant experience or RPL that you would like us to consider, please contact Admissions.

How to Apply

Further information on how to apply can be found here.

For general enquiries please contact the Admissions Team on 029 2041 6044 or email askadmissions@cardiffmet.ac.uk.

For course specific enquiries, please contact Catrin Cousins:

• Email: ccousins@cardiffmet.ac.uk