UAL BSc (Hons) Fashion Management

[Ceramiq]

Does anyone have a DC who has done this course? Any feedback?

DD went to UAL. Slightly different degree - more creative. I can make general comments but not specific ones.

Yes please, that would be helpful. When was your DD there?

left 2016. A while ago - I appreciate that.

Her course had way more overseas students than originally indicated which altered the dynamic of the course. She found guest lecturers great - some in house ones less good. The guest lecturers were all working in the industry and were up to date, dynamic and realistic. DD found some aspects of her course great but other bits infuriating.

The main issue for dd was getting a job afterwards. An internship got nowhere and she ended up with a career change. One word of caution - would a general business degree be better? DD found out very quickly that it’s who you know that matters and not what you know - in fashion. So make sure it’s the right course for the ambition beyond university .

Yes, I was asking for a friend of a friend, overseas, whose daughter is trying to decide between several courses including Parsons NY and UAL. I'm a bit suspicious of the career opportunities after UAL BSc Fashion Management and wonder whether it isn't about training people up to be luxury/high end Store Managers.

@Ceramiq DD got a place at Parsons. Cost was prohibitive for us. Not sure outcomes are much better but depends if you are American and have connections I expect . The other option really is a decent management degree, eg at Bath. My DD didn’t have the right A levels for that sort of course and is creative. I’m just not sure fashion management jobs are easy to secure. One thing DD found is that paid jobs are hard to get!

I also meant to say, that where DD was an intern, the PA to the designer who organised the catwalk shows etc was in her late 20s with no degree at all. DD was the intern “gofer” for her.

This girl is American and spent her childhood in the US until the age of 15, though currently living in Amsterdam (and her family has no intention of moving) and also has an EU passport. I have a suspicion that they greatly underestimate the network effects you mention. Institut Français de la Mode in Paris is the feeder school for all the big French fashion houses and arranges internships directly with them and I would have thought that might be better.

Started my career as a fashion buyer at a famous London luxury department store back in the day.

There were some grads from that UAL course on the buying team, so it's not just for training shop managers.

But there was a whole range of backgrounds - degrees in everything from Design to Economics and Management to Anthropology and Art History, and some with no degrees at all.

The good jobs are hard to get in Fashion, so what really matters most is tenacity and grit - the complete opposite of the stereotype of a sensitive creative.

@Ceramiq Yes it might be. Placements are DIY at UAL. DD did this but it’s hard work.

DD1 has a friend who was a buyer after UAL. Been made redundant twice. It’s fickle.

@Skule "The good jobs are hard to get in Fashion, so what really matters most is tenacity and grit - the complete opposite of the stereotype of a sensitive creative."

Yup, it's very commercial and hard-nosed.

It’s not just about being hard nosed and tenacity. It’s unfortunately very much who you know. It’s the absolute worst for this. Of course there’s lots of talent but contacts is a huge element to this and low wages!

Contacts are a fact of life and a reality in a lot of industries. It is what it is and everyone has to suck it up.

I know someone who is a fashion buyer at Tesco (I know maybe I should say ‘clothing’)! She had a totally non related degree and got on their management training program. Good pay though and she travels a lot but you get moved around departments.
I went to Parsons in the last century and am always amazed how highly it’s ranked! But different department.
My DD considered UAL and I know someone who did fashion FAD at CSM (their FAD has different pathways) but said it was like GCSE art and is now doing Psychology elsewhere. She was interested in going in to fashion marketing at the time but hated the whole scene at UAL.

@mondaytosunday I agree it’s not for everyone!

Who you know isn’t rife everywhere or there would never be any social movement. There is and many dc are able to break into something without help. Networking when you are in is another matter.

Tenuous relationship, true, but I remember a brief conversation a couple of years ago with a young man locally who was on this degree course and he described his experience as 'doing a business/ management course, just based in the fashion industry'.

@MarchingFrogs Yes. That’s what it is but it can be underpaid and undervalued. Like a lot in fashion.