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London College of Fashion

UCAS Code: U65

Location: Central London Show on Map

Site: Six teaching centres across London

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Specialist fashion college. Part of University of the Arts, London

Student Population

Total Students:	4,000
Undergraduates:	30%
Postgraduates:	2%
FE Students:	68%

Undergraduates

Total undergraduates:	1,200
Male:	15%
Female:	85%
Full Time:	90%
Mature on Entry:	28%
UK Students:	85%
State school entry:	92%

Teaching Staff

125 full-time, 56 part-time

Broad study areas

Fashion design & technology; fashion promotion; fashion journalism; fashion management; fashion marketing; styling; menswear, womenswear, accessories & footwear; jewellery; tailoring; cosmetic science; beauty therapy; technical effects; costume; make-up & prosthetics; fashion photography.

Freshers

Admission Information:	Most courses require 2 A-levels at least grade C and a Foundation Diploma in art & design; specific tariff points required on some courses.
Points on Entry (Mean):	322
Drop Out Rate:	7%
Accommodation:	Some first years in university-managed accommodation

Institution

Founded:	1906; became part of London Institute 1986 (now Arts London).
Structural features:	Constituent college of University of the Arts, London (Arts London)
Site:	6 sites across London: 2 around Oxford Street in the West End; 2 in the City/Hoxton, 1 in Hackney (Foundation Art & Design course), 1 in Lime Grove, west London.
How to get there:	Oxford Circus and Bond Street underground stations for West End sites. Old Street and Liverpool Street stations for City sites. Bethnal Green for Hackney site. Shepherds Bush Market for Lime Grove.
Special features:	Largest specialist fashion college in the UK, with courses covering the whole industry.

Student services & facilities

Student advice & services:	Easy access to university's central student services; see Arts London. Student advisers in college (eg grants, loans and benefits).
Amenities:	None on site, but many sports societies and events taking place throughout the year.
Accommodation:	Some students in university's halls of residence, £92−£240 per week, contracts 42−51 weeks (see Arts London). Also university accommodation service helps find privately-rented accommodation (ie rooms/flats/houses rented from private landlords); rent approx £80–£280 per week, excluding bills and meals.

Study opportunities & careers

Library & information services:	59,000 books, 250 periodicals, 160 study places. Separate IT service, access 11 hours/day. IT support available. Library orientation and internet induction; IT skills taught as part of course. Also access to facilities of the university's central Learning Zone.
Other learning resources:	Specialist fashion collection of unique interest. Textile lab, computer centres, all specialist fashion facilities, CAD/CAM suites
Study abroad:	5% of students spend a period abroad. Exchange links with universities in eg Amsterdam, Trier, Berlin, Florence, Madrid, and Budapest.
Careers:	Fashion Business Resource Studio (FBRS) provides careers information and advice to all students and for 2 years after graduation; also helps find industrial placements.

Money

Living expenses budget:	Minimum budget of £6000−£10,000 pa (excluding tuition fees) recommended by college.
Term-time work:	College allows term-time work for full-time students (65% believed to work). No work in college but industrial liaison unit publicises part-time and vacation jobs.
Financial help:	See Arts London
University tuition fees:	Home students pay £9000 pa for first degree courses (less in placement year). International students pay £13,300 pa.

Courses

Academic features:

Degrees in wide range of fashion design, technology, promotion, journalism, management etc. Top-up years available for foundation degree students.

Awarding body:

University of the Arts, London.

Main undergraduate awards:

BA, BSc, FdA, FdSc.

Length of courses:

3 years (full-time), 4 years (sandwich), 2 years (FdA/Sc).

Main subjects offered:

Art
Broadcasting
Business Administration
Business Studies
Complementary Therapies
Costume Design
Cultural Studies
Curation
Embroidery
Fashion
Film Studies
Footwear
Illustration
Industrial Design
Jewellery
Journalism
Leather Technology
Management
Marketing
Media Studies
Photography
Product Design
Public Relations
Retail Management
Textiles
Theatre Design
Video
Visual Arts

Student view

Carly Graham (Womenswear design & technology)

Living

What's it like as a place to live? Amazing, it's London so its got everything to do and see. Perfect for an art college everything is on your doorstep and it's never boring.

How's the student accommodation? I've never lived in the student accommodation, but a friend of mine did and the accomodation is pretty basic, pretty much the same as any uni's accommodation, just with better stuff around, eg London. I've lived in flats nearby my uni in East London. They've been nice flats but very expensive for what you get. Obviously finding a flat in London is hard and there's a fast turn-around with no particular time to look. Just luck really.

What's the student population like? Student population is great. In London there's loads of us but we're all spread around and not necessarily from the same uni. I end up socialising as much with professionals and graduate as I do with students. Student population is very international

How do students and locals get on? Fine. There not really any divide.

Studying

What's it like as a place to study? Good. Lots of courses, very specialist. Not much opportunity to transfer courses. Not much socialising with other course either. Facilites are fine. Not great – uni has different ones spread all around London so not always very handy.

What are the teaching staff like? Fine, not great. Some of them are practising professionals but some aren't. Many techncians. Not much contact time.

Socialising

What are student societies like? Not many, I guess, as I don't know of any and I'm not a part of any.

What's a typical night out? Pub/bar club in London.

And how much does it cost? Anything from free drinks for certain events launches etc to £40 club entry, plus cab etc. I personally only spend £20 max as I'm poor

How can you get home safely? Night buses are good. Anyway really; cab if you can afford it − its London.

Money

Is it an expensive place to live? Yes, extremely expensive. Most people are broke as we all live individually in flats etc and not in uni accommodation. Loan doesn’t even cover rent, so unless you get help you will need a part time job

Average price of a pint? Maybe £3.80 +

And the price of a takeaway? £6−£20 depending on where you are

What’s the part-time work situation? Uni generally says there is no time to work, however many can’t live unless they do. There are plenty of jobs and it’s not hard to find one with good pay. Uni will help with jobs after you graduate.

Summary

What’s the best feature about the place? Living in London and learning skills and gaining knowledge in an area I’m truly passionate about

And the worst? Money

And to sum it all up? Expensive but the best place to be.

Past Students

Jimmy Choo, Patrick Cox (footwear designers), Sarah Harris (journalist), Linda Bennett (LK Bennett), Nicola Jeal, Karen Kay, Mandi Norwood (editors), Katarzyna Szczotarska (fashion designer).