Bachelor of Arts - Fashion Buying with Merchandising (Honours) (with placement year)

By choosing to specialise in Fashion Buying with Merchandising students will cover how these specialisms work together and be prepared to enter the dynamic world of fashion retail.

Learn about the diverse roles and responsibilities of a fashion buyer and merchandiser, and explore the associated roles that are key within the modern fashion industry.

Students will develop in-depth knowledge of the buying cycle and the critical path, and key activities around trading the range, reacting to sales and managing sales promotions. The merchandising pathway focuses on the numbers behind buying a fashion range, its selection process and strategic stock management.

At DMU they place a strong emphasis on nurturing professional practice through personal development planning. This encourages students to reflect on their progress and achievements and identify areas y wish to develop and improve, as well as guided research and critical reasoning and they’ll make sure students' Excel skills are fit for purpose in their chosen industry.

DMU is ranked in the Top 10 for Fashion and Textiles in the UK, according to The Guardian University Guide 2020 and DMU was named best in learning experience in 2019 by The Business of Fashion, the internationally renowned website which assesses the world’s top programmes.

Key features

• Students learn what they’ll need – including communication and an understanding of fashion business – for a career in today’s fashion and buying industries.
• Draw upon the expertise of fashion industry insiders to build knowledge and get ready for a career in merchandising, or a related role.
• 100% of Fashion Buying graduates from summer 2017 are in work or further study after graduating (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) 2016-17).
• Understand the figures in fashion finance – the budgets, trading forecasts, effective sales analysis and planning.
• Develop industry-recognised merchandising expertise through an understanding of range building, sales forecasting, critical path management and presentation skills.
• Year one explores the business of fashion, followed by the opportunity to specialise in merchandising during years two and three.
• Take up a one-year placement opportunity within or outside the UK. Students have experienced life at Tommy Hilfiger, O'Neill, Next, Marks & Spencer, Reiss, George, Selfridges, River Island, Joules, G-Star, Mamas & Papas, and at several supply bases. Many go on to work for these big brands, or are now running their own successful businesses.
• Utilise an award-winning design space – the Vijay Patel Building – containing specialist facilities to foster fresh ideas and creativity.

• Minimum Level of Education Required: 1-Year Post-Secondary Certificate
• Min GPA: 60.0%
• English Proficiency Requirements:
  For direct admission, applicant must be from an English speaking country or meet either of the following English test scores:
  • Min TOEFL iBT: 60 (Min Listening: 7.0, Min Reading: 8.0, Min Speaking: 16.0, Min Writing: 18.0)
  • Min IELTS overall: 6 (Min Listening: 5.5, Min Reading: 5.5, Min Speaking: 5.5, Min Writing: 5.5)
  • Min PTE overall: 50
  Applicants interested in applying for direct admission, but are yet to complete an acceptable language test, can do so, but must provide valid results before receiving a final offer letter.
  For conditional admission, you are required to provide English proficiency scores:
  • Min TOEFL iBT: 32 (Min Listening: 2, Min Reading: 2, Min Speaking: 11, Min Writing: 11)
  • Min IELTS overall: 4.5 (Min Listening: 4, Min Reading: 4, Min Speaking: 4, Min Writing: 4)
  • Min PTE overall: 29