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Sustainable Textile Technologies MSc

Fusing design with technical understanding in the research and development of high-performance and innovative textiles, this course will evolve your technical, practical and creative skills in textile design and production.

Block teaching designed around you

You deserve a positive teaching and learning experience, where you feel part of a supportive community. That’s why most of our postgraduate taught students will enjoy an innovative approach to learning using block teaching, where you will study one module at a time. You will benefit from more regular assessments and feedback, a better study-life balance, and a simplified timetable that provides more time for work, professional development, caring responsibilities, and everything else that's important to you. Our block-taught courses are informed by industry practice, often accredited by professional bodies, and are delivered by passionate and talented academics, who will help you develop the skills to achieve your goals.

Read more about block teaching

Overview

Student Nadir talks about his experience studying Textile Design, Technology and Innovation at DMU.

*This course was previously called Textile Design, Technology and Innovation

This course will inspire you to explore the diverse and novel application of sustainable textiles and challenge you to push the boundaries of textile design and production. Supported by our passionate academics, you will develop advanced technical expertise, from design and development through to construction and product testing, critically examining the ethical and environmental impact of design and gaining a unique and innovative vision for the application of textile materials. 

This course has been designed in collaboration with industry, constantly evolving to produce graduates that meet industry demand. Throughout the course, you will work closely with industry via coursework, guest talks, company trips, live-projects and live competitions, giving you opportunities to network and gain skills employers are seeking. In the past, students have worked alongside high street retailers, material innovators, product developers, textile manufacturers and finishers, small start-up companies and material scientists. You will also have the opportunity to tailor your learning to your career aspirations through your coursework topics, elective module choice, work-based projects, placements and your final term projects.

We encourage applications from students from either design or technical backgrounds, as these skills will help you develop a rounded skill-set. Previous students on this course have created some of the most exciting, pioneering work by drawing on their wide-ranging areas of expertise  - we have seen an engineering graduate using lasers to enhance the design process, a mechanical design engineer investigating the performance of lightweight synthetic motorcycle clothing, a fashion designer develop sustainable sportwear and a contour design graduate developing wearable technology.

Graduates from this course have gone on to obtain roles in sustainable design, sportwear and performance textiles, product development, fashion buying and regulatory and sustainability at diverse companies including Asda, Next, Gymshark, Baltex, Hugo Boss, Finisterre and Rohan. The course also offers a clear progression route into PhD studies with opportunities for students to take their research further from masters level to post-doctoral and research with TEAM research group.

Key features

  • Bring your dreams to life in our award-winning Vijay Patel building. Alongside extensive textile dyeing, finishing and printing facilities, you will also have access to one of the only university-owned, fully climate-controlled textiles laboratory for textile testing in the UK. The lab houses a range of commercial textile testing equipment alongside specialist research facilities, allowing you to experiment, prototype and test materials, products and processes.
  • Benefit from the knowledge and expertise of the Textile Engineering and Materials (TEAM) Research Group, who directly input on the course content. TEAM’s research includes textile processing, biodegradable and compostable textiles, end of life management of fashion and textile materials, healthcare textiles, performance textiles and designing for the circular economy and sustainable textile industry.
  • Enjoy opportunities to showcase your work in DMU’s The Gallery space, which plays host to industry visitors and the general public from across the East Midlands and further afield. You will also showcase at the LCB Depot, one of Leicester’s creative hubs, as part of Fashion Season, where you can showcase your final-term work through posters and physical pieces.
  • Learn from our expert teaching team and skilled technicians. With vast experience working in industry, they can provide expert knowledge and guidance across garment and product technology, intimate apparel, textile technology and innovation, fabric construction, and sustainable and ethical practices.
  • Enhance your studies with an optional year-long work placement, gaining valuable practical and professional skills. Students from this course have undertaken diverse placements from Fashion designer in residence at Heathfield school, Ascot to quality administrator at Baltex, Nottingham, one of the leading suppliers of high-performance technical textiles.
  • Benefit from block teaching, where most students study one subject at a time. A simple timetable will allow you to really engage with your learning, receive regular feedback and assessments, get to know your course mates and enjoy a better study-life balance.

Scholarships: This course has a scholarship available for 2025 entry. The Clothworkers’ Company Scholarship offers two £5,000 cash bursaries, to support undergraduate students with the increasing cost of living. To be eligible, students must have a household income of £50,000 or less.

Talk to our course team

If you would like to find out more about how this course can help you achieve your career ambitions, send a message to our course team [Dr Angela Davies] who would be happy to chat to you. Alternatively, you can register for our next postgraduate event or call our course enquirers team on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70  / WhatsApp: 0797 0655 800.


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Student's innovative design chosen as one of 10 best in worldwide competition

 

Scholarships:

DMU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and bursaries to help you realise your academic ambitions.

International Scholarships

Find out about available scholarships and country specific fee discounts for international students. 

 

More courses like this:

Digital Design MA
Fashion and Textiles MA

DMU has been shortlisted for the Postgraduate Award in the 2024 Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCAs), as voted for by students.

  • UK
  • EU/International

Programme code: J42081

Duration: One year full-time.

Start date: September


Fees and funding: 

2025/26 tuition fees for UK students will be £9,700 per year.

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

 

How to apply

Application guidance document

Submit a study-related enquiry

Programme code: J42081

Duration: One year full-time

Start date: September


Fees and funding: 

2025/26 tuition fees for EU and international students: £16,300

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

How to apply

Application guidance document

Submit a study-related enquiry

Ellie-Jones

"My experience of studying at DMU has been fantastic. I cannot thank the DMU academics enough for the support and guidance I’ve received." - Ellie Jones, student and finalist in the Woolmark Performance Challenge. Learn more.

Entry criteria

Typical entry requirements 

You should have the equivalent or above of a 2:2 UK bachelor’s honours degree in a fashion or textile-related subject, management, business, art, design, or a related science, engineering or social science subject.

If you have other professional qualifications and industry experience, we will consider your application on an individual basis.

Interview

Non-standard applicants will be invited to attend an online interview with the academic team.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

Awards and memberships

 

Modules

Block 1: Textile Technology and Sustainability

Block 2: Specialist Research and Technical Skills

Block 3: Select one from the following:

  • Supply and Sourcing
  • Technology for Design
  • Digital Development
  • Sustainability Strategy and Design

Block 4: Product Performance and Manufacturing Technologies

Blocks 5 and 6: Select one from the following:

  • Major Design Project
  • Work-based Project
  • Dissertation
  • Entrepreneurship Project

 

 

See more detailed module descriptions


Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

 

Overview

The programme is delivered primarily through lectures, seminars and practical workshops as well as tutorial guidance. 

Lectures deliver a discourse on a particular subject followed by seminars, which are used for holding discussions or for the exchanging of information in a smaller group. 

Practical workshops allow you to engage in hands-on design and development work using a range of specialist equipment.  

Tutorials are provided usually to discuss a subject on a one to one basis between the tutor and yourself; however you may find yourself in a small tutorial group to benefit from the contribution of others.

Throughout the programme the curriculum is enhanced by offsite visits and onsite visiting industry professionals. Offsite visits allow you to experience a range of companies, factories and facilities, who play a critical role in the textile industry relevant to the module curriculum. Visiting industry professionals from a variety of business experiences will form the basis of some lecture sessions onsite, where appropriate to the module curriculum.

Contact hours
In your first two terms you will normally attend around 12 hours of timetabled taught sessions including lectures, tutorials and workshop and studio sessions each week, and be expected to undertake at least 23 hours of independent study each week. Your third term will be pre-dominantly self-directed (including meetings with your supervisor), during which you can expect to undertake 35 hours of independent study each week.

Green Gown Award

We are recognised as one of the country’s most sustainable fashion and textiles schools (Green Gown Awards, 2021) and one of the best fashion schools in the world for 2022 (CEOWORLD, 2022).

UK Fashion and Textiles Association

DMU is a member of the UK Fashion and Textile Association, whose input ensures our teaching is current and provides valuable industry links to enhance your employability.

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UKFT partner logo

 

Facilities and features

Art and design facilities

Our award-winning Vijay Patel building has been designed to provide the space and facilities where all of our art and design students can develop their ideas and flourish. 

The creative industries require imaginative graduates who can develop new ideas and products. Students use our sophisticated and contemporary workshops, labs and studios to experiment and test in the same way they will in industry, while the open and transparent spaces in the building encourage collaboration between disciplines. In doing so, the building prepares students for industry and helps develop them as future leaders in their respective fields. 

Take a look at our stunning showcase of the building at dmu.ac.uk/aad.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Campus Centre

Our Learning Zones and The Greenhouse also provide space for group or individual work and study.

There are 1,600 study places across all library locations, more than 700 computer stations, laptops to borrow, free wi-fi and desktop power outlets.

You can also book rooms with plasma screens, laptops and DVD facilities for group work and presentations, secure an individual study room with adjustable lighting or make use of our assistive technology.

 

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
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Placements

During this course you will have the option to complete a placement year, an invaluable opportunity to put the skills developed during your degree into practice. This insight into the professional world will build on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you to progress onto your chosen career.  Placements will normally take place between semester two and three.

Our Careers Team can help to hone your professional skills with mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and an assigned personal tutor will support you throughout your placement.

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DMU Global

This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world.

Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

 

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Graduate careers

Our graduates pursue a range of roles, including product developers, textile technologists, textile chemists, product testers, project scientists, technical textile designers, across sportswear clothing, fashion and functional performance wear, and wearable technology. 

Progression routes from these would often lead to senior management, in roles such as production managers, heads of innovation, and product development. Many of our graduates have gone on to work for national and multinational companies such as Cleversocks and John Smedley while others start their own businesses. By helping you to develop sophisticated research skills, this course also provides excellent preparation to  progress onto a PhD.  

Graduate Ema who works as an Innovation Intern at Gymshark said: “I wanted a course that would make me stand out from other candidates when applying for jobs in the Performance Sportswear industry. I really enjoyed how varied the course was and how we could tailor each module to suit our own areas of interest.” 

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