Costume with Textiles BA(Hons)
Start Dates
21 September 2026
Duration
3 years full-time 4 years inc. placement year
UCAS Tariff
120-104
Overview
Why choose Huddersfield for this course?
- Design and create costumes for theatre, TV, film, and games.
- Access specialist studios, textiles, and construction facilities.
- Build a professional portfolio through placements, live briefs, and projects.
Accreditation and Professional Links
Recognised connections to give you an extra edge when you graduate. Read More
If you’re fascinated by period dramas, theatre, or visually striking productions, Costume with Textiles at Huddersfield is your chance to turn that passion into a creative career. This course will help you design and realise costumes for film, TV, theatre, and games, while developing your own distinctive creative voice.
You’ll explore all stages of the costume process — from script analysis and concept development to pattern cutting, garment construction, and textile experimentation. Working on a range of briefs, you’ll refine your techniques and build a portfolio that showcases your creativity and professional skills. You’ll also learn to apply sustainable principles in your practice, ensuring your designs meet contemporary industry standards.
Our course is taught by tutors with professional costume-making experience and supported by technicians who guide you in our Barbara Hepworth Building, home to specialist facilities including CAD, laser cutting, 3D printing, textile printing, embroidery, and advanced construction workrooms. You’ll have open access to these spaces, giving you the freedom to experiment and bring your ideas to life.
Placements with professional companies, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and BBC, provide real-world experience, while live projects and competitions help you develop confidence, professional skills, and industry awareness. By the end of your degree, you’ll graduate with a professional portfolio and the skills to pursue a successful career in costume, textiles, or related creative industries.
Career opportunities after the course *
Costume Designer
Costume Maker
Art Teacher
Interior Designer
*Lightcast
Entry Requirements
BBB-BCC at A Level or equivalent.
120-104 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications.
Merit at T Level.
DMM-MMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.
Merit in UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma.
Merit in RSL Level 3 Extended Diploma.
Pass in Diploma Foundation Studies in Art and Design combined with A Level or BTEC qualifications, to total an equivalent of 120-104 UCAS tariff points.
Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Merit or above.
120-104 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.
If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our International Entry Requirements page.
Other suitable experience or qualifications will be considered. For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.
If you do not have the appropriate qualifications for direct entry to this degree you may be able to apply to our Art, Design and Architecture Foundation Pathway Degree.
Course Details
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Teaching and Assessment
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Global Professional Award
At Huddersfield, you’ll study the award-winning Global Professional Award (GPA) alongside your degree* — so you’re ready for the career you want, whatever subject you choose.
Placements
The course offers an optional one-year (36 week minimum) work placement after the second year, in the UK or abroad. This will give you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, insight into your chosen career and open up your graduate employment prospects. Our Placement Unit and academic staff have excellent industry links and can support you in applying for and finding your placement(s), as well as during your placement year.
Students within the area of Costume with Textiles have previously taken up placement opportunities in theatre, film and television with companies including: Opera North – Leeds; The National Theatre – London; The Royal Exchange – Manchester; Birmingham Royal Ballet - Birmingham; Scottish Ballet – Glasgow; Northern Ballet - Leeds; Royal Shakespeare Company - Stratford; BBC Wales - Cardiff; Cabasa Carnival Arts - Oldham; Central Youth Theatre - Wolverhampton; Hat Therapy - Hebden Bridge; Souraya – Australia; Zandra Rhodes – London; The Crucible Theatre – Sheffield and Bayerische Staatsoper – Germany and Timorous Beasties - Glasgow. You can tailor your placement year to suit you, depending on what specific industry experience you wish to gain.
A placement year has allowed me to experience a variety of working routines and costume environments; it gave me an insight into non-traditional materials and techniques.
- Alice Cobbin
Costume with Textiles BA(Hons)
Your Career
This course aims to help you develop the skills needed for roles such as costume designers and makers for film, opera, theatre, dance and television; textile designers for the creative industries; wardrobe assistants; set designers; illustrators; stylists and teachers. Some companies our graduates have gone on to work with include Angels the Costumiers, The Beamish Museum, Bristol Costume Services, The English National Theatre, Opera North and The Northern Ballet.**
Source: **GEMS
85%
Percent of graduates from this course were in work or further study 15 months after graduation
* HESA Graduate Outcomes 22/23, UK Domiciled
The course gave me a great amount of artistic freedom whilst providing expert teaching and guidance in creating and making costumes. I am now able to work at all the levels of costume production, from designing, through pattern making, textile printing and making the costume.
- Karolina Luisoni
Costume with Textiles BA(Hons) graduate
Fees and Finance
This information is for Home students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.
Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy.
From January 2027 the UK government is launching a new student funding system for people starting university education. Read more about the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE).
For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/study/fees/
This information is for international students applying to study at the University of Huddersfield in the academic year 2026/27.
Please note that tuition fees for subsequent years may rise in line with inflation (RPI-X) and/or Government policy.
For detailed information please visit https://www.hud.ac.uk/international/fees-and-funding/
Home
The tuition fee for a placement year is £1000. If you go on work experience or work placement, you will need to fund your own travel and/or accommodation costs to and from the placement. Please be aware that if your placement is outside of the UK, you will still be responsible for your travel and living expenses and may need to consider issues like health care and insurance costs.
International
The tuition fee for a placement year is £3,300. If you go on work experience or work placement, you will need to fund your own travel and/or accommodation costs to and from the placement. Please be aware that if your placement is outside of the UK, you will still be responsible for your travel and living expenses and may need to consider issues like health care and insurance costs.
Materials:
Some initial materials will be provided during the first and second years of the course, including pattern paper, thread, calico fabric and embroidery / print materials. You’ll need to supply some of your own materials, including sewing equipment, art materials and printing. An equipment list will be provided during the summer before you begin first year. The costs may vary based on the materials you choose. The approximate cost of these items in recent years has been £90 in the first year, £70 in the second year and £80 to £120 in the final year. There is no limit on the amount you may wish to spend, but you will be asked to set and work within a budget. This is dependent on the student’s choice of materials. In the final year you’ll need to supply the materials you require to produce your major collection. There is no limit on the amount you may wish to spend, but you will be asked to set and work within a budget. As a guide, costs in previous years have ranged from £30 to £1000 per student for this project. This is dependent on the student’s choice of materials.
Scholarships and Bursaries
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Tuition Fee Loans
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What’s included in your fee?
We want you to understand exactly what your fees will cover and what additional costs you may need to budget for when you decide to become a student with us.
If you have any questions about Fees and Finance, please email the Student Finance Team.
Gallery
See below for a glimpse at some of our facilities
Fashion and Costume Studio
Embroidery studio
Print and Dye Studio
Digital Print Centre
Barbara Hepworth Building
A gallery of work from our Costume with Textiles students and graduate shows.
Harriet Scrase-Hollamby
Grass Hopper- 2nd Year Dr Faustus Project
Holly Sykes
2nd Year Dr Faustus Project (Costume with Textiles Knit)
Isabel Abbey
Isabel Abbey Research and Development Final Year Textiles designs.
Rachel Batey
Research and Development Final year costume designs.
Rachel Batey
Research and Development Final year costume designs.
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School Brochure
Discover more about The School of Arts and Humanities in our brochure
Stay connected with the course
Keep up to date with Costume with Textiles work, news and events.
Why Hud
Explore the unique opportunities and resources that make our institution a top choice for students seeking a well-rounded and future-focused education.
Explore Huddersfield
Make Huddersfield your home. A Yorkshire town, surrounded by beautiful countryside, with easy access to neighbouring cities; Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield. You’ll find plenty of places to eat, drink, shop and socialise, there’s ambitious plans for future development. Our campus is situated next to the town centre - making your commute a breeze.
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Sustainability Matters
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We know you’re coming to university to study on your chosen subject, meet new people and broaden your horizons. However, we also help you to focus on life after you have graduated to ensure that your hard work pays off and you achieve your ambition.
Find out more about careers supportStudent support
At the University of Huddersfield, you’ll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you’ll soon discover that you’re never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey.
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Our researchers carry out world-leading work that makes a real difference to people’s lives. Staff within the Department of Design and Architecture may teach you on this course.
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Looking for student accommodation? Huddersfield has you covered. HudLets has a variety of accommodation types to choose from, no matter what your preference. HudLets is the University’s approved accommodation service, run by Huddersfield Students’ Union.
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When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by our terms and conditions, Handbook of Regulations and associated policies. It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan.
Although we always try and ensure we deliver our courses as described, sometimes we may have to make changes for the following reasons:
Changes to a course you have applied for but are not yet enrolled on
If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment. We may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and if you are unhappy with the change we will discuss with you other suitable courses we can transfer your application to. If you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.
Changes to your course after you enrol as a student
Changes to option modules
Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have an equivalent range of options to that advertised for the course. We will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.
Major changes
We will only make major changes to non-optional modules on a course if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change is a change that substantially changes the outcomes, or a significant part of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum. For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators or a commissioning or accrediting body. We may also make changes to improve the course in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback or to ensure you are being taught current best practice. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff being unable to teach due to illness, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to pandemics, other disasters (such as fire, flood or war) or changes made by the government.
Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but may happen sooner in an emergency. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will consult with affected groups of students and any changes would only be made in accordance with our regulations. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you let us know before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for any additional tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so and you may be eligible for an exit award depending on how far through your course you are.
In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed in accordance with the student protection plan.
The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.