Postgraduate

Graduate Diploma Fashion Design Technology (Low Residency)

Female model in white dress with rose petals on her eyes.

**Joao Maraschin | Graduate Diploma Fashion Design Technology | London College of Fashion | University of Arts London**

College
London College of Fashion Start date
September 2024 Course length
1 year (30 weeks)

This is a one-year intensive course aimed at developing skills required for postgraduate study or entering the industry by introducing students to diverse approaches to research and building integrity and identity in their designed outcomes.

Applications suspended 2025/26

We are not recruiting for this course for entry in 2025/26. Discover more courses at UAL.

In-person course

You can study a version of this course in-person.

Applying for more than 1 course

From October 2024, you can only apply for a maximum of 3 postgraduate courses each year at UAL (excluding online or low-residency courses and Graduate Diplomas). Find out more in the Apply Now section.

The negotiated approach to the briefs based on individual interests and practice facilitates a variety of postgraduate destinations including but not limited to fashion design, artefact, costume, critical thinking, and sustainability within fashion across various MA courses at UAL and beyond. Please note: This course will run at Level 6, which is equivalent to the final year of BA (Hons) degree, and is a preparatory course for students who want to study at postgraduate level.

Why choose this course at London College of Fashion

Critical thinking:The course emphasises the development of broad perspectives, leading to an informed sense of agency within your practice through a low residency mode of delivery
Orientation through diagnosis:We welcome students from diverse creative undergraduate educational backgrounds and support them in finding their direction through a diagnostic approach to fashion.
Educational opportunities: Graduates have gone on to MA study, including Fashion Design in Menswear and Womenswear, Artefact, Costume, Future thinking (MA Fashion Futures), Creative Pattern and Garment Technology at institutions including LCF, CSM, Chelsea, and Wimbledon, in addition to the RCA, Westminster, Kingston, Goldsmiths, FIT New York and Aalto Helsinki.
Industry Expertise: Where appropriate the Course invites varied visiting industry professionals with a range of perspectives to inform creative discussions at different stages in the year. Previous visiting professionals include Richard Kilroy, Julie Verhoeven, Louise Gray, Claire Barrow, Emma Greenhill, James Buck, and Luke Brooks (Rottingdean Bazaar), Peter Jensen, Gabrielle Miller amongst others.
Industry Progression: Graduates are well-positioned to gain employment in varied industry roles in the area of design, technology, and future thinking.
Sustainability and Climate Emergency: The course helps students develop conscious practice; to draw on their own values, backgrounds and vision for the future, to gain a clearer understanding of how they can create something of worth to themselves and the world, grounded in sustainable thinking.

Course overview

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Staff

Please return to this section for more information about staff teaching this course later in the academic year.

Fees and funding

Home fee

£12,700

This fee is correct for 2025/26 entry and is subject to change for 2026/27 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£25,060

This fee is correct for 2025/26 entry and is subject to change for 2026/27 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

Additional costs

You may need to cover additional costs which are not included in your tuition fees, such as materials and equipment specific to your course. For a list of general digital equipment you may need (and how you can borrow equipment), visit our Study costs page.

Accommodation

Find out about accommodation options and how much they will cost, and other living expenses you'll need to consider.

Scholarships, bursaries and awards

If you’ve completed a qualifying course at UAL (which includes study abroad courses), you may be eligible for a tuition fee discount on this course. Find out more about our Progression discount.

How to pay

Find out how you can pay your tuition fees.

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Entry requirements

Selection criteria

Information for disabled applicants

UAL is committed to achieving inclusion and equality for disabled students. This includes students who have:

Dyslexia or another Specific Learning Difference
A sensory impairment
A physical impairment
A long-term health or mental health condition
Autism
Another long-term condition which has an impact on your day-to-day life

Our Disability Service arranges adjustments and support for disabled applicants and students.

Read our Disability and dyslexia: applying for a course and joining UAL information.

Apply now

Application deadline

We are not recruiting for this course for entry in September 2025.
Discover more courses at UAL.

Apply now

Application deadline

We are not recruiting for this course for entry in September 2025.
Discover more courses at UAL.

You also need to know

Communicating with you

Once you have submitted your initial application, we will email you with your login details for our Applicant portal.

Requests for supplementary documents like qualifications and English language tests will be made through the applicant portal. You can also use it to ask questions regarding your application. Visit our After you apply page for more information.

Applying to more than 1 course

From October 2024, you can only apply for a maximum of 3 postgraduate courses each year at UAL. This excludes online or low-residency courses and Graduate Diplomas, which you can apply to in addition to 3 other postgraduate courses.

If you apply for more than 3 postgraduate courses between October 2024 and August 2025, we won’t accept the 4th application. It’s not possible to withdraw an application to replace it with another.

You need to tailor your application, supporting documents and portfolio to each course, so applying for many different courses could risk the overall quality of your application. If you receive offers for multiple courses, you'll only be able to accept 1 offer.

Visas and immigration history check

All non-UK nationals must complete an immigration history check. Your application may be considered by our course teams before this check takes place. If your course requires a portfolio and/or video task, we may request these before we identify any issues arising from your immigration history check. Sometimes your history may mean that we are not able to continue considering your application. Visit our Immigration and visas advice page for more information.

External student transfer policy

UAL accepts transfers from other institutions on a case-by-case basis. Read our Student transfer policy for more information.

Alternative offers

If your application is really strong, but we believe your strengths and skillset are better suited to a different course, we may make you an alternative offer. This means you will be offered a place on a different course or at a different UAL College.

Deferring your place

We do not accept any deferral requests for our postgraduate courses. This means that you must apply in the year that you plan to start your course and you will not be able to defer your place to start at a later date.

Application deadlines

Most of our postgraduate courses have 2 rounds of deadlines: one in December and one in March.

As long as you apply ahead of each deadline we will consider your application alongside all the other applications in that round. We always make sure to hold enough places back for round 2 to make sure we can consider your application fairly, no matter which round you apply in.

If there are still places available after the second deadline, the course will remain open to applications until all places have been filled.

Careers

All of our undergraduate courses offer career development, so that you become a creative thinker, making effective contributions to your relevant sector of the fashion industry.

LCF offers students the opportunity to develop Personal and Professional Development (PPD) skills while studying through:

An on-course work experience or placement year. Please note, this is not available on every course; please see the Course Details section for information about work placement opportunities.
Access to to speaker programmes and events featuring alumni and industry.
Access to careers activities, such as CV clinics and one-to-one advice sessions.
Access to a graduate careers service
Access to a live jobsboard for all years.
Advice on setting up your own brand or company.

Graduates who wish to continue their education at postgraduate level can progress to suitable courses within the College, the University or elsewhere.

Career paths

The Graduate Diploma in Fashion Design Technology is located within the Graduate School at LCF. This course prepares graduates for suitable MA courses within the Design and Technology programme at LCF, including MA Fashion Design Technology Menswear, MA Fashion Design Technology Womenswear, and MA Pattern and Garment Technology.

Graduates have previously secured places on MA progressions within UAL and LCF, CSM, Chelsea and Wimbledon in addition to the RCA, Westminster, Kingston, Goldsmiths, Aalto Helskinki, Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.

Alternatively, graduates of this course will be in a position to gain employment in varied roles within the international fashion industry in the area of design and technology.

Graduate Futures

Graduate Futures provides a comprehensive career management service supporting our students to become informed and self-reliant individuals able to plan and manage their own careers.