This course is offered in conjunction with the Fashion Museum in Bath. This is a world-class museum collection of historic and contemporary fashion, which has been designated as a collection of outstanding significance by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). The museum is fully accredited under the MLA Accreditation scheme.

This innovative course seeks to utilise unique resources to provide you with the skills to research, write and lecture about fashionable dress. The course aims to enable students to work with museum collections, whilst attending supporting lecture and seminar programmes. These will develop an understanding of fashion and its contexts through objects, and museum based study

The provision of teaching and learning opportunities within museums affords students access to a working museum environment, where they will gain hands-on experience of data collection and collation, garment handling, dressing and photography and will also benefit from the teaching and learning offered within the Bath School of Art and Design. Students will work with curators and museum professionals as well as academics and designers in order to fuse theory and practice and to develop innovative approaches to the study, display and dissemination of fashionable dress in relation to the history and theory of fashion. Additionally, students are encouraged to present their research in a public arena and are offered the opportunity to study for a Post-Graduate Certificate in Professional Learning.

• Admission is normally based on a good undergraduate degree in a design, business or media discipline together with an interview. Applicants with a good honours degree in a related discipline and/or with relevant work experience will also be considered.
• Overseas applicants with a design background should send a digital portfolio. Other overseas applicants will be assessed on the basis of their qualifications and statement included in the application form.
• To help applicants - especially those from overseas - to decide if this course is appropriate for them, it is advisable to contact the Course Leader prior to application.

The modules available are:

• Research Methodologies: Part one introduces generic research methodologies with part two considering subject specific material, analysis and evaluation techniques.
• Material Evidence 1: The module, split into two inter-related segments, aims to introduce students to professional practice in museums and learning and teaching environments. This will largely consist of independent study supported by Blackboard.
• Fashion History and Theory: This element of the course is intended to introduce students to the key issues arising from fashionable dress from the past in the present. Consisting of a taught lecture and seminar programme, students will be encouraged to discuss a variety of topics pertinent to an analysis of both historical and contemporary dress.
• Material Evidence 2: The module is split into two parts which address practical and ethical issues arising from working in the public sector. The first element addresses the use of learning technology in Higher Education: to include PowerPoint presentations, image location, virtual learning environments such as Minerva and Blackboard, photography and video work. The second element investigates the roles and responsibilities of the Higher Education Lecturer: which will address the ethics and duties of the post.
• Master's Project: The Master's Project double module offers students the opportunity to investigate an area of the museum collection in detail culminating in a 20,000 word thesis.