Entering higher education is exciting; but it can also be a daunting experience. At ARU, we want all our students to make the most of the opportunities higher education provides, reach your potential, become lifelong learners and find fulfilling careers. However, we appreciate that the shift from secondary education, or a return to formal education is, in itself, quite a journey. This module is designed to ease that transition. You'll be enrolled on it as soon as you receive an offer from ARU so you can begin to learn about university life before your course starts. Through Into ARU, you'll explore a virtual land modelled around ARU values: Courage, Innovation, Community, Integrity, Responsibility, and Ambition. This innovative module is designed as a game, where you collect knowledge and complete mini tasks. You'll proceed at your own pace, though we you to have completed your Into ARU exploration by week 6. If for any reason you're unable to complete by that date, we'll signpost to existing services so that we can be confident that you are supported.
View the full module definitionIn this module you will explore the fundamental practical, and creative interpretative 2D and 3D design process and techniques including research, translation, and design towards the development of a fashion concept and portfolio. You'll develop your understanding of current issues and contexts through an examination of historical, social-cultural, theoretical and environmental perspectives in contemporary design practice and build a solid foundation for innovative design through associated practical, and creative processes. You'll extend your self-reflection, communication skills and professional development through studio project briefs and inclusive learning environments, e.g. practical workshops, seminars, group discussions regarding process and outcomes, and tutorials as well as expanding your understanding of context, practical application and process.
View the full module definitionThe Cut, Form and Construction module offers a comprehensive exploration of pattern cutting and garment construction, equipping you with essential 2D and 3D technical skills to bring your design ideas to life. Through a series of practical workshops, you'll investigate both traditional and experimental pattern cutting techniques, developing innovative approaches to design and creative problem-solving. These technical explorations are contextualised within contemporary social, cultural, historical, and ethical frameworks, fostering critical reflection and informed practice. You'll develop your technical skills through a creative design project while expanding your critical thinking and inventive problem-solving. You will develop your individual creative identity and a distinctive, personal approach to making. You'll learn through a dynamic mix of lectures, practical workshops and tutorials, where you will engage with the tools, materials, and techniques that underpin both traditional and contemporary pattern cutting and construction practices.
View the full module definitionThe creative design industry is increasingly acknowledged as a major contributor to environmental degradation and the disruption of natural ecosystems. As such, embedding sustainability into design practice is now a fundamental imperative across the sector. In this module, you'll critically engage with a wide range of contemporary issues and contexts shaping the industry. This will include the exploration of theoretical frameworks in design thinking, alongside the practical application of innovative, sustainable pattern cutting and construction methods. You'll acquire advanced 2D and 3D technical skills that support the development of original, sustainability-focused design solutions. You'll be introduced to digital fashion software (Clo3D) to explore zero waste solutions. Through the study of both traditional and experimental pattern cutting techniques, you'll cultivate a deeper understanding of creative and technical strategies for sustainable problem-solving. Your learning will be supported through studio-based project briefs and inclusive, collaborative environments. These include practical workshops, seminars, group critiques, student-led presentations (focused on both process and outcomes), and one-to-one tutorials. These experiences will help you explore context, process, and application, while also fostering self-reflection, communication, and professional development.
View the full module definitionThis module challenges you to engage with diverse visual communication methods within your fashion practice. You'll be introduced to and develop digital skills that are needed in the fashion industry: technical drawing, drawing for translation and design, collage (image making and image manipulation), digital print, experimental fashion illustration and other fashion focused portfolio work. You'll develop your understanding of the most effective methods and processes through which to communicate your contemporary design ideas using both hand and digital techniques. You'll be introduced to key digital communication tools, developing your confidence with key software and digital platforms that will contribute to your studio practice modules while discovering the capabilities of the selected programs – Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. You'll learn to critically reflect on your skills and develop your individual creativity in promoting your own work. Portfolio and presentation skills will support the promotion of your creative practice to a range of audiences, including potential internships/work experience opportunities and employers.
View the full module definitionIn this module, you'll be introduced to critical thinking in art and design, and develop essential study skills in communication, research, critical analysis, and subject-specific knowledge. Through lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, and field trips, you'll explore and get to know Cambridge as a place for research and investigation into art and design practices. You'll also begin to consider the wider cultural context of your creative work by engaging with the city’s histories, buildings, and material cultures. The module examines how the histories and theories of art and design influence the ways we understand and create today. You'll be introduced to key ideas and movements that have shaped how art and design are interpreted in your subject area. By the end of this module, you'll have begun to understand and contextualise your own creative practice as both a researcher and practitioner. You'll also develop confidence in applying critical thinking, research, and communication skills in your work.
View the full module definitionChallenging the boundaries of fashion design, sustainability and industry practice, in this module you'll develop your understanding of 3D digital fashion approaches for design, innovation, and garment production, from within and beyond the fashion industry. Labelled ‘the future of fashion’, ‘3D Digital Fashion’ and AI have made significant advancements within the industry facilitating sustainable production and supply chain processes, alongside the rise of digital only fashion, digital couture, inclusive markets, explorative wearer experiences, and dynamic self-expression. These are being developed for social media, new virtual and immersive territories, and gaming. You'll investigate and analyse industry and innovation-led contemporary digital fashion design practices and generate innovative approaches to your design process and outcomes, enhancing your employability and enterprise skills. This involves advanced, creative, practical, and technical 2D and 3D factors for 3D fashion design, digital pattern cutting, textiles, virtual prototyping, and 3D visual communication techniques. Through critical lectures, seminars and workshops, this module will develop further your understanding of digital 3D fashion software (Clo3D) and other tools to design and visually communicate an innovative and self-directed design project and professional portfolio for a particular market.
View the full module definitionIn this module you'll extend your skills and understanding of pattern cutting, construction and product realisation. You'll respond to a project brief that explores methods of experimental creative cutting whilst integrating and applying the fundamentals of classic garment design and construction. Challenging your existing skills, you'll develop both physical and digital products through engagement with visual research, technical design development, 2D to 3D translation and both contextual and market research. This module will help you develop confident and creative diagnostic pattern-cutting and construction skills through the application of professional industry practice and standards.
View the full module definitionChallenging the boundaries of fashion design, in this module we'll investigate design as a multidisciplinary practice and explore social, cultural, political, technological and historical issues, and consumer trends based on contemporary debates within the industry. You'll further develop your understanding of industry-led design practices, consumer lifestyle profiling, consumer trends and market level awareness, through lectures and workshops. During analysis of the primary and secondary research, translation and design process, we'll address more complex and conceptual design ideas and problems. These will involve more advanced creative, interpretative and practical 2D and 3D factors and textiles for fashion design, production and further explore more advanced visual communication techniques for design development and professional portfolio presentation. You'll investigate and analyse industry-led and conceptual contemporary fashion design practices and generate creative and innovative approaches to design. You'll build the essential skills and techniques needed to develop your confidence of design and enhance your employability and enterprise skills through application to a particular brand and market.
View the full module definitionThis module enables you to develop your creative communication skills across a range of media, including fashion photography and styling, art direction and graphics, to create brand campaigns that attract consumers and influencers to brands within the industry. It capitalises on your previous knowledge and understanding of fashion brands, and will support you to develop the essential skills and techniques needed to develop your confidence in understanding and designing effective languages of visual culture in fashion promotion, and how to create and implement fashion promotions. By the end of this module, your employability and enterprise skills will be enhanced through the learning undertaken and projects created. Lectures, seminars, workshops, and self-directed learning will help you to critically explore and challenge global perspectives on the different tools and techniques used by the fashion industry, both digital and analogue, for creating fashion narratives for different markets and audiences. By the end of this module, you'll be able to undertake deeper, more focused analysis of the strategies and key success factors of a range of fashion promotion methods.
View the full module definitionThis module is about understanding where your creative practice sits in the world in dialogue with other creative practitioners, thinkers, and cultural contexts. You'll explore how ideas, values, and social issues shape creative work, and how your own practice responds to (and challenges) those contexts. You'll learn how to talk and write confidently about your work – not just what it is, but what it means and why it matters. Together, we'll look at key debates that affect creative practice today, such as identity, gender and race, ethics and sustainability, care and wellbeing, digital and online culture, and the politics of space and place. You'll be introduced to curatorial thinking as a way to position your own work within a wider creative and critical context. Through this curatorial lens, you'll explore how creative practices speak to each other – and how you can use scholarly ideas to deepen that dialogue. By the end of the module, you'll be able to critically evaluate your own creative work and that of others, understanding how ideas and contexts give creative practice its meaning, relevance, and power.
View the full module definitionRuskin Modules are a great opportunity to explore challenges and ideas outside your area of study. Working with students from a range of courses, you'll be supported to create meaningful connections across disciplines, and apply new knowledge to tackle complex problems and key challenges. Ruskin Modules are designed to grow your confidence, realise your potential and help you prepare for the world of work.
In this module, you'll define and propose a fashion concept within the context of the contemporary global fashion industry, while developing a specialist direction such as pattern cutting, surface textiles, or printed textiles. Through practical experimentation, you'll produce a realised collection of garments or artefacts that reflect your project methodology and creative direction. You'll document your creative journey and reflective practice as you translate your concept into a seasonal market-focused pre-collection. This will be supported by a professional portfolio that communicates your design intent and technical development. Working independently, you'll apply project management strategies and professional creative practices to tackle experimental and complex design challenges. You’ll also demonstrate advanced awareness of contemporary design, sustainability in the creative industries, innovative thinking, and the use of specialist software tools. By the end of the module, you'll have created a substantial body of work that can be further developed in your final collection and portfolio module, supporting your transition into professional practice after graduation.
View the full module definitionIn this module, you'll prepare for a career in fashion design by cultivating your ability to take creative risks, solve complex problems, and respond to evolving market demands and contexts. You'll also engage with ethical and sustainable design practices. Building on your previous studies, you'll refine a specialist focus, such as pattern cutting, surface textiles, or printed textiles within a contemporary fashion framework. The outcome will be a market-oriented final collection, and a professional portfolio aligned with current industry standards and your chosen career path. Throughout this module, you may have the opportunity to engage with industry-related projects, including bespoke commissions, national competitions, and live briefs. These experiences will support the development of your professional outcomes, enhancing both employability and entrepreneurial skills by applying your independent design practice across diverse audiences. Working independently, you'll demonstrate advanced intellectual and creative capabilities that reflect your unique design identity, specialist expertise, and technical proficiency. Through effective project management, you'll address complex design challenges and present your final fashion collection and portfolio within a professional, commercial framework, preparing you for future employment or entrepreneurial ventures in the fashion industry. Through lectures, workshops, development discussions, and reviews, you'll explore creative innovation and design solutions within the fast-evolving practices of the fashion industry. You’ll be expected to engage confidently in professional activities across a range of industry networks and collaborations, manage your projects with professionalism, and meet all specified deadlines. As part of your Final Major Project, you'll engage with a dedicated professional development strand. These sessions are designed to develop and build up your graduate skills and employability. They will focus on portfolio development, specialist talks by professionals, and support from Anglia Ruskin Enterprise Academy (AREA) and our Placement and Employability teams.
View the full module definitionCritical and Contextual Studies 3: Creative Inquiry is your opportunity to bring together everything you’ve learned during your degree and take it further. You'll look back at your studies and identify the themes, ideas, and practices that matter most to you, and transform them into a focused, independent research project. This module is designed to support your journey from curiosity to clarity. You'll learn how to shape a research question independently, explore it through different lenses, and communicate your discoveries effectively. You'll be guided through the process step by step with lectures, workshops, peer-to-peer learning, and one-to-one supervisions. You'll gain confidence in academic research in creative practice, argument building, and effective communication. These are all skills that will strengthen your professional portfolio and prepare you for your next steps after graduation: whether you decide to move into postgraduate study, work in creative industries, or any research-driven career. This module will also help provide the foundations for your Final Major Project. Throughout the module, you'll draw on a range of sources appropriate to your research to support your creative inquiry that might include: primary and secondary sources; art and design work; archives; databases; museums and exhibitions; visual and material culture; critical literature; multimedia output; your own studio practice; and industry-specific publications. Your project may reflect on, analyse, expand upon, or enhance, your own studio work and interests, however, the practice-based work included in your outcome must academically contribute to the final output in terms of the theoretical and methodological framework contextualising it.
View the full module definitionIn this module, you'll be supported to locate a work placement for at least 70 hours. You can undertake more than one placement role to achieve that. ARU’s Employability and Placement team will help you to locate your placement. After completing your placement, you'll reflect on and critically analyse your experience through this module. This module gives you a unique opportunity to examine how your creative practice responds to the social, cultural, political and sustainable themes related to industry. Encountering a critical space between work experience, reflection and final assessment presentation, this module will help you to establish a professional network and gain a sense of your personal values to support your progression into the creative industries upon graduation. The module will encourage independent learning, project management, teamwork and complex problem solving, providing opportunities to apply those skills to real-world experiences, thereby increasing your sense of purpose and agency. Lectures, seminars and tutorials will support you to explore your social and cultural interests and responsibilities as a creative practitioner, alongside analysis of the creative industry market. You'll develop overarching social/ cultural aims, transferable skills, use reflective models and engage with writing practice, editing and refining your work for assessment presentation that meets professional, workplace standards. Alongside contributing to module sessions and briefings, additional module support will be provided by the Anglia Ruskin’s Placement and Employability Services and the Anglia Ruskin Enterprise Academy (AREA). You'll also have access to a range of online employability information via the Careers and Employability Portal and AREA network.
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