PhD Textile Design, Fashion & Management: The University of Manchester

Course description

Textiles is an industry where innovations in process as well as product are required to effectively integrate all aspects of design, technology, retail and management. To address this, the Textile Design, Fashion and Management research group is multi-disciplinary and covers areas as diverse as applied management, textile design, colour, trend forecasting, retail management, fashion merchandising, supply chain management, CAD, digital design, consumer behaviour, internet shopping, retail marketing, product development, enterprise and innovation.

Industry links

They have strong links with industry and work with many major retailers, manufacturers and well-known designers.

Research interests

Their current research interests cover a wide spectrum, and include:

• Design communication
• Design education
• Design management
• Digital design
• Emotional aspects of design and consumer behaviour
• Fashion design
• Fashion retailing
• Global operations management
• International supply chain management
• Textile design

Research projects

Some of the exciting research projects our students have completed, or are completing, include:

• Investigating the relationship between consumer adoption and new product development of wearables.
• Development of the Chinese textile sector as an UK/EU trading partner post Multi Fibre Agreement, January 2005
• Strategic Agile Merchandising:  a new market opportunity for European textile producers.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview:

For direct entry from your undergraduate degree, you will need at least a 2.1 Honours degree, or equivalent, in a relevant subject.  There are alternative routes to a PhD, through completion of other postgraduate qualifications.

English language:

If English is not your first language, you will need to take and meet minimum requirements for the following recognised English language qualifications: IELTS (6.5 with no sub-test under 5.5); TOEFL (570 with 5.0 in TWE); CBTOEFL (230 with 5.0 in TWE).