Skip to main content
D C G Logo

Derby College Group (DCG)
Telephone: 0800 028 0289
https://www.derby-college.ac.uk
enquiries@derby-college.ac.uk

0800 028 0289

  • Contact
  • Jobs
  • How to Apply
  • About DCG
  • Home
  • Courses & Careers
    Course SearchSubject Areas at DCGCourse Types at DCGCampuses & Course LocationsDCG Success StoriesCareer SearchCareer PathwaysDownload a ProspectusFree – ESF Fully Funded Course
  • Employers
  • Student Support
  • Parents
  • News/Events
    EventsNewsEvent Registration
DCG Courses UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Fashion Business and Retail

UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Fashion Business and Retail

This Level 3 pathway has been specifically designed for students wishing to study Fashion Business alongside work experience, tutorial and personal and professional development.

Course Summary

Subject Area: Business, Leadership and Management
Course Type: School Leaver - Vocational/Technical
Location: Joseph Wright Centre
Full Time or Part Time: FT
Level: 3
Number Of Years: 2
Interview Required?: Y
Joseph Wright Centre

Apply now at: https://www.derby-college.ac.uk/course/level-3-extended-diploma-in-fashion-business
QR Code
  • Information for Students
  • Information for Employers
  • Related Careers
  • Success Stories

Course Information for Students

Who is this course for?

The Level 3 Extended Diploma in Fashion Business and Retail pathway has been specifically designed for students wishing to study Fashion Business and Retail alongside work experience, tutorial and personal and professional development.

The qualification is designed for students aged 16 years or over who have five GCSEs at grade 4 and above (to include Maths, English and preferably Business and/or a creative subject). The Fashion Business pathway provides opportunities for integrated learning through practical, creative application and commercial academic activities that replicate industry. The delivery and assessment approach ensures you have a fulfilling learning experience while developing personal attributes and the skills and knowledge to excel in the fashion business industry, from buying and merchandising to marketing, branding, promotion and visual merchandising (to name but a few career options). 

As identified by the sector, a career in Fashion Business represents a future of unlimited potential, responsibility and personal development. This programme provides a unique opportunity to progress within the sector or into higher study (to a HNC or honours degree) and a fulfilling career within Fashion Business.

The Advanced Fashion Business and Retail course has been designed holistically and provides complementary components to further aid your progression and employability. The course includes visits to large retailers and brands, guest speakers and client-led live projects.  In addition, you will undertake lots of practical activities including fashion photography, editorials, branding and marketing, and exploration of selling environments – both physical and online platforms. You will become confident in using industry software such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator as well as exploring new and emerging social media-based marketing tools. Development of your maths and English skills will continue, which will support your progress within the programme and help in your future career, allowing you to make commercial decisions and apply technical terminology associated with fashion. 

Entry Requirements

Typically, you will have a minimum of five GCSEs at grade 4 or above including English Language and Maths. Alternatively, you may have equivalent intermediate qualifications at Merit grade or above, along with GCSE grade 4 in English Language and Maths. Additionally, it would be beneficial (but not essential) that you have a GCSE in a creative subject and/or Business Studies. Importantly a university application will probably require five GCSEs graded C (4) or above, including both English Language and Maths GCSE at grade 4/C or above.

Candidates will be invited to a telephone interview as part one of the application process. Following this, you will be invited to a taster session at the start of summer to give you an insight into the working methods, environment and subject context of the course.

What will you learn?

The Level 3 Fashion Business and Retail programme will:

  • introduce you to the principles, skills, techniques and attributes required for employment within the fashion retail industry
  • encourage progression by assisting in the development of knowledge, understanding and skills that you will need to access higher education or to enter employment or an apprenticeship
  • encourage an evaluative approach to personal and professional development

During the programme, you will develop your knowledge in:

  • Principles of fashion business and retail
  • Communication for fashion business and retail
  • Contextual research
  • Fashion production and supply chain
  • Buying and merchandising
  • Visual merchandising
  • Marketing, promotion and branding
  • Sustainability and the future of fashion
  • Creative Suite including Photoshop, Illustrator and In-Design.

How will you learn?

This course will be delivered on-site with city visits plotted in throughout the year. Additionally, regular visits to the local high street will form part of your classroom activities to visualise and research what is happening in the industry. 

What will you need to bring with you?

A can-do attitude and the willingness to immerse yourself in all things Fashion Business will stand you in good stead for all sessions. Typical stationery will be required and at times your project work may require additional investment into outcomes (printing, materials etc).

How will you be assessed?

You must successfully complete:

  • All eight mandatory units within Year 1 (Diploma) – the final unit of the year determines the Diploma achievement (Fail / Pass / Merit / Distinction)
  • All five mandatory units within Year 2 (Extended Diploma) – the final two units of the year determine the Extended Diploma achievement (Fail / Pass / Merit / Distinction)

Assessment will be carried out using a variety of methods. You are expected to produce a portfolio of evidence for each unit. This will vary dependent on the project pathway.  Assessment will include presentations, practical activities, discussions and assignments. It is important to note that we run a flexible programme of study and are eager to celebrate individuals and their preferred working methods and areas of interest. 

 

Where next?

Students who successfully complete the Level 3 Fashion Business and Retail programme can progress to:

  • higher education (university foundation / honours degree courses)
  • an apprenticeship
  • employment on a training programme (varying pathways) within a fashion retail brand

Who do you contact for more information?

For more information, contact Derby College Group on 0800 0280289 or enquiries@derby-college.ac.uk or follow the course Instagram account: @ual_fbr_derbycollege. 

Course Information for Employers

Information for Employers

If you are an employer and would like to know more about the apprenticeships and professional training we deliver or how you can get involved in co-creating and co-delivering the curriculum, please contact us via email on businessenquiries@derby-college.ac.uk, call us on 01332 387 421 or visit our employer pages here.

Career Information



This course could lead to one of these careers...

Clothing, Fashion and Accessories Designers

£34663

Clothing, Fashion and Accessories Designers

Visual Merchandisers and Related Occupations

£21108

Visual Merchandisers and Related Occupations

Estimators, Valuers and Assessors

£31550

Estimators, Valuers and Assessors

Waste Disposal and Environmental Services Managers

£43369

Waste Disposal and Environmental Services Managers

Sales and Retail Assistants

£13177

Sales and Retail Assistants

More Careers Information at: https://www.derby-college.ac.uk/career-pathways
QR Code

DCG Success Stories

Richard Auzins

Richard Auzins

Starting out in a career in retail with M&S

Although I’m working in logistics, I’m still involved with fashion and homewares every day. The Derby College course helped me get the job and having a qualification in retail merchandising has made me more confident in sharing my ideas at work. I’d like to move into visual merchandising one day but at the moment I enjoy what I do and M&S is a great business to work for.

Read More about Richard Auzins


Applications for 2025 Full-Time School Leaver Courses are now CLOSED FOR PROCESSING*

If you’ve already applied for a full-time vocational or academic course, please check your InTouch account to view your application status and accept any outstanding offers. We may also be trying to contact you by phone, so keep an ear out for calls from the College — to ensure we are progressing your first-choice course area.

Haven’t applied yet?

Your next opportunity will be during our Clearing Enrolment sessions, starting Wednesday 27th August at 12pm. Please note that places will be limited and subject to course availability, entry requirements, and interviews. Find out more about Enrolment and Clearing Enrolment: Enrolment and Clearing Information 2025

Course Information Last Updated On: July 3, 2025 9:03 am

Modal title

  • Overview
  • Knowledge & Skills
  • Employment & Salary
  • DCG Courses
career thumbnail

Overview

An overview of the career

Knowledge and Skills Required

Skills

These are the skills that are commonly needed in this career.

SkillImportance
Knowledge

These are the ten most import areas of knowledge commonly needed for this career.

KnowledgeImportance

Employment Data

Annual Job Openings

Currently Employed

Annual Earnings

This shows the current annual learnings for this career.

Starting Salary

Average Salary

High Salary

PercentileSalary
Age of the Workforce

This is the breakdown of ages who work in this career.

Age GroupPercentage
Education Level of the Workforce

This is the education level of the workforce.

Education LevelPercentage
Employment Forecast

This is the projected number of jobs available.

YearNumber Employed
Employment Proportion by Sex

This shows the proportion of males and females who work in this career.

Male/FemalePercentage

Suitable Courses

Suitable Courses

D C G Logo
  • Derby College Facebook
  • Derby College Youtube
  • Derby College Instagram

Courses

  • Course Search
  • Career Search
  • Subject Areas at DCG
  • Career Pathways
  • Course Types at DCG
  • Campuses & Course Locations at DCG
  • Download a Prospectus
  • Chart Your Future

Students

  • Student Support
  • Student Services
  • Login to inTouch
  • Report an Absence or Lateness
  • Moodle VLE
  • Think Alumni
  • Student Bursary

Staff

  • Staff Intranet
  • Remote Desktop
  • Systems Hub
  • Email

DCG

  • Governance
  • Policies and Papers
  • Why work for us?
  • Meet the Governors
  • Who’s Who
  • Website Accessibility Statement
  • Data Protection
  • Freedom of Information
  • Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Statement
  • Modern Slavery Statement
  • Environmental and Sustainability at DCG
  • DCG-Annual-Accountability-Statement-2024-25
  • DCG Strategy and Regulation – Accountability Statement 2025-26

Study with Us

  • DCG Success Stories
  • DCG Covid Safety

Student Life

  • Derby College Students Union

More

  • Covid Safety
  • Apprenticeship Vacancies
  • Open to the Public
  • Term Dates
  • College Calendar 2025-26

Quick Links

  • Contact Us
  • How to Apply
  • Make a Payment
  • Report an Absence or Lateness
  • Jobs at DCG
DCG Logo Derby College Group
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}