COURSE OVERVIEW
Lead costume design for film and television at the highest level.
This course is an intensive, practice-led programme which will prepare you for professional work as a costume designer in film and high-end television. You’ll develop advanced craft skills, research depth and production leadership, enabling you to lead costume departments with confidence and authority.
Through live productions, garment realisation and a practice-based dissertation, you’ll graduate ready to design, make decisions and lead in a professional screen environment.
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Costume design is central to storytelling on screen. It shapes character, signals time and place, supports performance and helps audiences believe in the world of a film or television drama. From contemporary realism to historical reconstruction and stylised design, costume decisions are felt in every frame.
This full time course combines deep craft training, advanced design development, leadership experience and sustained production practice. Throughout the course, you will develop not only advanced costume skills, but also the judgement, confidence and authority required to lead costume departments in complex screen environments. You will graduate ready not just to contribute, but to lead departments.
You will work at the heart of NFTS productions, collaborating closely with directors, producers, cinematographers, production designers and performers on live productions that mirror professional Industry structures.
You will also benefit from work experience, which students will source themselves with NFTS support and guidance. This takes place during the first year and provides first-hand insight into professional costume departments, helping you build invaluable Industry knowledge, confidence and contacts.
The Costume Design MFA is designed to support your transition into Industry with clarity and confidence. You will graduate with extensive production experience, a strong professional portfolio, two substantial realised garments, and a clear understanding of how costume departments operate creatively and practically - from early research and script breakdown through to fittings, shooting, continuity and delivery.
Graduates of NFTS production courses work across film and television in the UK and internationally, progressing into roles ranging from assistants and trainees through to designers and heads of department.
The course is structured around a carefully sequenced programme of workshops, collaborative design projects, live film productions and two garment realisation modules.
Across the first year, you will establish a strong professional foundation in costume craft and screen design. You will gain increasing confidence in research, worldbuilding, fittings, continuity and workflow while undertaking work experience within industry. In the second year, you will take on greater responsibility where you will act as Head of Costume on an NFTS graduation fiction film.
Alongside production, you will complete the Final Garment Project, an intensive design-and-build project simulating professional production pressure.
Running throughout both years is the Dissertation, a practice-based research project completed as either a written submission or video essay. It allows you to critically reflect on your design philosophy, creative process and professional development, strengthening the intellectual rigour of your practice.
Work Experience and Industry Engagement: In the first year, students complete a structured, non-assessed two-week work experience within a professional costume department, gaining first-hand insight into Industry workflows and on-set practice.
You may be a recent graduate, an experienced costume practitioner ready to step up, or someone with relevant industry or specialist training experience seeking to focus on screen costume design at an advanced level.
This course is right for you if you’re interested in:
- Advanced costume design skills for film and television
- Deep practical knowledge of materials, construction and screen performance
- Extensive experience on live NFTS productions
- Realised garments developed at Master’s level
- Supported leadership experience within costume departments
- A strong professional portfolio and final dissertation
- Insight from leading industry practitioners and Masterclasses
- A clear understanding of industry structures, career pathways and sustainable practice
- Professional connections across the NFTS community and beyond
Applicants should demonstrate strong visual thinking, commitment to craft, curiosity about storytelling and readiness to work collaboratively in demanding production environments.
Students come from a wide range of backgrounds, countries and pathways. What matters most is your potential, professionalism and passion for costume and screen work.
While many applicants will have a degree from a British or overseas university, we will consider applicants who do not have a degree if they have an impressive portfolio, a creative track record or an alternative qualification.
International students Visa and English language requirements
If you have any questions, please email info@nfts.co.uk.
Applicants must submit an application that includes a portfolio demonstrating existing experience and technical competence in costume design.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview and you may be asked to participate in a practical workshop where creative potential, professional readiness and current skill level will be assessed.
FUNDING AVAILABLE
The NFTS awards more scholarships and bursaries to British students, relative to the size of our student body, than almost any other educational institution in the UK. If you’re successful at gaining a place on the course, you will be contacted by our funding team with details on how to apply for one of these scholarships.
