Level 4 Merchandising for Fashion

Learn the role of a merchandiser within a brand, and discover how they collaborate with buying and design departments to create successful fashion collections. We’ll teach you to blend your creative and analytical skills to design cohesive product ranges that maximise sales and profits for a brand.

Our Level 4 Fashion Merchandising Diploma will help develop your contextual understanding of the fashion industry as a whole, and the social, cultural and technological influences that shape it. We particularly focus on the importance of sustainability and social responsibility, as this is currently a major focus across the industry.

Throughout our fashion merchandising course, we’ll teach you the key techniques for managing the fashion critical path: a vital part of the merchandising department. You’ll learn the methods for buying products in the right quantities, making sure it arrives in stores at the right time to maximise sales. We’ll also teach you to understand budgets and analyse sales reports to recommend pricing strategies.

You’ll discover how to recognise new selling opportunities across all sales channels, helping to increase the success of collections.

By exploring the buying cycle, from production to managing sales and promotions, you’ll graduate from our fashion merchandising course well-prepared for an entry-level industry role.

Our Level 4 Fashion Merchandising course covers:

• Fashion Retail Environment - Merchandising: Research, evaluate, and interpret merchandising environments and the fashion retail industry as a whole. Explore sales strategies in a global context. Understand the merchandiser's role in a fashion business and the relationship between buying and merchandising.
• Fashion Retail Merchandising Systems and Skills: Develop an understanding of merchandising software and systems. Learn how to interpret financial information and create spreadsheets. Discover how to forecast data and use it to plan strategically.
• Fashion Retail - Merchandising Concepts: Learn the importance of accurate data. Understand the principles of planning, trading and supply chain management. Explore the merchandising mix, analysing the effect of ethical issues and retail law.

• History and Context of Fashion Retail: Explore the history of fashion and its historical, cultural, and contemporary influences. Enhance research, critical thinking and academic writing skills.
• Preparation for Progression in Fashion Retail: Develop professional skills including teamwork and presentation, along with CV writing and portfolio creation. Learn how to research and approach entry-level merchandising positions and assess their suitability.
• Individual Negotiated Fashion Retail Project: Combine taught and self-directed study to create a business proposition. Develop the presenting, critical thinking and negotiation skills required for a career in merchandising.

We're proud of our exceptional fashion merchandising industry links to over 140 major brands at the Fashion Retail Academy. All our tutors have worked in the industry, and have plenty of knowledge and experience to share.

During your fashion merchandising diploma, you’ll have regular enrichment from industry and our retail partners. We’ll teach you to develop a strong professional network that will support you throughout your career. You’ll also take part in projects and challenges set by brands that help you to develop valuable professional skills.

VISITING INDUSTRY EXPERTS

You’ll receive regular classes and lectures from Visiting Industry Experts (VIEs), from top brands in the fashion industry. Throughout the year, they’ll also set projects and tasks for you to complete.

Our VIEs will give you feedback on your work and tell you how their brand might react in similar circumstances, helping give context and direction to your studies. These projects will also develop your professional skills in time management, team building and prioritising for deadlines.

Previous projects have been set by retailers including Alexander McQueen, ASOS, Sweaty Betty and H&M.

THREE-WEEK work placement

You’ll have the opportunity to complete a three-week work placement as part of your fashion merchandising course. We'll assign you to an industry manager, and you'll work either remotely or in the office. You’ll be given tasks to complete, giving you an understanding of a specific job role and its place within an organisation. You could be working in a single team, or across multiple areas of the business. You might be alone, or working in a small group. You’ll earn practical, professional skills that give a valuable boost to your CV.

Previous students have completed placements with Fortnum & Mason, Next, John Lewis, Whistles and Harvey Nichols.

After graduating with your Level 4 Fashion Merchandising Diploma, you’ll be ready to progress into an entry-level role in fashion.

93% of our Level 4 Fashion Merchandising students are in employment or further education within 6 months of finishing their course at the FRA.

This course prepares you for jobs including Merchandising Admin Assistant or Allocator. There is a shortage in the industry at the moment for entry-level merchandisers, with opportunities for rapid progression for strong candidates.

You could also move into sourcing and supply chain management, trend forecasting or buying.

Find out more about our Fashion Careers Service.

All our Level 4 specialist higher Diplomas come with our Job Guarantee. 

We design our courses alongside our industry partners to teach you the skills and attributes you need to secure a job. So, if you’re not offered one within six months of completing your course, we’ll refund your course fees in full. 

This offer applies to students who are paying privately or using the Advanced Learner Loan to fund their studies. If you secured a loan to pay for your course, we will not refund your loan interest.

See our Terms & Conditions for our full eligibility criteria.

Awarding body
University of the Arts London

Qualification title
Level 4 Diploma in Merchandising for Fashion Retail

Age requirement
18+

Course duration
1 year, delivered over 2 days per week

Course fees

• Fully-funded for students aged 18
• £4,220 per year for students aged 19+ - Advanced Learner Loans are available

Fees & Funding

Entry requirements

• 1 A-level or the equivalent Level 3 qualification
• 5 GCSEs grade C/4 or above, including Maths and English

For non-UK qualifications, please provide an ENIC Statement of Comparability. 

If you're applying from a non-English speaking country, you'll need at least 5.5 overall and in each section of IELTS test for English language 

Assessment
The course is 100% coursework via termly assignments that measure your knowledge and understanding.

Offers
After completing our online form, we'll process your application and send you the outcome by post and email in 5-10 working days. We process applications in the order we receive them, and offers are made on a first-come, first-served basis. 

• If you have your exam results and you meet the course's entry requirements, you'll be given an unconditional offer.
• If you don't have your results yet, your offer will be conditional on you meeting the entry requirements.

Your place on the Level 4 Fashion Merchandising course is only secure after you have completed enrolment.

2023-2024 

• Academic Transition Day: 30 August 2023 
• Term Start Date: 4 September 
• Half term: 23 - 29 October 
• End of Term: 15 December 
• Winter Holidays: 18 December 2023 – 1 January 2024  
• Term Start Date: 2 January 2024 
• End of Term: 22 March 
• Spring Holidays: 25 March - 7 April 
• Term Starts: 8 April 
• End of Term: 31 May 2024  

*Term Dates are subject to change 

2024-2025

Term dates to be confirmed.