Diploma in Fashion and Sustainability

Study the Diploma in Fashion and Sustainability at UTS

Sustainability isn't just one of the biggest challenges facing the fashion industry, but it's also a huge opportunity. If you dream of a stylish future where you can also help make our world a better place, the Diploma of Fashion and Sustainability at UTS is your ideal first step.

You'll learn practical capabilities in patternmaking and garment construction, as well as gain a broad understanding of the fashion industry and design thinking. What's more, this Diploma offers a pathway into the fashion industry or further studies in the renowned Bachelor of Design in Fashion and Textiles. No matter where you want your fashion future to go, UTS will give you the skills, insights and connections you need to get there.

Part of the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building.

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Diploma in Fashion and Sustainability

CODE

UTS: C20061 (version 1)

DURATION

0.5 years full time
1 year part time

INTAKE

Autumn Session 2025
Spring Session 2025
Autumn Session 2026
Spring Session 2026

View important dates

COURSE FEES

Domestic (FT)

LOCATION

City campus

What you’ll study

This course can be completed in just six months of full-time study or one year part-time. You'll begin by studying the practice of fashion design and design thinking, covering key theories, research techniques, histories and concepts like fashion as art.

From there, you'll build competencies in fashion illustration, both by hand and using digital tools like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. You'll get hands-on in the studio to learn about patternmaking, construction and the production of garments, then curate your learning journey with your choice of options subjects.

Subjects at a glance

Core subjects

Subject Code	Subject Name
83119	Thinking Fashion
83621	Studio: Foundations in Patternmaking and Construction 1
83622	Visualising Fashion 1
85503	Thinking Through Design

See all subjects and majors in the UTS Handbook

Course highlights

This Diploma is designed to introduce you to the research, design and development of fashions and how these can be used as a force for positive change in society. You'll have the opportunity to work in world-class fashion workshops with expert teaching staff, preparing you for a successful future career.

Admissions information

This course is designed for individuals aiming to enter the fashion industry with a focus on sustainability or those seeking to advance to the Bachelor of Design in Fashion and Textiles. Choose this course to gain a unique blend of fashion and sustainability knowledge, setting you apart in a competitive industry.

What sets this diploma apart is its status as the sole offering by a public Australian university, leveraging UTS's global reputation in fashion education. You will gain practical skills in conceptual research, design development, garment-making, and illustration, all through the lens of sustainability.

You will learn about the critical sustainability challenges facing the fashion sector and explore design as a catalyst for sustainable change. The course combines hands-on workshops with expert guidance, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of fashion's role in shaping a sustainable future.

Teaching methods include practical workshops, project-based learning, and close mentorship from internationally recognised academics. By the end of the course, you will be equipped with relevant, real-world skills for careers in fashion production, sampling, and design, or for further academic study.
This is currently the only diploma on fashion and sustainability offered by a public university in Australia. It builds on the global reputation that UTS has in fashion education, and gives students access to high-quality facilities and internationally renowned academic staff. The diploma gives students relevant skills with real-world applications for employment or for further study.
Your Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is a score between 0.00 and 99.95. It shows you how you rank compared to all the students in your year group in New South Wales. A selection rank combines your ATAR with any other adjustment points that make up your overall university entrance score. Your selection rank may differ from university to university, depending on the adjustment points granted to you at each institution.
Employers tell us the skills our graduates acquire from undertaking a Transdisciplinary Elective sets them apart from the crowd. That’s why we have embedded this program into every undergraduate degree.

All you need to do is choose the Elective that inspires you the most.

Transdisciplinary Electives integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines, allowing you to approach complex problems from a range of perspectives.

By combining methods and insights from various disciplines, transdisciplinary learning often leads to breakthrough ideas and creative innovations that may not be possible within the confines of a single discipline.

If you find yourself rapt by the world of innovation – you can pair your core degree with a Diploma in Innovation, graduating with two qualifications in the same timeframe.

In both instances, you’ll work on a real-world challenge presented by an industry partner organisation – partners who often create career pathways for our graduates.

* Excludes students concurrently enrolled in the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation.

Find more Design, Architecture and Building courses

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Entry schemes and pathways

Learn more

UTS Early Entry program

If you've excelled in Year 11, our Early Entry program rewards the hard work you've put into your studies. Successful applicants receive a provisional offer before their HSC/IB exams.

Elite athletes and performers

If you're an elite athlete or performer who has represented your school or state at a national level, and your studies have been affected, this scheme is for you.

InpUTS

If you've experienced long-term disadvantages that have affected your education, you may be eligible for selection rank adjustments through inpUTS.

Completing a recognised TAFE or VET provider qualification

With a VET qualification, you're eligible to apply for certain courses. Take the next step in your education.

Jumbunna Admissions Program

If you're Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, Jumbunna is an alternative application process for our courses that emphasises diverse pathways to success.

Changing from another undergraduate course

You can apply for our courses using your previous study. You may even be eligible for recognition of prior learning, so you won’t need to repeat subjects.

Learn more

“The facilities at UTS are so fantastic. You have these dedicated spaces for particular techniques – you’re allowed to do whatever you want, and I think I tried it all.”

Bridget Matison

Bachelor of Design in Fashion and Textiles Bachelor of Design (Honours)

“UTS encouraged me to expand my ideas and concepts into new places that I could never have imagined at the start.”

Vanessa Emirian

Bachelor of Design in Fashion and Textiles

“Having the whole textile room, all the knitting machines, being able to do your own natural dyes, I think UTS is pretty much the only uni in Australia to have all those facilities. That was definitely a big selling point for me.”

Ethan Bergersen

Bachelor of Design in Fashion and Textiles Bachelor of Design (Honours)

“I really found myself creatively, and I still find that I visit a lot of seeds of ideas that were planted back then.”

Alix Higgins

Bachelor of Design in Fashion and Textiles Bachelor of Design (Honours)

Where you’ll study

Our world-class facilities support your future-focused learning and high-impact research. They enable effective partnerships with industry and provide services to our community.

See more facilities

Students using equipment in a fabrication and digital workshops. — Bring your designs to life through model making or 3D printing.

Design students collaborating and working on projects in a studio space in DAB Building 6, — Our professional studios are your dedicated spaces to work solo or collaborate with your peers.

Design students collaborating and working on projects in DAB Building 6. — Design your dream project in our workshops.

Why UTS?

Why study Design, Architecture and Building at UTS

With a Design, Architecture and Building degree from UTS, you'll build connections with industry from the moment you start your studies, and learn the skills to respond to social, cultural, environmental and economic challenges.

Study in purpose-built facilities and access the latest technologies shaping your field, from 3D printing to AI, drones and seamless knitting machines. Our commitment to hands-on practice and professional accreditation means our courses are highly respected by the industry – and our students are too.