SCHOOLS/

Central Saint Martins was formed in 1989 from the merger of two, much older, colleges: the Central School of Arts & Crafts (founded in 1896) and St Martin's School of Art (founded in 1854). Both of the founding colleges were internationally renowned for the work of their students and staff. St Martin's was particularly well known for fashion and fine art and the Central School for a wide range of design and art, including theatre design, industrial design and graphic design.

In 1999 Drama Centre London (founded in 1962) merged with Central Saint Martins which has enabled us to add performing arts to our portfolio of courses. In September 2003 Byam Shaw School of Art joined Central Saint Martins. We are currently collaborating with London Studio Centre to add undergraduate degrees in dance to our course portfolio.

Our former staff and students have included some of the most important British and international artists working over the last 150 years from May Morris, the daughter of William Morris, and William Lethaby who founded the Central School, to Lucien Freud and Frank Auerbach who studied fine art at St Martin's in the middle of the 20th century, to the latest wave of exciting British fashion designers including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney who have changed the face of international fashion in the 1990s. Many well-known actors including Colin Firth (Bridget Jones' Diary) and Pierce Brosnan (James Bond) have studied at Drama Centre London.

Central Saint Martins is part of the University of the Arts London, Europe's largest centre for education in art, communication and design. The University of the Arts London brings together into a single body five of the world's most distinguished art and design colleges: Camberwell College of Arts; Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design; Chelsea College of Art and Design; London College of Fashion; and London College of Communication.

The mission of the University of the Arts London is to be at the forefront of learning, creativity and practice in arts, communication and design. As the first UK university of the arts it will play an even stronger role in supporting the development of the creative industries worldwide.

Comprising more than 24,000 students from over 100 countries, the University offers a range of academic programmes from further education through to undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees. Professional diplomas, certificates and short courses are available in a wide variety of subjects. Our teaching and research have been judged as 'excellent' by independent and rigorous peer review. The University was recently rated by the 'Sunday Times University Guide' as the UK's 'Best Higher Education College' and were twice shortlisted as 'University of the Year'.

Fashion is a fast moving and highly diverse international industry with a wide range of markets and creative communication and production practices. It takes hard work, flexibility and passion to succeed.

The BA Fashion course at Central Saint Martins has earned a national and international reputation for producing innovative and highly creative designers and fashion communicators who have gone on to make outstanding and directional contributions within a variety of fashion professions in the UK and abroad. Graduates include such influential names as John Galliano, Hussein Chalayan, Matthew Williamson, Stella McCartney and the journalists Iain R Webb, Jeremy Langmead and Andrew Davis.

Our philosophy is to provide a learning environment in which innovation, invention and originality can be developed within a range of different, but closely related, fashion pathways. It springs from the belief that for fashion graduates to contribute effectively in a climate of change in the new millennium, they need to be versatile fashion specialists. They will need to possess an in-depth knowledge of their chosen fields, as well a breadth of knowledge and critical understanding of the professional fashion environment.

The Graduate Diploma in Fashion has been created to meet the needs of International students and aims to produce mature and sophisticated designers equipped to progress to postgraduate study or work in design for the international market. This course in fashion design offers a one-year bridging programme at Higher Education Level 3 for graduate international students. It offers students with a background in fashion design or a closely related discipline the opportunity to take a fresh view of their work and their creative direction. The learning and teaching philosophy of the course emphasises creative freedom and offers students the opportunity to explore and experience London as both an international fashion and design centre and as a rich resource for research, providing invaluable insights into designing for the European fashion market.

The learning and teaching are project-based and offer committed students the freedom to experiment and find, or rather re-define, themselves within a creative environment. It provides a supportive tutorial structure which emphasises breadth as well as depth of research and an innovative approach to design development.

Fundamental to the course rationale is the commitment to support students' creative development with appropriate design, professional and practical skills to enable them to take advantage of the benefits and challenges that studying in the capital city provides.

The MA in Fashion finally is a taught course of international reputation that offers six specialist pathways. The course is designed to broaden and deepen existing knowledge and to give the necessary experience and confidence to practice within the international fashion industry at the highest level. It will stimulate and consolidate imagination and creative identity with the support of an informed knowledge of the international industry. A particular feature is the interrelated nature of the specialist pathways offered and the course's links with the international industry. Graduates have pursued outstanding careers with the world's most renowned fashion leaders and commentators.