Bachelor of Fashion Marketing (Buying and Retail Management) (Sales and Marketing)

This is a three-year bachelor degree built around the business side of fashion: how clothes get chosen, priced, shipped and sold. You study buying and retail management together, so you learn both how a range is selected and how a store or online channel actually moves it. Expect units on consumer behaviour, merchandising, retail operations, trend analysis, supply chain basics and the numbers that sit behind a buying decision, margins, markdowns, stock turn, sales forecasting. Assessment is mostly practical: range plans, buying budgets, retail case studies, group projects and presentations rather than pure exams.

Australian bachelor degrees sit at level 7 of the Australian Qualifications Framework and normally run three years full time, split into semesters or trimesters. You complete a set number of units of study, each carrying credit points, and you need the required total credit points to graduate. Many courses build in a capstone unit in the final year, often a major project where you put together a full buying or retail strategy, and work-integrated learning in the form of an internship or industry placement, which fashion buying and retail employers in Australia expect to see on a graduate CV. Credit for prior study is usually granted unit by unit, so ask about recognition of prior learning if you have already studied or worked in retail.

Collarts is based in Melbourne, and that matters here. Melbourne has a dense fashion retail sector, independent labels, wholesale showrooms, flagship stores and online retailers, and the course draws on that for guest speakers, studio projects and placement hosts. You graduate with a portfolio of buying and merchandising work, spreadsheet and retail-analytics skills, and the vocabulary to sit in a range review or a trade meeting without bluffing. The buying and planning side of retail is one of the few areas of fashion where the money is genuinely in the numbers, and this degree leans that way.

It suits someone who loves fashion but wants to work on the commercial side rather than design or sew. If you are organised, comfortable with data, and interested in why one product sells out and another ends up on the clearance rack, this is the right fit. International students should check the English requirement on the official page, IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the usual undergraduate standard, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and the university's own English programmes accepted as equivalents. The Student visa has its own separate English threshold set by the Department of Home Affairs, and while you hold that visa you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight during study. After graduating, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream is the usual pathway for staying on and working in Australia. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register, check the official page for current fees, intake dates and unit details.

• Assistant buyer or buying assistant, supporting a senior buyer with range selection, sample management and supplier communication for department stores, fashion chains and online retailers.
• Retail planner or allocator, working the numbers on stock levels, sizing, store allocation and replenishment across a retail network.
• Merchandise coordinator, managing product flow from supplier to store or fulfilment centre, often with wholesale showrooms and multi-brand retailers.
• E-commerce or online retail coordinator, running product listings, promotions and trading calendars for fashion brands selling direct to consumers.
• Visual merchandiser, planning how product is presented in store and online to drive sales, often working closely with the buying team.
• Wholesale account coordinator, looking after relationships with stockists and retail partners for Australian fashion labels.
• Retail operations or category analyst, reporting on sales, margins and category performance for supermarkets, department stores and specialty retail groups.
• Brand or marketing assistant, supporting campaign and product marketing for fashion and lifestyle brands.

Typical employers in Australia include department stores, fashion retail chains, online fashion retailers, wholesale showrooms, independent labels and retail analytics teams. Many graduates start in assistant or coordinator roles and move into buying, planning or category management within a few years.