The fashion design program provides students with the skills to design, create, and develop product from concept to production.
Admission + Portfolio Requirements
This intellectually stimulating program approaches the making and study of fashion through multiple lenses, incorporating the historic and contemporary impact of fashion on society and emerging technologies within a global landscape.
As one of our students, you will progress over four years to learn industry-standard skills of fashion design, construction, and presentation. In every class, whether fashion illustration or flat pattern making, creative design is married to technical skill. Fashion courses, including specific instruction in Optitex CAD and Adobe Suite geared toward the fashion industry, are complemented by a host of elective art and design based courses. Professional designers and retail experts frequently visit, maintaining strong connections between the program and industry. A direct placement program with the London College of Fashion offers students majoring in fashion design a professional semester in London, England.
Our graduates work for design houses in small-scale or mass distribution, trade magazines, fashion periodicals, and support industries.
This four-year bachelor of fine arts (B.F.A.) degree program is one of a handful of programs to be recognized by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and is included in all of the activities and competitions sponsored by the CFDA.
Please note that students interested in fashion design must declare their major before they begin their first year.
M.A.“+1” Degree in Design
Did you know that School of Design B.F.A. and B.S. students can earn a master of arts (M.A.) in design in only one additional year? You apply for the program in your junior year and take two graduate-level classes in your senior year. You then participate in a short summer “bootcamp” and finish the M.A. in just one year after earning your undergraduate degree. Learn more about the M.A. in design.
Student Work
[Above] The fashion design class of 2021 presents their collections.
Curriculum
Below are the general program requirements for the B.F.A. degree in fashion design.
View official major requirements.
Major requirements: 54 credits
Art history requirements: 12 credits
Academic requirements: 6 credits
Academic electives: 20 credits
Studio electives: 27 credits
First-year seminar: 1 credit
Total Credits: 120