New York schools are most popular because of the city's links to the fashion world.
Fashion design undergraduate and graduate programs teach students to envision, design, produce and market clothing, and there are plenty of degree options available. Fashion designers generally have natural artistic abilities as well as technical creative skills such as sewing and drawing. While it is possible to get started in fashion design with no formal education and just a bucketload of talent, most successful fashion professionals have learned their skills at college.
Associate Degrees
Most employers expect fashion design employees to be educated at least to associate level. Aspiring designers should have significant work experience gained through college internships and put together an impressive portfolio. Associate degrees teach the basics of fashion design and production, textiles, fashion history and business. The Degree Directory reports that an associate's degree can lead to salaries over $50,000 per year assuming an individual has the required talent, expertise, education and skills. An associate's degree generally takes two years to complete and there are comprehensive lists of programs on the Degree Directory, Education Portal and Fashion Schools sites.
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design
Undergraduate courses cover the fashion basics of technical skills, business development and design. Syracuse University's fashion design program in Central New York, for instance, focuses on construction skills, pattern-making, draping and presentation. Related topics include technical drawing, computer-assisted design and textiles. Another option is the bachelor's degree offered by the University of North Texas, College of Visual Arts and Design. This school only admits students who've successfully completed introductory courses in drawing and design and submitted a portfolio for review . Successful students focus on industrial sewing skills, in particular garment design, pattern-making and textile selection.
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Marketing
This program includes a wide range of study options but is geared towards the business side of the industry. As well as learning about how fashions are designed and produced, students are also taught how designs are marketed. Courses include accounting principles, fashion history, illustration, events-planning, principles of management and forecasting trends. The American Intercontinental University offers a BFA in fashion marketing and design and as well as the general education courses required, students take core courses including the following subjects: technical 3-dimensional fashion design; technical design; fashion buying and accessories and fashion business.
Master of Fine Arts
Students embarking on a graduate fashion design program are required to have a bachelor's degree in a related field. MFA students either focus on creating clothes and costumes in Fashion Design or opt for research, theory and criticism in Fashion Studies. Parsons, The New School for Design in New York, launched an innovative MFA program in 2010, supported by a famous graduate, Donna Karan. The Fashion Design and Society degree is the first program of its kind in the U.S. and aims "to train a small cadre of world-class designers to have a global understanding of fashion," according to the school website. Other master's degree options are available throughout the U.S. and school details are listed on the Degree Directory and Education-Portal sites.
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