General or liberal education electives, English, marketing, business, and communications courses which students will take as part of the degree will expose them to a breadth of study which enriches students as designers. Writing and making presentations are important elements of the program. Students in Fashion Design and Marketing should have great enthusiasm in fashion. They should be able to generate new, saleable ideas for clothing and other apparel. They need to be flexible in dealing with new materials, rapidly changing trends and new production equipment. They need to be able to envision not only what a product should look like, but how to produce that product in the context of current equipment capabilities. Clearly, artistic talent is critical. One needs an excellent sense of line, color,and form, a sense of balance and proportion, and an eye for detail. A high degree of self-initiative is needed, along with an ability to organize and implement a project from start to finish. Verbal communication skills and complex problem-solving abilities are also important.

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The required and elective courses you would take for Fashion majors vary considerably among institutions. Courses are listed here that are illustrative of the breadth of topics you are likely to experience were you to major in this field.

• Computer-Aided Pattern Drafting
• Creative Fashion Design
• Drafting and Sewing
• Fashion Marketing
• Fashion Retail Internship
• Fashion Show Production
• Fashion Sketching and Drawing
• History of Costume
• Microcomputer Applications
• Textile Science
• The Apparel Industry
• Wardrobe Development for TV and Film

• Commercial and Advertising Art
• Commercial Photography
• Graphic Design
• Illustration
• Industrial and Product Design
• Interior Design