1. Educate students for careers in the global marketplace including buying, merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, styling, and e-commerce.
2. Develop students’ critical and creative thinking skills, communication skills, technological abilities, and quantitative and qualitative research skills.
3. Provide students with experiential learning opportunities through internships, field trips and study tours.
4. Develop students’ ability to function as ethical team members and leaders within professional, socially responsible, and culturally diverse environments.
5. Analyze sustainability and environmental impact issues as they relate to industry activities. 

Core Requirement

• Industry Process: Understand functions of apparel/textile industry sectors and analyze global consumer markets to develop, evaluate and sell profitable product lines.
• Appearance and Human Behavior: Understand and apply theories and concepts regarding the interrelationships among historic, cultural, and psychological factors on the role of dress and its impact on human behavior.
• Global Interdependence: Evaluate theoretical perspectives and issues within the global marketplace in relation to ever-changing trade, political, and technological landscapes of international business frameworks.
• Aesthetics and Design Process: Use aesthetics and the design process to develop products that are marketable, sustainable and culturally appropriate.
• Ethics, Social Responsibility and Sustainability: Demonstrate an understanding of the role that ethics, social responsibility, sustainability, and environmental impact plays in the global apparel and textile complex.
• Critical and Creative Thinking: Develop the ability to apply critical thinking strategies to identify problems and apply creative solutions within the global apparel and textile complex.
• Professional Development: Demonstrate communication skills, leadership and team work appropriate to the industry.

Fashion Product Development

• Industry Process: Develop knowledge of apparel construction terminology, techniques and trends for a specific target market. 
• Industry Process: Evaluate quality and serviceability standards of ready to wear apparel.
• Aesthetics and the Design Process: Apply the design process and aesthetic principles in developing fashion products for a variety of people and markets.

Fashion Entrepreneurship/Retail Merchandising

• Industry Process: Develop retail financial strategies, analyzing micro- and macro-factors and applying financial terms and formulas.
• Industry Process: Analyze trends in the marketplace to transform products and services to meet consumer needs in the international retail environment.
• Global Interdependence: Analyze diverse political, legal, cultural and economic systems in the global market to evaluate retail markets and develop retail strategies.

Major: Three Options

A minor in Apparel, Retail and Design (ARMD) is available. The 16-credit minor in ARMD will provide a student with a basic background in the field. This can be combined with a major in marketing, or one of the many majors in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, or Science and Math; any major where the study of apparel, fashion, the theater or human interaction is concerned would be strengthened by a minor in ARMD.

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“Life is all about the people that we surround ourselves with.”

-Emily Wotzka, Study abroad experience in England - Fall 2017

Learn more about Emily’s Experience ⇒

 “Even if it's a simple thing, like a new word in Spanish, it's still exciting to watch yourself grow. When you're pushed outside of your comfort zone and put in a completely different culture, you find out so much about yourself.”

- Colie Winsor, Study abroad experience in Spain – Spring 2016

Learn more about Colie’s Experience ⇒

Learn more about study abroad ⇒

Get to Know Our Alumni

Our alumni have secured noteworthy positions across the spectrum of the industry and across the globe.