Departments & Programs
Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design
Fashion Design—B.A.
Purpose
The B.A. in Fashion Design educates students in the art, philosophy, theory, process, and product of fashion design. The curriculum provides an aesthetic and intellectual environment founded on the design process, enhanced by the interaction of technique, function, technology, and individual creative expression and explores the art, process, and product of fashion design within a cultural context. The curriculum provides an aesthetic and intellectual approach to the design process, focusing on the interaction of technique, function, technology, and individual creative expression. Course work concentrates on traditional and experimental techniques as well as the history and theory of fashion as a significant aesthetic language.
IU's Fashion Design curriculum addresses the design process and its relationship to the retail cycle. Both involve a repetitive pattern of analysis and creativity. The program builds on the essential foundations of the arts and sciences, and encourages students to be creative, multidisciplinary thinkers, and skilled communicators. The range of potential employment opportunities includes but is not limited to the following: apparel design, accessories design, technical design, pattern making, product design, computer-aided and technical drawing, merchandising, theatrical costuming, and wardrobe management. Graduates from the program will be considered for entry-level positions in these areas in many geographic locales.
Major Requirements
Any course taken to satisfy the requirements of the major must be completed with a minimum grade of C–, and the grade point average of all courses taken in the major must be at least 2.000. Course prerequisites will be strictly upheld.
Students must complete 37 credit hours of AMID requirements for the Fashion Design major, including:
- R100, F202, F203, F207, F213, F217, F303, F305, F340, and F417.
- Three additional courses at the 300–400 level, including at least one course in both experimental fashion studio and dress studies, plus one course from either experimental fashion studio, dress studies, or IUCAD courses, for a total of 9 credit hours or more. (Note: Experimental fashion studio courses include F306, F325, F326, F328, and F408; dress studies courses include F301, F311, F352, F402, F406, F411, and F490; and IUCAD courses include C380, C381, C480, and C481.)
Additional Requirements
Students pursuing the Fashion Design major are required to take 15 hours of course work in related fields. These courses are outside the Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design and are not calculated inside the major, but completion of specifically designated courses will count for Breadth of Inquiry and other College and campus-wide degree requirements. Please consult with the department advisor regarding choice of courses.
- One course from the following: MATH M118, M119, or equivalent. Higher level courses may be substituted.
- Six credit hours in Fine Arts studio courses chosen only from FINA-F or FINA-S prefix courses.
- Six credit hours in Fine Arts history courses.
Only two courses for a maximum of 6 credit hours can be counted toward both the Minor in Apparel Merchandising and the Fashion Design B.A.; only two courses for a maximum of 6 credit hours can be counted toward both the Apparel Merchandising B.S. and the Fashion Design B.A.
Supervised internships are available.
We strongly recommend that students select courses in material culture, aesthetics, and dress offered by related departments such as Anthropology, Fine Arts, Folklore and Ethnomusicology, Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance, and others to fulfill College of Arts and Sciences Breadth of Inquiry and Intensive Writing requirements.
Students must also meet the degree requirements for the B.A. degree in the College of Arts and Sciences.