College Schools, Departments & Programs

School of Art, Architecture + Design

Apparel Merchandising—B.S.
Purpose

The B.S. in Apparel Merchandising exposes students to every aspect of the retail cycle, allowing them to develop their creative and analytical skills into a progressive retail perspective. The Apparel Merchandising curriculum examines consumer-oriented and aesthetic components of the near environment and offers students a comprehensive examination of merchandising as it relates to the retailing industry of tomorrow. Coursework includes product basics as well as current industry trends, coupled with a minor such as the Kelley School of Business Minor, the Minor in Fashion Design, or other minor approved by the Apparel Merchandising Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students prepare for a variety of careers in retail buying, retail management, product development, consumer services, visual merchandising, fashion promotion, retail account coordination, wholesale sales, brand management, merchandising management, sourcing, product manufacturing, and merchandise analysis.

Requirements

Along with the CASE Credit Hour and Residency Requirements, students must complete the following:

  1. Foundations
    1. CASE English Composition
    2. Mathematical Modeling
  2. CASE Foreign Language. Choose from:
    1. CASE Foreign Language: proficiency in a single foreign language through the second semester of the second year of college-level coursework.
    2. Proficiency in a single foreign language through the second semester of the first year of college-level coursework in addition to the completion of the CASE Culture Studies requirements (both CASE Diversity in the United States and CASE Global Civilizations and Cultures).
  3. CASE Intensive Writing
  4. CASE Breadth of Inquiry
    1. Arts and Humanities: 4 courses
    2. Social and Historical Studies: 4 courses
    3. Natural and Mathematical Sciences: 3 courses
  5. CASE Critical Approaches
  6. CASE Public Oral Communication

Students must complete at least 30 credit hours of coursework from the Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design, including:

  1. Introductory Courses. Complete the following:
    • SOAD-A 100 Pathways: Introduction to Art, Design and Merchandising
    • SOAD-M 209 Apparel Industries or SOAD-M 100 Introduction to Retail Design and Merchandising
  2. Core Courses. Complete the following:
    • SOAD-F 203 Materials for Fashion Design
    • One of the following:
      • SOAD-M 204 Apparel Manufacturing and Quality Analysis
      • SOAD-F 207 Fashion Studio I
    • SOAD-M 315 Principles of Retail Merchandising
    • SOAD-M 404 International Textiles and Apparel Trade
    • SOAD-M 413 Planning and Analysis
  3. Elective Courses. Complete nine (9) credit hours selected from the following:
    • SOAD-C 380 Topical Issues in Comprehensive Design
    • SOAD-C 381 Topical Issues in Collaborative Design
    • SOAD-C 480 Special Problems in Comprehensive Design
    • SOAD-C 481 Intensive Seminar in Comprehensive Design
    • SOAD-F 202 Introductory Textile Science: Laboratory
    • SOAD-M 308 Brand Management and Advertising
    • SOAD-M 309 Strategies in Retail Promotion
    • SOAD-M 316 Retail Product Management
    • SOAD-M 327 Product Development
    • SOAD-M 328 Digital Product Development
    • SOAD-M 350 Omnichannel Apparel Merchandising: Connecting to Consumers
    • SOAD-M 405 International Fashion Consumers and Retailers
    • SOAD-M 409 Retail Industry Field Seminar
    • SOAD-M 410 Apparel Entrepreneurship
    • SOAD-M 412 Global Sourcing
    • SOAD-M 416 Sustainability in Product: Fashion Design, Merchandising, and Retailing
    • SOAD-M 450 Profiling the Apparel Customer
    • SOAD-M 485 Advanced Special Topics in Apparel Merchandising
    • SOAD-X 373 Internship in Professional Practice
    • SOAD-X 376 Practicum in the Retail Industry
    • SOAD-X 492 Independent Study in Retail
  4. Career Course. Complete one (1) of the following:
    • SOAD-M 319 Professional Techniques in the Retail Industry
    • ASCS-Q 299 College to Career III: Market Yourself for the Job, Internship, and Graduate School Search
  5. Additional Courses. Complete the following:
    • BUS-K 201 The Computer in Business
    • ECON-E 201 Introduction to Microeconomics OR ECON-E 202 Introduction to Macroeconomics
    • PSY-P 101 Introductory Psychology
    • SOC-S 100 Introduction to Sociology
  6. Minor requirement. Complete one (1) of the Kelley School of Business Minors (21 cr.) or another related minor approved by the Apparel Merchandising Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Course prerequisites will be strictly upheld. A total of no more than 6 credit hours may be earned among the following courses: SOAD-X 373, X376, and X492.

Note: Apparel Merchandising B.S. students may exceed the normal maximum of 20 credit hours outside the College of Arts and Sciences, up to a limit of 26 credit hours, provided those credit hours are from Kelley School of Business minor courses such as A200, K201, L201, M300, M311, M312, Z302, or other business courses approved by the Apparel Merchandising Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Supervised internships are available.