Fashion Merchandising (BS)

Students who plan to work in fashion management, selling, or buying should focus on the Fashion Merchandising program. Students choosing Fashion Merchandising will learn about merchandising, retailing, consumers, retail buying, and fashion promotion.  Generally, graduates will be prepared to buy, promote, and sell merchandise for retailers and wholesalers, and to merchandise, promote, and sell products for manufacturers.  Because the skills and knowledge needed for merchandising career positions in the fashion industry vary depending on the type of position, two distinct emphasis are available for the bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising.  For the Fashion Merchandising degree, students must select either the Management Emphasis degree or the Planning Emphasis degree.  The Fashion Merchandising degree with a Management Emphasis is designed for those who plan to work in fashion or retail management, selling, or promotion careers, primarily in store environments.  The Fashion Merchandising degree with a Planning Emphasis is designed for those students who plan to work in retail buying and merchandise management careers, primarily in corporate environments.  Differences in the emphasis focus on math and business minor requirements.  Graduates with either emphasis will receive the Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Merchandising.

DEGREE PLANS

Careers

Careers in fashion merchandising are challenging, exciting, and rewarding!  The wide variety of opportunities in the industry for graduates attracts people with many different interests, goals, and abilities.  Most jobs require people with business know-how, analytical ability, and management skills while others require people with a high degree of artistic creativity and originality.  Regardless of the position, successful people working in a fashion merchandising career have a pleasing personality, a real interest in people, and a willingness to work and learn.

Individuals with a degree in fashion merchandising work as merchandisers, buyers, sales representatives, store managers, regional managers, wholesalers, manufacturer’s sales representatives, merchandise planners, merchandise analysts, merchandise allocators, promotional coordinators, manufacturer’s store coordinators, fashion coordinators, fashion directors, advertising managers, visual merchandisers, resident buyers, fashion forecasters, educators, divisional merchandise managers, product developers, general merchandise managers, entrepreneurs, and company owners.  So many choices!

For people just beginning a career, many large companies offer entry-level training programs while smaller firms offer a wide variety of entry-level positions.  Typical entry-level positions include executive trainee, buyer’s assistant, and department manager.  Regardless of the starting position, responsibilities increase with hard work and a keen interest in the job.  For those people who demonstrate the necessary talents, upward mobility is relatively easy.

Want to Find out More?

To request information about Programs in Fashion and Textiles fill out and submit the Get More Information form.  We will be happy to send you a packet by mail.