Fashion Merchandising

Overview

Fashion merchandising programs prepare people to market lines of clothing to retail stores.

Fashion merchandising programs include topics such as:

Wholesale purchasing
How to set up and manage contracts
Selecting merchandise for retail stores or catalogs
Promotional campaigns
Event coordinating
Organizing fashion shows

Students also learn important business subjects such as accounting, customer service, and marketing.

Internships

Internships allow students to develop skills at companies or organizations. Some fashion merchandising programs require students to develop a portfolio or complete an internship. Both two- and four-year programs often include internship.

Concentrations

In fashion merchandising programs, students may be able to specialize in:

Apparel and accessories marketing operations
Apparel and textile marketing management

Schools

Many community colleges offer associate degrees in fashion merchandising. An associate degree program usually takes two years of full-time study.

Some colleges and universities offer bachelor's degrees in fashion merchandising. A bachelor's degree usually takes about four years of full-time study. Sometimes fashion merchandising is a specialization in a business marketing program. Often, both two- and four-year programs include an internship.

See schools that offer this program.

Related Educational Programs

Related Careers

Careers Directly Related to this Program of Study

Other Careers Related to this Program of Study

Program Admission

You can prepare for this program by taking courses in high school that prepare you for college. This typically includes four years of English, three years of math, three years of social studies, and two years of science. Some colleges also require two years of a second language.

Below is a list of high school courses that will help prepare you for this program of study:

Accounting
Art
Business Computer Applications
Economics
Introduction to Business
Public Speaking

Typical Course Work

Program Courses

An associate degree program typically includes courses in the following subjects:

Accounting Principles
Advertising and Promotion
Apparel Structure and Design
Business Communications
Business Math
Fashion Merchandising/Buying
History of Fashion
Marketing
Principles of Management
Retail Operations

In addition to the subjects above, a bachelor's degree program is more likely to include some of the following subjects:

Advanced Composition
Business Law
College Algebra
Computer Applications in Business
Economics
Fashion Illustration
Fashion Show Production
Statistics
Textile Science

Things to Know

Good skills in writing, speaking, and critical thinking are needed for advancement in the business world. Fashion is part of the general culture. You need an understanding of the arts and social forces to understand trends in fashion.

Business courses in high school can be useful preparation for a career in this field.