Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising
Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Orange County, California
The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising is a WASC and NASAD accredited, co-educational, specialized, private college with campuses in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Orange County, California.
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising offers Associate of Arts, Professional Designation and Advanced Study Degree programs in Fashion Design, Interior Design, Fashion Merchandise Marketing, Merchandise Product Development, Textile Design, Visual Communications, Graphic Design, Beauty Industry Merchandising & Beauty Industry Marketing, Theatre Costume Design, International Manufacturing & Product Development, Film & TV Costume Design, Digital Media, Footwear Design, and Apparel Manufacturing Management. Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising is pleased to announce that we are currently offering a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management (candidacy status WASC-ACSCU).
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising has an enrollment of 5,500 full-time students. Over the last 30 years, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising has built an alumni network in excess of 30,000 graduates around the world. The college's alumni base and industry-wide reputation for excellence both give our students an exceptional network of contacts and resources when they enter into the marketplace.
Associate Degree Fashion Design; Bachelor's Degree Fashion Design
The Fashion Design Program prepares students for careers in fashion design for the apparel industry. The curriculum stimulates creative expression in all aspects of fashion design, including fashion sketching, creative design, computer applications, draping, and pattern drafting. Students will understand the importance of communication, critical reasoning and the effect they have on this diversified and global industry. The program is structured to challenge and inspire students by incorporating artistic, technical, and theoretical elements into a realistic approach to the fashion design industry.
Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Design and Fashion Marketing
The Fashion Marketing Program gives students a strong foundation in the fashion business, preparing them for leading management roles in fashion and related industries. Students learn marketing strategies, advertising techniques, and retail management. Students may choose to pursue a degree program that combines Fashion Marketing and Design, coupling the advertising, marketing, and retail know-how of the marketer with the creativity of the designer. This program includes the development of a Fashion Portfolio.
Apparel Manufacturing Management
The Apparel Manufacturing Management Program is designed to prepare students for eventual ownership and/or management of a fashion manufacturing company. This applied learner-centered program involves the student in all phases of product and line development, global sourcing, production planning, use of technology, sales management, financial control, and human resources management. The curriculum stresses the importance of teamwork and effective communication in decision-making from the development of the initial concept to the delivery of the finished product.
Students have access to Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising’s 12,000-square-foot garment district loft that simulates a manufacturing facility, where they study costing, production planning, line development, textile testing, and other applications in the apparel industry. Career opportunities are exploding as companies adapt new technology to methods that have been used for generations. Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising’s program prepares graduates to meet the demand for highly skilled technicians and management personnel able to bridge the old with the new in this dynamic field. Students in this major may apply for a third-year program in International Manufacturing & Product Development, Advanced Fashion Design, and Advanced Footwear Design.
Associate of Arts in Textile Design: Knit Design & Construction Concentration
The mission of the Textile Design program for Knit Design & Construction provides specialized courses in knitwear design for fashion and/or apparel manufacturing students. The curriculum is structured to provide industry principles of design and construction for full-fashion knitwear, including fashion illustration, pattern drafting, and specification and costing analysis.
Associate of Arts in Textile Design: Surface Design Concentration
The mission of the Textile Program for Surface Design is to prepare students for successful careers in creating and styling textiles for the apparel and interior design industries. Students develop their expressive and technical skills through both painting and CAD applications.
Advanced Study Programs under the Major of Fashion Design: Footwear Design
The Advanced Study Program in Footwear Design provides the student with a comprehensive view of both the domestic and European footwear industries. It offers the students an opportunity to express creative and technical skills while acquiring a professional understanding of the decision-making process of designing, producing, merchandising, and marketing of footwear.
Advanced Study Programs under the Major of Fashion Design: Theatre Costume Design
The Advanced Study Program in Theatre Costume is an intense, concentrated program designed to encompass the many aspects of costuming from the legitimate stage to television, film, and video. The student studies costume crafts, costume design, costume construction, wardrobing, rendering, script analysis, breakdown, and the history of costume and décor. The Theatre Costume specialization prepares the exceptional student to enter the rigorous field of costuming for theatre, film, television, video, and spectacle.
Advanced Study Programs under the Major of Fashion Design: Film & TV Costume Design
The Advanced Study Program in Film & TV Costume Design provides a comprehensive view of a field with its own distinct tradition and creative challenges. It offers students a chance to explore those qualities that make film and television an exceptional choice for the designer. The development of a broad frame of cinematic reference, the interaction with working professionals, and the opportunity to make practical and creative decisions within the time frame of a production, will provide the student with the knowledge and skill necessary to launch a career in the global entertainment field.
International Students
- Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising has 5,500 full-time students from the United States and 30 other countries.
- Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising offers many support services for International Students including orientation, student activity meetings, and various cultural exchange events.
- Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising provides classes within each major that teach the technical and artistic skills that students need to succeed in their chosen careers - no prior college or training is required.
- Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising assists in providing students with practical work experience during their studies, and provides lifetime career advice and international alumni networking after graduation.
- Most International Students attend the main Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising campus in Los Angeles.
TOEFL & ESL
- Students whose first language is not English and who have not taken AND passed a regular (not ESL) English class at a U.S. accredited college or a US high school must submit a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score prior to acceptance. Students who have TOEFL scores of 540 and above are exempt from Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising's ESL classes.
- The minimum TOEFL score for acceptance to Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising is 483 paper based or 160 computer based.
- Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising offers advanced English as a Second Language (ESL) courses for students whose scores range from 483-539 paper based or 160-205 computer based.
- Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising students take ESL classes in conjunction with courses in their major.
- The cost for ESL is $850 (tuition, books and supplies).
