---

Apparel & Textile Manufacture

Types of Degrees Apparel & Textile Manufacture Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Apparel & Textile Manufacture can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	46
Associate’s Degree	85
Bachelor’s Degree	151
Master’s Degree	31

What Apparel & Textile Manufacture Majors Need to Know

Programs in Apparel & Textile Manufacture build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Apparel & Textile Manufacture graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Apparel & Textile Manufacture emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Apparel & Textile Manufacture program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Apparel & Textile Manufacture careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Apparel & Textile Manufacture graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.0 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.0 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.9 / 7
Working with Computers	3.9 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.9 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.8 / 7
Thinking Creatively	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Apparel & Textile Manufacture professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Zoom	Video conferencing software	—
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Social computing tools	Web page creation and editing software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Apparel & Textile Manufacture graduates include:

• Food and Nutrition Teacher
• Nutrition Program Instructor
• Professor
• Family and Consumer Sciences Professor (FCS Professor)
• Food and Nutrition Instructor
• University Faculty Member
• Family Consumer Science Teacher (FCS Teacher)
• Adjunct Instructor
• Adjunct Professor
• Nutrition Instructor
• Associate Professor
• Instructor
• College Professor
• Child Development Instructor
• Home Economics Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Apparel & Textile Manufacture graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	32.4%
Master’s degree	24.6%
Bachelor’s degree	14.5%
High school diploma or equivalent	7.9%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	6.3%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	5.3%
Some college courses	4.2%
Postsecondary certificate	3.4%
Less than a high school diploma	0.6%
Post-doctoral training	0.5%
First professional degree	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Apparel & Textile Manufacture?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 75.1% of Apparel & Textile Manufacture degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	235	75.1%
Men	78	24.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Apparel & Textile Manufacture graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	119	38.0%
Asian	22	7.0%
Hispanic or Latino	99	31.6%
Black or African American	31	9.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	0.3%
Two or More Races	10	3.2%
Race Unknown	11	3.5%
International Students	20	6.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Apparel & Textile Manufacture Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Apparel & Textile Manufacture graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$36,627
4 years	$47,471
5 years	$55,819

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $55,819 — roughly 52% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Apparel & Textile Manufacture Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for Apparel & Textile Manufacture. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	1	2
Bachelor’s	1	1
Master’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Apparel & Textile Manufacture Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Apparel & Textile Manufacture graduates earn a median of $47,471 four years after completion — roughly 25% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Apparel and Textiles	19.09
Apparel and Textile Marketing Management	19.0905
Apparel and Textiles, General	19.0901
Apparel and Textiles, Other	19.0999
Fashion and Fabric Consultant	19.0906
Textile Science	19.0904
Adult Development and Aging	19.0702
Business Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences	19.0201
Child Care and Support Services Management	19.0708
Child Development	19.0706
Consumer Economics	19.0402
Consumer Services and Advocacy	19.0403

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.