---

General Apparel & Textiles

Types of Degrees General Apparel & Textiles Majors Are Earning

People majoring in General Apparel & Textiles may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	23
Associate’s Degree	48
Bachelor’s Degree	1,548
Master’s Degree	111
Doctor’s Degree	15

What General Apparel & Textiles Majors Need to Know

Studies in General Apparel & Textiles emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that General Apparel & Textiles graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in General Apparel & Textiles emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills developed in a General Apparel & Textiles program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to General Apparel & Textiles careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General Apparel & Textiles graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.5 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.9 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by General Apparel & Textiles professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Learning management system LMS	Computer based training software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—
Database management systems	Data base management system 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 General Apparel & Textiles graduates include:

• Adjunct Instructor
• College Professor
• Nutrition Instructor
• Family Resource Management Professor
• Lecturer
• Home Economics Professor
• Cooking Teacher
• Chef Instructor
• Weaving Professor
• Child Development Instructor
• Tailoring Teacher
• Food and Nutrition Teacher
• Nutrition Program Instructor
• Assistant Professor
• Family and Consumer Sciences Professor (FCS Professor)

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	52.6%
Doctoral degree	27.0%
Bachelor’s degree	9.0%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	5.9%
Postsecondary certificate	2.8%
Less than a high school diploma	1.8%
Some college courses	0.5%
Post-doctoral training	0.4%
First professional degree	0.2%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Apparel & Textiles?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 87.5% of General Apparel & Textiles degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,527	87.5%
Men	218	12.5%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	997	57.1%
Asian	118	6.8%
Hispanic or Latino	319	18.3%
Black or African American	146	8.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native	2	0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	5	0.3%
Two or More Races	86	4.9%
Race Unknown	33	1.9%
International Students	39	2.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Apparel & Textiles Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of General Apparel & Textiles graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow 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 General Apparel & Textiles Programs

Online study is reported by IPEDS for General Apparel & Textiles. 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
Bachelor’s	2	0
Master’s	2	3

^{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 General Apparel & Textiles Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, General Apparel & Textiles 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 Manufacture	19.0902
Apparel and Textile Marketing Management	19.0905
Apparel and Textiles, Other	19.0999
Fashion and Fabric Consultant	19.0906
Textile Science	19.0904
Business Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences	19.0201
Child Development	19.0706
Consumer Economics	19.0402
Consumer Services and Advocacy	19.0403
Family and Consumer Economics and Related Services, Other	19.0499
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General	19.0101

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.