Fashion Studies

Types of Degrees Fashion Studies Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many fashion design graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,754
Associate Degree	862
Basic Certificate	202
Master’s Degree	112
Undergraduate Certificate	93
Doctor’s Degree	5
Graduate Certificate	4

What Fashion Studies Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, fashion studies majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Fashion Studies Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Skills for Fashion Studies Majors

A major in fashion studies prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Fashion Studies Majors

A major in fashion studies will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

What Can You Do With a Fashion Studies Major?

People with a fashion studies degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Art, Drama, and Music Professors	12.0%	$69,960
Fashion Designers	2.5%	$72,720

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Studies?

The major attracts more women than men. About 86% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of fashion studies majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	124
Black or African American	209
Hispanic or Latino	258
White	652
International Students	389
Other Races/Ethnicities	122

Geographic Diversity

Fashion Studies appeals to people across the globe. About 22.2% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Fashion Studies

Some degrees associated with fashion studies may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to fashion studies have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.3%
Some College Courses	8.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	12.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	17.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.5%
Master’s Degree	34.6%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	2.9%
Doctoral Degree	21.6%

Online Fashion Studies Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	36	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	1
Associate’s Degree	64	2
Bachelor’s Degree	3	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	12	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Fashion Studies

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to fashion studies.

Major	Number of Grads
Graphic Design	9,176
Interior Design	5,625
Visual Communications	5,606
Commercial & Advertising Art	3,319
Illustration	2,989
Game & Interactive Media Design	2,437
Other Design & Applied Arts	1,689
Industrial Design	1,351
Commercial Photography	795

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.