Costume Design

Types of Degrees Costume Design Majors Are Getting

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

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	14
Master’s Degree	8
Bachelor’s Degree	8
Associate Degree	1

What Costume Design Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, costume design 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 Costume Design Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in costume design should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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 Costume Design Majors

A major in costume design 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 Costume Design Majors

Costume Design majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• 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 Costume Design Major?

People with a costume design 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 Costume Design?

This major is dominated by women with about 75% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of costume design majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	0
White	6
International Students	2
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

Geographic Diversity

Costume Design appeals to people across the globe. About 25.0% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Costume Design

Some degrees associated with costume design may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for costume design careers below.

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 Costume Design 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)	2	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	3	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Costume Design

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to costume design.

Major	Number of Grads
Theater Arts	10,917
Acting	1,791
Musical Theater	1,247
Theater Design & Technology	1,139
Playwriting & Screenwriting	851
Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft	465
Directing & Theatrical Production	220
Theatre and Dance	111
Comedy Writing and Performance	44
Theatre Literature, History & Criticism	37

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
• Image Credit: By Donald Judge under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.