The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a State
University of New York college of art and design located
in New York City, New York, United States. It was
founded in 1944. In 1951, it became one of the first
SUNY community colleges empowered to grant the Associate
of Applied Science degree. Today, FIT also grants
Bachelor's and Master's degrees in fashion and related
fields. These include some unique programs, such as the
United States' only degree-granting program in
Accessories Design, and the only baccalaureate program
in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing in the world.
The Institute
Industry visits by students and
lectures by many different leaders in the field provide
a cooperative and creative bridge between the classroom
and the world of work. Although the college is now
associated with many industries and professions, FIT's
commitment to career education is still its hallmark and
a source of pride to an institution whose industry
connection is an integral part of its history. Founded
in 1944, FIT is a college of art and design, business,
and technology of the State University of New York.
Seventeen majors offered through the School of Art and
Design and ten through the School of Business and
Technology lead to the A.A.S., B.F.A., or B.S. degrees.
The School of Graduate Studies offers programs leading
to the Master of Arts or Master of Professional Studies
degree. FIT is an accredited institutional member of the
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the
National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and
the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research.
FIT is a member of the Association of Independent
Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of
thirty-six leading art schools in the United States. The
nine-building campus includes classrooms, studios, and
labs that reflect the most advanced education and
industrial practices. Below this facility is the college
bookstore, Barnes & Noble at FIT. The Conference Center
at
FIT features the John E. Reeves Great Hall, a space
suitable for conferences, fashion shows, lectures, and
other events. The campus also has two large theatres,
including the Haft Auditorium and the Amphitheatre. FIT
serves more than 6,500 full-time and 4,000 part-time
students, who come not only from within commuting
distances but also from around the nation and all over
the world. Three dormitories serve approximately 1,250
students and offer a variety of accommodations. A fourth
residence hall is scheduled to open in fall 2006.
Student participation in campus life is encouraged
through more than sixty campus clubs, numerous
organizations, and several athletic teams.
Location
FIT's urban campus is located in
the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on 27th Street
from Seventh Avenue to Eighth Avenue —where the worlds
of fashion, art, design, communications, and marketing
converge. This location creates an exceptional level of
integration between the college and the industries and
professions it serves. Students are encouraged to
participate in the cultural activities of New York,
where opera, dance, theater, and the visual arts are
readily available. All of FIT's programs and departments
take full advantage of New York's special offerings.
Undergraduate majors and
degrees
The college offers
a two-year program leading to the
Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.)
degree and upper-division programs
leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.)
or Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree.
Associate-level art and design majors
are offered in:
- Accessories
Design
-
Communication Design
- Fashion
Design, Fine Arts (with a
career-exploration component)
-
Illustration
- Interior
Design
- Jewelry
Design
- Menswear
- Photography
-
Textile/surface Design.
- Visual
Presentation and Exhibition Design
(Formerly Display and Exhibit
Design)
In the business
area, A.A.S. majors are offered in:
- Advertising
and Marketing Communications
- Fashion
Merchandising Management
-
Patternmaking Technology
- Production
Management: Fashion and Related
Industries
- Textile
Development and Marketing
Bachelor of Fine
Arts degrees are awarded in:
- Accessories
Design and Fabrication
- Advertising
Design
- Computer
Animation & Interactive Media
- Fabric
Styling
- Fashion
Design
- Fine Arts
- Graphic
Design
-
Illustration
- Interior
Design
- Packaging
Design
- Photography
- Restoration
-
Textile/surface Design
- Toy Design.
Transfer
students wishing to enter B.F.A.
programs may have to complete the
one-year A.A.S. program described below
prior to entry into the upper division.
The Bachelor of
Science degree is offered in:
- Advertising
and Marketing Communications
- Cosmetics
and Fragrance Marketing
- Direct
Marketing
- Fashion
Merchandising Management
- Home
Products Development
-
International Trade and Marketing
for the Fashion Industries
- Production
Management: Fashion and Related
Industries
- Textile
Development and Marketing
The B.S. program
is open to students who hold an
associate degree from the college or an
equivalent degree from another
accredited institution. Graduates of
other accredited institutions of higher
learning or transfer students who have a
minimum of 30 transferable credits and
can satisfy the liberal arts
requirements may enter any of the
following one-year A.A.S. programs:
- Accessories
Design
- Advertising
and Marketing Communications
-
Communication Design
- Fashion
Design
- Fashion
Merchandising Management
- Jewelry
Design
- Textile
Development and Marketing
-
Textile/surface Design
Graduate majors and degrees
Master of Arts Degree Programs
Art Market: Principles and
Practices A 48-credit, full- or part-time program
preparing students for careers in the business,
collection, and exhibition of art. The curriculum
includes art history, writing for the art market,
gallery design and operation, business practices,
computer technology for the art world, marketing,
valuation and appraisal, exhibition theory, art law and
professional ethics, and a required internship.
Graduates find employment as art gallery directors,
public art program directors, art consultants for
private and corporate collections, art foundation
administrators, museum marketing and development
directors, independent curators, auction house
department heads, and artists' representatives.
Exhibition Design
A 36-credit, full-time program
preparing students for careers in the exhibition design
and visual display production industry. Building on
undergraduate, three-dimensional design experiences, the
studio-focused curriculum centers on the designer's role
within the exhibition team, with emphasis on the
development of design and fabrication skills, and
includes an internship at an appropriate venue. Studio
projects, such as museum and gallery design, traveling
exhibits, and corporate collections, are linked to
coursework in graphics, lighting, and presentation.
Graduates go on to careers with architectural and
exhibition design firms, museums, historic trusts, and
special events companies.
Fashion and Textile Studies:
History, Theory, Museum Practice
A 48-credit, full- or part-time
program preparing students for professional curatorial,
conservation, education, and other scholarly careers
that focus on historic clothing, accessories, textiles,
and other related materials. The curriculum includes
conservation, material identification, and exhibition
work with The Museum at FIT, and the study of art
historical methodologies, anthropology, material
culture, and gender studies. Students may elect to
pursue either a curatorial or a conservation emphasis.
An internship in the field is required. Graduates are
employed as museum curators, fashion and textile
historians, costume and textile conservators,
collections managers and registrars, textile dealers and
consultants, and museum educators.
Illustration
A 37-credit, part-time, evening and
weekend program designed for working professionals
seeking advanced study to develop their skills as master
illustrators and strengthen their business acumen. The
program focuses on high-level techniques, new media
applications, and illustration industry practices. The
curriculum encompasses digital and traditional studio
methods, entrepreneurial research and writing, and
opportunities in new and emerging markets. Students
graduate with the skills needed to succeed as freelance
and in-house illustrators for advertising agencies,
design firms, magazines, online media, and publishing
houses. Master of
Professional Studies Degree Programs
Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management
A 36-credit, part-time program
providing industry professionals with high-level
management skills, and an interdisciplinary, global
perspective. The curriculum develops core business and
marketing skills, and technical and creative
competencies such as cosmetic and fragrance product
knowledge, creative management, and an intellectual
foundation in beauty and fashion culture. Each
graduating class travels abroad to participate in an
intensive week of meetings with leaders in major
overseas markets. The program culminates in a team-based
capstone seminar, with a final presentation to a panel
of faculty and industry experts. Graduates go on to
higher-level managerial careers at a range of
prestigious companies within their industry.
Global Fashion
Management
A 36-credit,
full-time program offered in
collaboration with Hong Kong Polytechnic
University in Hong Kong and Institut
Francais de la Mode in Paris that
prepares fashion executives for senior
managerial positions in the global
marketplace. The curriculum includes
courses in production management and the
supply chain, global marketing and
fashion brand management, current
technologies in the fashion industry,
international team management,
international culture and business,
challenges to profitability, and
politics and world trade. The course of
study is completed in a three-semester
period, with intensive seminar courses
taught in each of the three
participating institutions. Graduates go
on to higher-level managerial careers at
a range of prestigious companies within
their industry. The language of
instruction is English.
Center for
Executive Education
This is the only
advanced management program in the U.S.
specifically designed for senior
management in fashion retailing,
marketing and manufacturing.
Academic
programs
Programs are
designed to prepare students for
creative and/or business careers in the
fashion and related professions and
industries. To qualify for the A.A.S., a
student must be in degree status,
satisfactorily complete the credit hours
prescribed for a given major with
approximately one third of all required
credits in the liberal arts, achieve a
minimum GPA of 2.0, and receive the
recommendation of the faculty. To
qualify for the B.S. or B.F.A., a
student must be in degree status,
satisfactorily complete the credit and
course requirements prescribed by the
major, and receive the recommendation of
the faculty. A minimum of 60 approved
credits is required; at least half of
the credits required in the major area
must be earned in residence at the
upper-division level. If the student has
an appropriate Fashion Institute of
Technology associate degree, a minimum
of 30 approved credits must be earned in
residence at the upper-division level.
Most majors offer internship programs in
their courses of study.
Precollege
programs (Saturday/sunday Live) are
available during the fall, spring, and
summer. More than forty-five classes
offer high school and middle school
students the chance to learn in a studio
environment, to explore the business and
technological sides of the fashion
industry, and to discover natural
talents and creative abilities. Classes
are taught by a faculty of artists,
designers, and other professionals. High
school credit may be earned at the
discretion of each student's high
school.
Off-campus programs
FIT's International Programs in
Fashion Design and Fashion Merchandising
Management/florence and New York provide international
experience for students interested in careers in the
global fashion industry. Offered to full-time,
matriculated FIT students as two distinct programs
leading to the A.A.S. and B.F.A. degrees, the curricula
are taught in both New York City and Florence, Italy,
with students completing a year of study in each city.
Textile/surface design majors may apply for a semester
abroad at the Winchester School of Art or Chelsea
College of Art and Design near London, the Nova Scotia
College of Art and Design in Halifax, or Shenkar College
of Textiles and Fashions in Israel. Fashion
merchandising management majors may apply for
semester-abroad study in merchandising at RMIT in
Australia, Manchester Metropolitan University or
University of Westminster in England, American
University of Rome, CSIS Program in Florence, or Hong
Kong Polytechnic University. Seventh-semester
advertising design students may study at the London
College of Printing's School of Graphic Design, Chelsea
College of Art and Design, or Nottingham Trent
University in England; seventh-semester students may
also study international trade and marketing at the
American University in Rome or Middlesex University in
London. Advertising and marketing communications
students may study for a semester at American University
in Rome; CSIS Program in Florence; Institute Commercial
de Nancy or Université de Paris, La Sorbonne, in France;
or Middlesex University in England. Selected
upper-division students majoring in fashion design may
study for one semester at Nottingham Trent University or
Central St. Martins in England; at Esmod in 22 cities
worldwide including Paris since 1841; see www.esmod.com;
at RMIT in Australia; or at Hong Kong Polytechnic
University. Graphic design students may study for a
semester at Chelsea College of Art and Design, London
College of Printing, or Nottingham Trent University.
Brief off-campus courses are offered for credit during
summer semesters and include fabric styling in Italy,
fashion merchandising in London, fashion in France and
Italy, international buying and marketing in Europe, and
illustration in Italy.
Clubs and
organizations
Number of
registered organizations: 73
- Honor
societies:
-
Religious organizations:
-
Christian Fellowship, Korean
Christian Crusade for Christ,
Chabad, Jewish Student
Association, Muslim, Catholic
- Minority
and international student
organizations:
- Black
Student Union, Filipino, Latin
American Student Organization,
BRAG, Italian, Scandinavian,
South Asian, French
- Other
organizations:
-
A.A.T.C.C., Accessories and
Millinery, Ad Group, Advertising
Design, American Marketing
Association, Athletics, Business
and Ethics Research Society,
Cheerleaders, Creative Showcase,
Dance, D. E. C. A. , Direct
Marketing, Display & Exhibit,
Dorms, Fabric Styling, Fine
Arts, FIT Theatre Ensemble,
Francophone, Gospel Choir,
Handbook, Hellenic, Holistic
Healing and Lifestyle, Home
Furnishings, Illustration,
Interior Design, ICON, Jewelry,
KCCC, Manufacturing Management,
Menswear, Merchandise Society,
Model Workshop, Packaging,
Patternmaking, Photography,
PRSSA, Radio (WFIT),
Restoration, Snow Club, Student
Council, Style Shop, Textile
Design, Turkish Textile Design,
West 27 (Newspaper), Yearbook,
and LGBT & Friends of FIT.
Academic
facilities
A modern campus
with outstanding facilities for studying
all aspects of a dynamic industry, FIT
comprises an entire city block in
Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. The
Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center
offers up-to-date facilities for design
studies: photography studios with color
and black-and-white darkrooms, painting
rooms, a sculpture studio, a printmaking
room, a graphics laboratory, display and
exhibit design rooms, life-sketching
rooms, and a model-making workshop. The
Shirley Goodman Resource Center houses
the Museum at FIT and the Library/media
Services, with references for history,
sociology, technology, art, and
literature; international journals and
periodicals; sketchbooks and records
donated by designers, manufacturers, and
merchants; slides, tapes, and
periodicals; and a voluminous clipping
file. The Gladys Marcus Library houses
more than 290,000 volumes, including
books, periodicals, and nonprint
materials. FIT also has many computer
labs for student use. The Instructional
Media Services Department provides
audiovisual and TV support and a
complete in-house TV studio. Student
work is also displayed throughout the
campus. Fashion shows featuring the work
of graduating B.F.A. students occur each
academic year.
The
Design/research Lighting Laboratory, an
educational and professional development
facility for interior design and other
academic disciplines, features more than
400 commercially available lighting
fixtures controlled by a computer. The
Peter G. Scotese Computer-Aided Design
and Communications Facility provides art
and design students with the opportunity
to explore technology and its
integration into the design of textiles,
toys, interiors, fashion, and
advertising as well as photography and
computer graphics. Also located on the
campus is the Annette Green/fragrance
Foundation Laboratory, an environment
for the study of fragrance development.
The Museum at
FIT
The Museum at
FIT is one of the world's largest and
most important collections of clothing,
textiles, and accessories. The Costume
Department includes 50,000 garments and
accessories dating from the 18th century
to the present. The Textile Department
includes 30,000 textiles dating from the
5th century to the present as well as
250,000 textile swatches and 1,300
sample books from all over the world.
The museum has three galleries and
maintains an active schedule of
exhibitions relevant to fashion and
related industries. Exhibitions are free
to the public.
The museum's
galleries provide a showcase for a wide
spectrum of exhibitions relevant to
fashion and its satellite industries.
The annual student art and design
exhibition is shown here, as are other
student projects.
Fashion
historian Valerie Steele was named
Director of the Museum in 2003.
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