Drexel Programs Rank Highly on Fashion Schools List

This month, a website dedicated to helping direct students aspiring to enter a career in fashion design to the right schools once again ranked Drexel in its top 10.

Drexel ranked seventh in the United States on the list for Fashion Design on Fashion-Schools.org’s Top 50 list. It has been named one of the ten best schools in the country for fashion design since 2012.

Drexel’s Design & Merchandising program also ranked highly, coming in at no. 14 on the list ranking schools in the United States offering that major.

The top administrators for those programs shared with DrexelNow what they think puts them fashion’s top echelon year after year.

• Allen Sabinson, dean, Westphal College of Media Arts & Design

  “With well over 40 years of history, Westphal’s programs in Fashion Design and Design & Merchandising (D&M) have produced generations of talented designers and industry professionals who fanned out across the world, working in many of the world’s most well-known fashion and merchandising businesses.”

  “You only need attend the annual Drexel Fashion Show to witness the lavish production staged by the D&M students featuring the exquisite designs of Fashion students and you’d know we have very special programs.”

• Roberta Gruber, head, Department of Design, Westphal College of Media Arts & Design

  “The Fashion Design and D&M programs often work in concert with each other as well as with other majors, forging many interdisciplinary initiatives. The two most popular are the annual student Fashion Show and the D&M Magazine.”

  “Our programs stand out for a variety of reasons. Our excellent faculty who have industry experience and maintain valuable research and/or creative activities, a rigorous curriculum, a diverse student body, superior facilities, easy accessibility to cultural institutions and activities, study abroad opportunities, a focus on professionalism and experiential learning through Drexel’s co-op program all serve to stimulate creative thinking and doing.”

  “Also, the Fox Historic Costume Collection is an outstanding resource as a teaching tool where students visit with faculty or on their own for inspiration.”

• Lisa Hayes, program director, Fashion Design

  “Drexel fashion students learn to master critical design skills while exploring a wide variety of opportunities within their field and beyond. We encourage a collaborative approach to design and research where students can experience a broad range of disciplines throughout the university.”

  “Students are supported by accomplished faculty mentors and industry liaisons. Our diverse student body enjoys both a local and global approach to design thinking, as they work to solve design challenges for the future, with fashion as a catalyst.”

• Catherine Fox Byers, program director, Design & Merchandising

  “While there are more fashion merchandising programs in the United States, Drexel’s Design & Merchandising is a program that incorporates both the principles and aesthetics of design with sound industry practices.”

  “Of course, Drexel’s co-op program sets ours apart from others, with students working for a full six months, broadening their value to employers and enriching their experience.”