Fashion Industry & Merchandising Major
What is Fashion Industry & Merchandising?
Drexel’s innovative Fashion Industry & Merchandising (FIM) major integrates visual design, merchandising, and business acumen for the fashion lifestyle industries. The Bachelor of Science degree educates students to conceptualize, plan, develop, market, and measure the opportunity for products and services for consumers and businesses through physical stores, online channels, digital platforms, and interactive media. Students develop thorough knowledge of how products come to life through sustainable textiles, design, and production, and strategize the optimal assortment, inventory, creative promotion, and pricing for business goals. The multidisciplinary curriculum, based on both theory and practice, is delivered through immersive, experiential learning.
Career paths for graduates are diverse, ranging from fashion buying and marketing to sustainability and product development. Opportunities abound in cities like Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles, and Boston, where students can pursue careers in wholesale, retail, textiles, sourcing, media, marketing, visual merchandising, and public relations.
Why Study Fashion Industry & Merchandising at Drexel?
Drexel’s Fashion Industry & Merchandising program uniquely combines business acumen with creative skills. Students will learn to plan for fashion and lifestyle products from start to finish, gaining knowledge in merchandise planning & analytics, sourcing, marketing, and delivering products through various channels. Throughout their studies, students are exposed to diverse technologies for design, development, wholesaling, retailing, business analysis, and promotion. Also, students can earn an Introduction to Buying Certificate from Merchant Academy that is layered into the curriculum. Our renown program offers a comprehensive academic experience.
- Sustainable Fashion Focus: The curriculum emphasizes creating a greener industry, equipping students with the skills to contribute to sustainable fashion practices.
- Interdisciplinary Education: The program integrates knowledge from multiple fields, ensuring that students receive a well-rounded education that prepares them for diverse career paths in fashion merchandising.
- Cutting Edge Technology & Data Analytics: Students are trained to use the latest technology and data analytics tools, essential for driving innovation in the fashion industry.
- Industry Projects: The opportunity to collaborate with brands on real-world challenges provides practical experience, making students industry-ready upon graduation.
- Real-World & Global Experiences: The program offers valuable experiences such as a six-month co-op and many study abroad opportunities including programs in London, Paris, Dublin, Seoul, and Berlin that allow students to gain a global perspective and practical knowledge.
The FIM program, previously named the Design and Merchandising program, is ranked in the top ten of fashion merchandising colleges in the United States Fashion-Schools.org and in the top ten of fashion schools in the world by CEOWORLD Magazine.
Student Journey: We prepare you for success
In their first year, students have immediate engagement in the program by taking four fashion merchandising-courses and learning visual design and critique capabilities, as well as drafting a career pathway. A multidisciplinary perspective is developed in the second year. Students take courses in the LeBow College of Business, the Close School of Entrepreneurship, and the College of Arts and Sciences, developing a strong business acumen and a portfolio of soft skills. In the third year, students complete a Drexel six-month co-op, working full-time in buying and retail corporate offices, wholesale showrooms, marketing studios, and design headquarters. This experiential education allows students to learn alongside experts in their fields and see firsthand how these innovators are shaping the professional world. Students work in New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, and other fashion-centric cities. In the fourth year, students synthesize their educational journey by addressing real world challenges that are critiqued by industry professionals and alumni. Seniors showcase a diverse range of creative projects, business plans, and research at the annual senior show. Through their passion, creativity, and commitment to sustainability, these future leaders will demonstrate the transformative power of knowledge and a shared vision for the fashion and lifestyle industries.
Education Abroad
Many of our students spend a term studying abroad during their 2nd or 3rd year in the world’s great fashion capitals, including London, Florence, Dublin, and Berlin. Students can also choose from a range of intensive courses abroad (ICA) such as Drexel's Sustainable Fashion in Paris, France, that allows students to assess emerging business models, innovative materials, technological advancements, and the influence of global trends and cultural perspectives. Also, Fall Break in South Korea provides students the opportunity to learn about the Korean Fashion Industry in Seoul, one of Korea’s largest fashion markets.
Through program memberships, FIM students participate in scholarship competitions among leading industry and academic organizations:
By the end of senior year, students have tailored their interests and passions via career pathway electives allowing targeted study in sustainability, ecommerce, fashion marketing, communications, magazine and media publication, product development, entrepreneurship, and others. Students also produce the award winning D&M Magazine. In the Fashion Industry & Merchandising program, students will experience how sustainability is integrated throughout the curriculum along with courses that evaluate the intersection of society, culture, and fashion.
Check out our social media to experience the academic, professional, and social happenings in the Fashion Industry & Merchandising program: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube.
What Skills Will You Learn in a Fashion Industry & Merchandising Undergraduate Program?
Students who pursue a major in Fashion Industry & Merchandising (FIM) will gain key competencies in the following areas:
- Business of the fashion industry
- Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop & InDesign
- Creative and digital design & public speaking
- Consumer insights, trend intelligence & brand strategy
- Merchandise planning and buying
- Fashion product development & global sourcing
- Textiles, sustainability and ethical practices
- Digital commerce, social media and marketing
- Visual merchandising & immersive media storytelling
- Digital media/magazine content creation and publication
- Data analytics for retail buying and planning
- Project management and team leadership
- Industry research, problem-solving & strategic decision-making
- Professional development & career networking
To learn more about the skills taught throughout the Fashion Industry & Merchandising program, visit the curriculum page.
Technology and Facilities for Fashion Industry & Merchandising Majors
Program faculty enhance classroom learning with online research platforms and databases maintained by the Drexel University Libraries. FIM students have access to powerful industry tools including consumer/market data (ESRI, Mintel, EDITED, Statista & Social Explorer) and forecast/trends data (WGSN, Fashion Snoops, Business of Fashion & Women’s Wear Daily). Also, students can explore proprietary trade software in different courses. Program faculty provide training in:
- digital wholesale management software
- product lifecycle management-PLM software
- enterprise resource planning-ERP software
- retail analytics software
- 3D virtualization garment software
- AI-powered visual workspace software
FIM students take courses in an instructional lab that replicates a sales showroom-conference setting in the fashion industry. In addition, the Immersive Media and Merchandising lab features a transformable space for retail and technology displays. A college-wide resource that provides students with access to laser cutters, routers and 3D printers is the Hybrid Making lab.
The URBN Center is also home to the Richard & Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection, an outstanding museum-quality collection of over 17,000 fashion items and accessories from Renaissance textiles to French couture, with extensive holdings of the greatest designers of the last hundred years. The facility boasts a custom-built gallery, which presents two exhibitions annually, and a study room to accommodate students and researchers interested in exploring the extensive costume collection.
Career Opportunities with a Fashion Industry & Merchandising Degree
Students who complete their Bachelor of Science in Fashion Industry & Merchandising from Drexel can pursue diverse job opportunities such as:
Buying, Merchandising & Retail Operations
- Assistant, Associate or Senior Buyer/Planner
- Assistant, Associate or Senior Merchandiser
- Divisional/General Merchandise Manager
- Vendor/Customer Success Manager
- Account Executive/Sales Director
- Showroom Sales Representative/Manager
- Visual Merchandiser (Regional/Corporate)
- Store Leadership (Regional/District)
Marketing, Media & Public Relations
- Social Media Coordinator, Manager or Strategist
- Fashion Marketing Coordinator/Manager
- Creative Services/Graphic Designer
- Fashion Writer/Editor/Digital Media Coordination
- Public Relations/Experiential Coordination/Events Marketing
- Digital/Product/Fashion Stylist
Product Development & Sourcing
- Design Assistant/Coordinator
- Product Development Associate/Manager
- Fabric/Production Manager
- Sourcing Associate/Manager
Entrepreneurship & Graduate School
- Marketing/Creative/Brand Strategy Company or Store Owner
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- Digital Marketing or Integrated Marketing (MS)
- Sustainability, Supply Chain Management & others (MS)
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