Co-op and Career Opportunities

Cooperative Education

Fashion design students work for both small design firms and large businesses across the country in the areas of design, technical design, and product development. Students begin their co-op experiences in either the third or fourth quarter of their sophomore year, and alternate quarters of full time work and study on a year-round calendar until the final quarter of the fifth year (there is no tuition for the quarters students work). They graduate with 6 quarters, or a year and a half, of work experience in their field.

Career Opportunities

Fashion designers may design apparel or accessories for a manufacturer in New York, Los Angeles, or many other cities in this country and throughout the world. Apparel technology, production, and distribution is global. Textile and pattern companies, theater, television, film, and amusement parks all require designers of costumes and apparel.

Employment opportunities in the fashion field include: designer, assistant designer, sketcher, stylist, pattern maker, technical designer, and fashion illustrator. There are also opportunities in fashion promotion and fashion merchandising.

Advertising, buying, coordination, and display are other areas of interest. Fashion knowledge and business training are fundamental for the successful retailer and merchandiser in today's highly competitive world.