Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies

Fashion and Apparel Studies (MS)(4+1 BS/MS)

Hye-Shin Kim, PhD, Department Chair
Huantian Cao, PhD, Director of Graduate Studies
Telephone: (302) 831-8713
https://www.fashion.udel.edu/graduate/for-prospective-students
Faculty Listing: https://www.fashion.udel.edu/people/faculty

Program Overview

The Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies offers a Master of Science in Fashion and Apparel Studies. The program is designed to prepare students to be effective professionals in the global apparel industry. All students complete design problem-solving and consumer behavior courses to bring an understanding of both to meet challenges in the global fashion industry. The growth and dominance of large multinational apparel brands and retailers has created a need for graduates who are globally oriented and innovative, with apparel product design expertise, consumer behavior expertise, strong research skills, an understanding of social responsibility and sustainability, and strong communication skills. Graduates will be eligible for key industry positions that create value for a firm by integrating knowledge about consumer research, product design, product merchandising, product sourcing, and product presentation. The program has an international focus and emphasizes understanding design, theory, and research as they relate to fashion phenomena. Concepts and practices from social responsibility and sustainability underlie the graduate program. The MS in Fashion and Apparel Studies with thesis option is designed to provide students interested in future doctoral work in fashion and apparel programs a strong foundation toward that goal. An MS in Fashion and Apparel Studies, with a professional project instead of a thesis, is also an option for those students wishing the flexibility to focus their advanced degree toward their academic interests and professional goals.

Fashion and Apparel Studies (MS)

Requirements For Admission

Admission to the program is selective and competitive based on the number of applicants and limits of available faculty and facilities. Those who meet stated minimum academic requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths. Prospective full-time candidates are admitted for the fall semester only. Part-time candidates may begin in the fall or spring semester. A few funded assistantships are available; applications received by February 1 will be considered for funding. Review of applicants begins on February 1.

Candidates for admission need not have majored in fashion related areas previously, but they will be expected to possess:

1. Strong written and oral communication skills.
2. An understanding of computer systems and basic word processing and spreadsheet applications.
3. Knowledge of consumer behavior or social psychological aspects of clothing.
4. Knowledge of the global fashion industry.
5. Understanding of design and aesthetic concepts.
6. Applicants interested in a creative design focus should have had a minimum of one patternmaking course.

Appropriate credit and non-credit courses are available at UD to students with deficiency in any of these areas.

Specific admission requirements are:

1. A cumulative grade-point average (GPA) equivalent to at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all prior undergraduate college-level course work.
2. A GRE (Graduate Record Exam) score (taken within past five years) with a minimum score on the revised GRE of 156 verbal and 144 quantitative.  Alternatively, the department accepts GMAT scores of 550 or higher.
3. Students whose first language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) unless a prior degree was obtained from a U.S. institution. The minimum score for TOEFL should be 550 or higher (paper-based test) or 213 (computer-based test) or 79 on the Internet-based TOEFL to be considered for admission. TOEFL scores more than two years old cannot be validated or considered official.
4. An interview with member(s) of the Fashion and Apparel Studies graduate faculty may be required.

See Graduate Admissions  for additional information, particularly for application procedures and dates.

4+1 Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising and Management - Master of Science in Fashion and Apparel Studies

The 4+1 program allows undergraduate Fashion Merchandising and Management majors to complete the master’s degree in Fashion and Apparel Studies in half the time. By accelerating attainment of a master’s degree, students are provided with expanded opportunities for attaining effective written communication skills, to think critically to solve problems, to work independently, and an opportunity to gain research experience with faculty scholars. A Master of Science in Fashion and Apparel Studies may result in expanded opportunities for career growth in fashion, apparel, retail and related industries.

Requirements for Admission

The Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Merchandising and Management requires 124 credits. An additional 31 credits are required for the Master of Science in Fashion and Apparel Studies, including 3 hours of special problem research. In the 4+1 program, 12 credits will be dual counted towards both B.S. and M.S. degrees. Therefore, a minimum of 143 credits are required for the 4+1 B.S./M.S. degrees. In the freshman and sophomore years and first semester of the junior year, students follow the FMM curriculum as outlined in the undergraduate catalog.

Students are admitted into the 4+1 program in the junior year. During the second semester of the junior year and the senior year a minimum of 12 graduate credits at the 600 and 800 levels will be completed. Upon completion of the 4-year undergraduate degree, students will immediately begin taking the remaining graduate credits over a 1-year period.

Specific admission requirements are:

1. Students must be enrolled at the University of Delaware in the Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies pursuing an undergraduate major in Fashion Merchandising and Management.
2. A minimum of 60 undergraduate credits and a GPA equivalent to at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale in all prior undergraduate college-level course work.
3. Students must take the GRE or GMAT; however, the GRE/GMAT is waived if a student has a 3.5 GPA or higher.
4. Students are admitted with provisional status until completion of the senior year and 124 credits, whereupon they are granted regular status as graduate students

Admission to the 4+1 program is competitive. Those who meet stated requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet all of those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.

Application deadlines: Review of applicants begins October 15th of the junior year and students are officially notified by November 1st. Students begin the 4+1 program in the spring of the junior year.

Socially Responsible and Sustainable Apparel Business Certificate

The Department of Fashion & Apparel Studies at the University of Delaware offers a graduate certificate in Socially Responsible and Sustainable Apparel Business. The certificate is comprised of nine, one-credit courses that are offered through the Internet. Because the courses are all offered through the Internet, it is possible to pursue the graduate certificate from any location in the world.

Program Overview

The graduate certificate provides a foundation of knowledge needed to manage design, product development, buying, promotion, sourcing, and production of apparel, textiles, and footwear in ways that are socially responsible and sustainable. The competencies and skills embedded in the courses are based on research with industry leaders and professionals who lead nongovernmental organizations and civil society groups with a stake in the global apparel business. The coursework is grounded on principles of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, a voluntary international initiative bringing together companies, labor and civil society groups, and various UN agencies in support of human rights, labor, and the environment. The following learning goals have been established for students completing the certificate: 1) Evaluate how apparel, textile, and footwear businesses address the “Global Compact” principles for human rights, labor standards, and environmental stewardship and how they can more effectively address them in the future, 2) Analyze the moral and ethical responsibility of business and individuals toward human rights labor standards and environmental stewardship, and 3) Recommend various strategies for affecting change in the industries.

The courses and learning materials for the certificate were developed by a team of faculty from the University of Delaware, Cornell University, and Colorado State University based on work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Award No. 2006-01405.

Students completing the requirements for the graduate certificate will be awarded a certificate that is signed by the Department Chairperson and the Department’s Graduate Studies Committee Chair. Additionally, a notation of receipt of the certificate will be made on the students’ transcripts.

The graduate certificate in Socially Responsible and Sustainable Apparel Business is not associated with the Lerner College of Business and Economics.

Requirements for Admission

Individuals who are not currently University of Delaware graduate students apply to the Office of Graduate and Professional Education. Applications are accepted year round. Prospective students are required to submit evidence of an undergraduate degree and prepare a statement of interest. To be successful in the program, prospective students need to be able to express themselves clearly in written English as there are readings, written assignments, and discussions with the instructor and other classmates. Admission to the graduate program is competitive. Those who meet stated requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet all of those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths. Those admitted for the graduate certificate are classified as non-degree students.

Graduate students who are currently pursuing a degree at the University of Delaware may take certificate courses without applying for admission into the certificate program. However, those wishing to complete the certificate program should contact Dr. Huantian Cao (hcao@udel.edu).

Financial support for students pursuing the graduate certificate in Socially Responsible and Sustainable Apparel Business is limited and is based on merit.  Applicants interested in being considered for a scholarship should contact Dr. Huantian Cao (hcao@udel.edu). Students enrolled in a graduate degree program and pursuing the certificate may be eligible for financial support from their graduate degree program.

Programs

• Fashion and Apparel Studies (MS)

• Socially Responsible and Sustainable Apparel Business Certificate

• Fashion Merchandising and Management/Fashion and Apparel Studies 4+1 (BS/MS)