Fashion Design

Fashion Design Program Overview

Fashion design: it's the ultimate combination of artistic expression and business practice. But before you try inventing the next trend, take your knowledge to the next level at Bay State College. 

Our Fashion Design Associate Degree guides you to become not only a designer with your own creative vision, but also a business professional prepared to take your place in this challenging industry:  

• Learn from faculty with real-world, professional experience in both the business and fashion industries. 
• Design menswear, women’s sportswear, costumes and haute couture evening and wedding gowns to better understand your personal aesthetic. 
• Benefit from a personalized learning environment consisting of small class numbers, ensuring one-on-one instruction (unlike at larger institutions). 
• Become a creative, curious and analytical fashion technician with top-quality teaching methods, mixing mix traditional lectures, practical workshops, personal research, and experimentation. 
• Gain in-demand, technical skills in computer-aided design (CAD) programs like Gerber, Illustrator, Photoshop and Adobe for Textile Design. 
• Get invaluable opportunities and experience from student competitions, sponsored by organizations like Boston Fashion Week, Providence Fashion Week, Caribbean Fashion Week, Eileen Fisher, and the North Shore Mall 
• Put your knowledge to the test at your Fashion Design internship, with easy access to Boston's high-end Newbury street – home to many successful designers and well-known brands. 
• Opt to continue your education with Bay State College's 4-year B.S. in Fashion Merchandising with a concentration in Fashion Design.

Want to be a cut above the rest? Request information about our 2-year Fashion Design program today! 

Bay State College's 2018 Annual Fashion Show, The Next Chapter, presented by Bay State's Fashion Design and Merchandising students.

Available In 

Fashion Design Day Classes 

Discover a diverse but close-knit community of students, faculty and staff at our Boston campus, located in the historic Back Bay neighborhood. 

• Duration: 4 semesters 
• Semester Length: 16 weeks 
• Program Length: 2 years
• Start Dates: 
  
  • Spring 2020: Monday, January 13, 2020
  • Summer 2020: Monday, May 18, 2020
  • Fall 2020: Monday, August 31, 2020
• Application Deadline: Rolling Admissions 

Sample Fashion Design Degree Courses 

• Flat Pattern Design I and II 
• Clothing Construction I and II 
• Basic Drawing & Design 
• History of Fashion 
• Principles of Draping 
• Computer Design 
• Creative Fashion Design I and II 
• Textile Science 
• Fashion Illustration 
• Couture Details and Specialty Sewing 
• Internship  

To browse our 2018-19 Course Catalog with course descriptions, click here. 

Fashion Design Program Mission 

Provide fashion design students the opportunity to combine artistic inspiration with technical expertise in order to develop their own personal style. Through a combination of design, construction, technical and marketing classes, students are exposed to methods for creating, selling and promoting their creations. It is the intent that this curriculum provides graduates the expertise to pursue fashion design careers or to transfer to Baccalaureate programs. 

Fashion Design Program Learning Outcomes 

1. Allow students the opportunity to become familiar with techniques and methods used in a professional design environment through observation and participation. 
2. Allow students the opportunity to develop an appreciation for the historical development of fashion and its influences on modern trends. 
3. Develop students' ability to utilize an ethical and socially responsible framework in evaluating merchandise production, fabric selection, and marketing strategies. 
4. Develop in students the ability to formulate creative solutions to design problems. 
5. Develop in students the self-confidence and security to appreciate critical analysis of their own designs. 
6. Provide students the technical expertise to draft patterns and to construct garments in order to produce a professionally made and saleable design line. 

Hiring Companies of Our Fashion Design Graduates 

• Brooks Brothers 
• TJX Corporation 
• Coldwater Creek 
• Walmart Corporate 
• Wayfair 
• Rue La La 
• BlueStem Brands 
• LL Bean 
• Reebok 
• Converse 
• Clark’s Shoes 
• Bloomingdale’s 
• Macy’s 
• Saks Fifth Avenue 

Fashion Design Degree Accreditation 

Bay State College is is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE, formerly NEASC).

The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) accredits schools and colleges in the six New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont). Membership in one of the six regional accrediting associations in the United States indicates that the school or college has been carefully evaluated and found to meet the standards agreed upon by qualified educators.

Bay State College is authorized to award the following degrees by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Associate in Science, Associate in Applied Science, Bachelor of Science.