Fashion Design, BFA

Contact

Jeffrey Mayer, Program Coordinator
The Nancy Cantor Warehouse, jcmayer@syr.edu

Faculty

Todd Conover, Dee Densmore, Audrey Grant, Lily Jiang, Jeffrey Mayer, Kirsten Schoonmaker

Description

The curriculum of the B.F.A. degree program in Fashion Design includes beginning to advanced development of design research skills and concept development for fashion collections. The curriculum supports students with garment construction, flat pattern, draping, and presentation, all with the emphasis on design. Important related topics include textiles, fashion drawing, technical drawing, fashion marketing, computer-assisted design, and fashion history. Students learn to develop their ideas on paper, then translate them through pattern skills into three-dimensional forms and, finally, into finished designs. The fashion design program places great importance on inclusive apparel design which is taught throughout. Academic requirements and electives balance studio and didactic courses each semester.

A minimum of 30 credits from Liberal Arts & Sciences is required for completion of the BFA in Fashion Design.

Student Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate appropriate and advanced apparel construction skills using industry specific machinery
Apply skills to visually translate detailed apparel design concepts, materiality, color and fit through two-dimensional fashion sketching and illustration
Develop well proportioned, balanced and competently fit industry standard apparel patterns by using both two and three-dimensional approaches
Demonstrate the use of appropriate material and color choices as it applies to the apparel design collection within its cyclical and seasonal relationship to consumer buying and use habits
Demonstrate a visual and theoretical understanding of fashion, art and design history and their relationships to the cultural context and social implications within their periods
Research, gather, analyze, and develop apparel collection concepts from a variety of base source materials and translate these findings two dimensionally in the form of unique apparel collections

Program Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Major Requirements
DES 101	Digital Tools for Designers I	3
DES 102	Digital Tools for Designers II	3
DES 103	Analog Design Tools	3
DES 267	Textiles for Designers	3
FAS 104	Fundamentals of Fashion Design	3
FAS 120	Fashion Skills and Techniques I	3
FAS 121	Fashion Skills and Techniques II	3
FAS 222	Fashion Skills and Techniques III	3
FAS 223	Fashion Skills and Techniques IV	3
FAS 231	Fashion Design Studio I	3
FAS 232	Fashion Design Studio II	3
FAS 301	Digital Presentation for Fashion Design	3
FAS 322	Fashion Design: Tailoring	3
FAS 323	Fashion Design: Accessory Design	3
FAS 332	Fashion Design Studio III	3
FAS 333	Fashion Design Studio IV	3
FAS 422	Fashion Design: Senior Collection I	3
FAS 423	Fashion Design: Senior Collection II	3
Art History Requirements
DES 113	History of Modern Design: 1850-Present	3
DES 114	Design, Cultural Traditions and the Environment	3
FAS 335	History of Fashion Design I: Origins and Revivals	3
FAS 336	History of Fashion Design II: Contemporary Trends	3
Academic Requirements
WRT 105	Studio 1: Practices of Academic Writing	3
WRT 205	Studio 2: Critical Research and Writing	3
Liberal Arts Electives/Academic Electives
The required 20 credits should consist of Liberal Arts & Sciences Electives (12 credits), and Academic Electives (8 credits).		20
Academic electives are most courses offered outside of art, design, or transmedia (for example, courses offered in CRS, Arts and Sciences, Whitman, and other colleges outside of VPA). These academic courses usually have non-art-related content, such as math, natural sciences, astronomy, global history, political science, psychology, and entrepreneurship, and languages at the 100-level, among others.
You can find a comprehensive list of courses that count here.
Studio Electives
Studio electives are courses usually offered in VPA through art, design, or transmedia. The content of the courses directly relates to the preparation of students for professional careers in art, design, and transmedia. The course content includes, but is not limited to, conceptualization, process, product, and critique of creative work in studio practice. These courses meet for a much longer time, for a minimum of four hours per week for the duration of the semester. Usual meeting patterns are: the class meets once per week for four+ hours, or the class meets twice per week, usually for two or more hours each.		27
You can find a comprehensive list of courses that count here.
Study Abroad
The fashion design program has connections with the London College of Fashion. Students may apply, and pending a successful application and meeting program requirements, spend a semester abroad in this program during their junior year. Please refer to the SUAbroad website for eligibility and application criteria.
University Wide Requirement
FYS 101	First Year Seminar	1
Total Credits		120

Degree Awarded: BFA in Fashion Design

Undergraduate University Requirements

The following requirements and experiences apply to all Syracuse University Undergraduate matriculated degree programs.

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