Fashion College
Apparel Search fashion summary — a short guide to fashion college.
A college is an educational institution providing higher education or specialised professional or vocational training; a fashion college specialises in fashion-relevant topics, or at least offers majors in fashion or textiles. On this site the discussion usually says “fashion schools”, a term that covers both colleges and universities — because fashion courses, majors and minors are found in both, wherever the teaching happens.
Fashion College — Explore & Resources
College or University?
The general difference is that a college offers a set of degrees in one specific area, whereas a university is a collection of colleges: a student at a university graduates from one of its constituent colleges, such as a business college or an engineering college. For fashion students the distinction is mostly about setting. A specialist fashion college concentrates everything — studios, staff, industry links — on fashion and art. A university offers fashion within a broader campus, with easier movement into business, technology or humanities subjects alongside. Both routes produce working designers, buyers and managers.
Well-known names recur on any list of popular fashion schools: Parsons, The New School for Design; London College of Fashion; the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT); Pratt; Kent State University; Academy of Art University; California College of the Arts; University of Cincinnati; the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM); Rhode Island School of Design; Savannah College of Art and Design; Otis College of Art and Design; Drexel University; Columbus College of Art & Design; and LIM College. They are not in any particular order of importance, but all are high on the list — and many fashion colleges also offer degree programmes online for distance education.
What a Fashion College Teaches
Students pursuing a degree in fashion design learn to sketch designs, create a clothing collection, sew garments, study textiles and fabrics, construct patterns and use computer-aided design (CAD) programmes — and much more, across a wide variety of majors within the same institution. The point of the degree is the combination: creative skills taught alongside the technical and commercial knowledge that turns a sketch into a producible, sellable garment.
Study does not have to end at a first degree. Fashion colleges also offer master's study in fashion, and for a student who can afford the time, a master's can be a strong choice for senior or specialist roles. The natural sequence on this site runs from this summary to the fashion careers summary after graduation — education first, then the career it prepares for. Is attending a fashion college right for you? If a fashion career is the goal, it is the logical place to start preparing.
Common Questions
What is the difference between a fashion college and a university?
A college typically offers degrees in one specific area, while a university is a collection of colleges across many subjects. Fashion courses and degrees exist in both; the choice is between a specialist fashion environment and a broader campus.
What are some well-known fashion colleges?
Frequently listed names include Parsons, London College of Fashion, FIT, Pratt, FIDM, RISD, Savannah College of Art and Design, Kent State, LIM College and Drexel. The fashion schools directory linked from this page covers the wider field.
What skills do you learn at a fashion college?
Sketching designs, creating collections, sewing garments, textiles and fabrics, pattern construction and CAD — alongside the marketing and business knowledge needed to sell what you design.