Outside the Museum at FIT. Photo: Ben Gabbe/Getty Images for Eco-Age
Location: New York, New York, United States
Programs:
Undergraduate: Accessories Design; Fabric Styling; Fashion Design; Fashion Business Management; Jewelry Design; Production Management: Fashion & Related Industries; Textile Development & Marketing; Menswear
Graduate: Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice; Fashion Design (MFA); Global Fashion Management (MPS); Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management (MPS)
Annual Tuition:
Undergraduate: $6,870 for New York State residents; $20,792 for out-of-state residents
Graduate: $11,542 for New York State residents; $23,586 for out-of-state residents
Famous Alumni: Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Michelle Smith, Nanette Lepore, Bibhu Mohapatra, Ralph Rucci, Dennis Basso, Nina Garcia, Joe Zee, Norma Kamali
Companies That Recruit From this School, According to the School: Carolina Herrera, Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, Saks Fifth Avenue, Ferragamo, Alexander Wang, Macy's, Victoria's Secret, Ralph Lauren, Christian Louboutin
New Programs and Partnerships of Note:
- FIT is breaking ground on a 10-story, 110,000-square-foot academic building that is scheduled to open by 2021.
- The first class of Fashion Design and Fashion Business Management students will graduate from FIT's new programs at the SUNY Korea campus in 2019.
- The developing Innovation Center at FIT has partnered faculty and students with IBM, Tommy Hilfiger, MIT, Neue and First Insight.
- The first class of graduate students in Fashion Design will graduate with the Master's of Fine Arts degree in 2019.
Enrollment: 5,810
Graduation Rate: 82%
Class Size: 19 students
Student/Teacher Ratio: 15:1
Classes are taught in: English
Percentage of International Students: 14%
What the Students Say:
"You need to be very independent and determined to go to this school. It's not like most colleges where it can be all about partying and social aspects; expect to work very hard, get a lot of assignments (depending on major) and to be pushed to your limit."
"I love FIT. It is THE school for fashion with an incredible location and student body that is dedicated to their craft."
"Very competitive; teachers don’t always provide enough information. The workload is overwhelming. Tutoring is extremely helpful."
"FIT is focused on the technical aspects of building and designing a collection. For students interested in fashion, this is particularly helpful because without the means and understanding of how to go through the whole process of design to product, pursuing a career and obtaining a job would be much harder. I've personally felt extremely prepared and through my internship experiences have felt that FIT has really provided me a top-notch education."
FOF Critic Award winner Kaitlin Barton walks the runway with a model during the 2018 Future of Fashion Runway Show. Photo: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for FIT
The Bottom Line: In addition to fashion design, FIT offers fashion marketing, business, textiles, visual arts and countless other fashion-related degrees. The lecture series and FIT museum are exceptional. Valerie Steele, as chief curator of the Museum at FIT, gives this school a brainy credibility. This is a great choice for those who are as career-driven as they are creatively driven, as the school is focused on preparing students for the professional world: FIT offers a lot of technical skills, a lot of different avenues, professors who have had valuable industry experience and industry connections. And all of that job preparation pays off with a job placement rate of 89 percent.
More Info: www.fitnyc.edu
The 25 Best Fashion Schools in the World in 2018: See the full list.
Last updated December 2018.