Fashion Merchandising

Brown School of Business and Leadership


Program Coordinator: Holly Lentz-Schiller, Ph.D.

Description

The fashion merchandising program is designed to provide majors in the program with an understanding of merchandising as it relates to the apparel and retail industries. The focus is on the business and marketing aspects of merchandising, particularly how the production, distribution, and promotion of goods and services in fashion and retail are developed and delivered to the consumers. International emphasis on the industry is provided as there is an increased blending of apparel manufacturing, distribution, and retail from a global framework.

Graduating students can expect to find employment in such positions as fashion and retail planning, buyers, visual merchandising, fashion and retail promotion, product managers, and retail store management. The Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising has received specialized accreditation through the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE).

Outcomes

Upon completion of the Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising, graduates will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of the functional areas of the apparel business.
  2. Formulate solutions to problems in apparel merchandising. 
  3. Plan effective merchandising strategies for an apparel business.
  4. Communicate business information to specific audiences in varied formats.
  5. Demonstrate professional competencies related to contemporary fashion merchandising careers.

Policies

Students must earn a minimum GPA of 2.50 in the major. The lowest acceptable grade is a "C" in all courses listed in the catalog under "Program Requirements" for the major, including both courses in the major and SEE courses required by the major. No student, regardless of major, will be permitted to advance to the next course without earning a grade of "C" or better in the prerequisite course(s). When a grade below "C" is earned in a major course, the student must repeat that course.

A course may be repeated once without special permission. Those who do not successfully complete a major course with a grade of “C” or better after a third attempt will not be allowed to continue in the fashion merchandising program.

Requirements

The courses listed below are required for completion of the bachelor's degree in fashion merchandising. Students must also complete the requirements for the Stevenson Educational Experience (SEE). Specific pre- and co-requisites for each course are listed in the course descriptions.

Major Requirements:

FYS 100First Year Seminar

1 credit

ACC 215Survey of Accounting

3 credits

EC 202Principles of Microeconomics

3 credits

FDES 200Textiles

3 credits

FDES 274History of Fashion

3 credits

FMER 210Fashion and Culture

3 credits

FMER 223The Business of Fashion

3 credits

FMER 290Internship Preparation

1 credit

FMER 315/FDES 315Writing for Fashion

3 credits

FMER 320Fashion Retailing

3 credits

FMER 323Fashion Product Merchandising

3 credits

FMER 340Merchandise Sourcing and Logistics

3 credits

FMER 360Visual Merchandising

3 credits

FMER 390Internship

3-6 Credits

FMER 430Fashion Merchandising Capstone

3 credits

GDES 125Fundamentals of Digital Media

3 credits

INBUS 325/MKT 325International Marketing

3 credits

IS 135Computer Applications for Business

3 credits

MATH 136Introduction to Statistics

4 credits

MGT 204Principles of Management

3 credits

MGT 210Business Writing

3 credits

MKT 206Principles of Marketing

3 credits

MGT 300/MKT 301Applied Business Analytics

3 credits

MKT 311Consumer Behavior

3 credits

MKT 336Integrated Marketing Communication

3 credits

Suggested Course Sequence

2024-25 SCS Fashion Merchandising

Minor in Fashion Merchandising

The minor in fashion merchandising is designed for students interested in the business of fashion. It prepares students to understand the role of apparel in today’s marketplace and the relationship between the fashion and production apparel industries.

The minor in fashion merchandising requires successful completion of a minimum of six courses and 18 credits with a FMER prefix, which focus on fashion and culture, fashion retailing, product merchandising, and fashion communication. General guidelines regarding minors may be found in the Minors section of the catalog.

Course Descriptions

See Fashion Merchandising Course Descriptions