Why study Fashion Studies?

The Fashion Studies Minor provides the underpinning theories of fashion as a social and material culture, integrated within and reflective of the essence of time, place and people. Fashion history, design, and business are introduced and explored as composite facets of a global phenomenon through required and elective coursework. The Fashion Studies Minor prepares students to engage fashion from varied perspectives through exposure to the multitude of career pathways within fashion.

Career Possibilities

The fashion industry spans multiple fields of expertise including design, product development, merchandising, planning and buying, and business. The Fashion Studies Minor exposes students to contemporoary business practices in the fashion industry and offers experience with creative, product deveopment practices through elective coursework.

Major Maps

• Guide: Fashion Studies Minor

Advising

Contact DAAP Advising to learn more. 

UC Advantages and Special Opportunities

• The city of Cincinnati, once called the "Queen City of the West" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, provides an excellent array of cultural resources for students who intend to pursue a degree in the visual arts. It offers the energy and assets of a larger city, along with quiet neighborhoods steeped in rich traditions. Cincinnati offers live music venues that range from top-notch symphony and opera companies to a growing pop and rock community. Home to the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Taft Museum and the Contemporary Arts Center, the city also enjoys the presence of numerous art galleries and a strong support system among practicing artists. Cincinnati is situated within driving distance of Chicago, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and New York City, allowing DAAP students to take advantage of the rich cultural resources of these cities as well.
• UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) is one of the most comprehensive colleges of its type in the country. A collection of nationally respected design and art programs is housed in a unique and educationally stimulating architectural setting. Architecture students have opportunities to enroll in courses in a range of related disciplines and to participate in interdisciplinary studios or special projects.
• Students learn creative and technical skills in the studio environment, taught by a passionate faculty who interact with their students on a daily basis. The goal is to guide students as they grow both intellectually and professionally.
• Other educational opportunities include organized travel semesters, foreign study semesters and student exchange programs in England, Germany and Denmark. Many architecture students also pursue joint degrees and certificate programs within the college and the university.
• The DAAP college library has an outstanding collection of books, periodicals and visual resources supporting architecture, planning, design, art history and related subjects. Access to library holdings is provided by an automated online catalogue, UCLID, which provides access to the University of Cincinnati Library information database, and through OhioLINK, the holdings of other academic libraries throughout Ohio.
• The Computer Graphics Center is a state-of-the-art university facility with hardware that includes PCs, Apple computers and peripherals such as scanners, plotters and digital video-editing suites. Students have access to sophisticated graphics equipment and receive hands-on instruction to augment the use of laptops in the classroom. All computing equipment is linked by high-speed Ethernet to facilitate access across the campus.
• The college supports a Rapid Prototyping Center, which is the home of state-of-the-art equipment that allows students to create communication aids for their design projects. Using CAD (computer-aided design) models, students are able to create physical models using three basic methods: 3-D printing, large format laser-cutting and CNC (computer numeric control) devices, including a Komo CNC Router. This facility is intended for all DAAP students to use in creating large-scale design.

Admission Requirements

Students seeking admission to this minor must have at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average in previous college work. To apply, students should turn in the application to the DAAP Student Affairs Office, 5470 Aronoff.

Accreditation

All degree programs in the UC School of Design are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.