Bachelor of Arts: Textiles, Clothing & Interior
Emphasis: Fashion Merchandising, or Apparel Design

Requirements for Textiles and Clothing

The Clothing & Textile program is an integral part of the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences (FCS), an applied field of study which deals with issues relating to individuals, families and communities. The programs within FCS focus on the well being of individuals and families, enabling people to make effective personal and professional decisions. All areas within Family & Consumer Sciences emphasize a specific perspective on effective development and management of human resources. For example: providing an attractive home environment, meeting dietary needs of different age groups, supplying the family with attractive and functional clothing needs within the family budget.

The purpose of Family & Consumer Sciences is to prepare students to work with people as counselors, leaders and educators. Through a broad base of courses and an in-depth area of specialization, students are prepared to design, produce, and market goods and services that ultimately affect the quality of people's lives.

The discipline of Clothing and Textiles researches and disseminates knowledge of design, manufacture and distribution of clothing which serve the needs of individuals and families. The Clothing & Textiles specialization encourages students to examine the knowledge base of their discipline in light of their Christian values.

Graduates serve the needs of people by providing clothing resources and consumer information necessary to make information decisions by selecting clothing which:

Clothing needs are influenced by all aspects of society and Clothing & Textiles graduates must understand the social, economic, and political factors which influence clothing selection. For this reason, the Clothing & Textiles specialization has a strong interdisciplinary base integrating knowledge from Psychology, Business, History, Physics, and Chemistry. The liberal education provided by this program empowers students to think critically and to gain a sense of their intellectual and creative abilities, qualities, highly coveted by employers.

The broad academic base provided by this program allows graduates to be flexible in career choices allowing for greater opportunities in career changes or continue educational pursuits. There is considerable overlap among jobs in the industry and a broad educational base facilitates making it easy to transform career positions as opportunities and interests arise. For example, some graduates have worked as buyers for several years then accepted positions as designers or positions in product development. One graduate was employed as a textile specialist for Dupont in New York City, then relocated to Seattle and is now highly successful as a fabrication specialist for Young Men's & Boys with Generra Sports.

The clothing and textiles industry is a dynamic field, fast paced, global in scope and complex. It is exciting working in a profession which deals with people's physical and aesthetic clothing needs and is influenced by social, political and economic developments. The Clothing & Textiles specialization trains graduates to succeed in a wide variety of career opportunities: apparel design, fashion merchandising, textile technology, fashion advertising and promotion, and apparel product development.

Graduates from this program hold positions as apparel designers with apparel companies, custom apparel designers, product developers in fashion retail and manufacturing, general merchandisers in apparel manufacturing, retail buyers, managers in retail, image consultants, artistic directors, fashion industry and changing career opportunities allows professionals to maintain an interesting and rewarding professional life.

Requirements for Clothing and Textiles
(Fashion Merchandising 63-64 credits; Apparel Design 62-63 credits)

All students desiring degrees in family and consumer sciences must meet the department's requirements for major status (2.5 GPA in the FCS courses) and be approved as majors by the department's faculty.

Additional courses may be required within each of the majors to meet individual career goals. Related courses strongly recommended include those in communication, journalism, and economics.

Students in the textiles and clothing program who have major status and have maintained a satisfactory grade point average may select from nine additional specialization if they are accepted into the liaison program with the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Those students who choose the FIT option will be accepted into the major and work closely with their advisor in selecting courses which best prepare them for their chosen major. Specialization offered through the liaison program with FIT include: accessories design, advertising, and communication, advertising design, manufacturing management, fashion design, fashion buying and merchandising, jewelry design, textile/surface design, or textile development and marketing.

Liaison Program with Fashion Institute of Technology

The Clothing & Textiles specialization offers an exciting opportunity for students to earn an Associate Arts degree by participating in a one-year liaison program with the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City. FIT is a specialized college of art, design, business, and technology devoted to preparing men and women for careers in fashion and related professions. Accredited with the State of New York, FIT can participate in the one-year program as "Transfer Students" earning an AA degree upon completion at FIT.

As "Visiting Students" it is possible for students enrolled full time at Seattle Pacific University, and in good academic standing, to earn both an Associate of Arts degree from SPU by double counting course work. General Education Requirements taken at SPU are transferred to fulfill those required at FIT; course work taken at FIT transfers back to fulfill total credit requirements for graduation at SPU.

FIT offers the following one-year programs in which SPU students or graduates can participate:

Internships in Textiles, Clothing and Interiors

Students majoring in Textiles, Clothing & Interiors with emphases in Fashion Merchandising and Apparel Design at Seattle Pacific University have opportunities to earn upper-division academic credit through Cooperative Education with a local business or agency in a field related to their chosen area of study.

The interns spend a minimum of one quarter (10 weeks), working approximately 15 to 20 hours. Those who wish to participate must have a minimum GPA of 3.00 and be a junior or senior.

The Cooperative Education experience benefits the students and the sponsoring agency. Students gain the advantage of having top professionals in their field serve as mentors and role models, learn professional standards of behavior, and gain a realistic view of how the apparel industry functions. In return for guiding and supervising interns, the sponsoring agency benefits from students' enthusiasm, energy, and creativity. Many employers are eager to accept interns because it provides an opportunity to observe a student's ability and potential as a future employee, thus reducing recruiting and training costs.

Interns can take responsibility for special projects, such as researching market trends, organizing an event, or preparing publications. They can provide assistance during peak business periods, for example, during market week or the beginning of a new season. Students value the commitment of the agency, and treats the internship with the same responsibility one would give a professional job.

At the end of the Cooperative Education experience, the student and sponsoring agency will be basked to complete evaluation forms rating the experience and student's performance. This assists the faculty advisor in determining the student's grade.

Students in Textiles, Clothing & Interiors at Seattle Pacific University have worked with the major business in the Puget Sound area. Some of these include:

To Speak with an adviser, E-MAIL, write or call:

Dr. Jaeil Lee, (206) 281-2196 or Dr. Sharleen Kato, (206) 281-2197
(or FCD department directly: fcs@spu.edu)
Family & Consumer Science
Seattle Pacific University
3307 3rd. W. Seattle, WA 98119