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Fashion Studies, Bachelor of Science

Offering fashion business, sustainability, ethics and more, the Fashion Studies major is cutting edge preparation to enter this exciting global industry.

The Fashion Studies Bachelor of Science degree program prepares students to enter the trillion dollar global fashion industry.  The program is focused on the business world of fashion, although courses in design, color and denim, are some design-related courses that are offered as well.

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Degree Type
BS
Area of Interest
Sport, Hospitality & Fashion
Associated Colleges or Schools
Program Location
  • Queens Campus
Required Credit Hours
120

Admission

For more information about admission to this and other acclaimed undergraduate programs at St. John’s University, please visit Undergraduate Admission online. Or contact us directly at the campus of your choice:

Admission Office - Queens Campus
718-990-2000
[email protected]

Admission Office -  Staten Island Campus
718-390-4500
[email protected]

If you’re interested in Distance Learning, you may call either office.

St. John's Vincentian Commitment

Today we know that in an industry featuring fast fashion made abroad, not every worker shares in the post-pandemic fashion economy. Even workers at home, employed in retail and manufacturing, often have low wages and little chance of advancement.  St. John’s University, as a significant Catholic Vincentian university, chose with this major to focus on ways in which the economic success of the industry may be shared with all those who create it. College students especially have a role to play in this, examining the lives and contributions of workers in other countries. This makes the St. John’s Fashion Studies program unique to other programs, in trying to make the industry more responsive to all who support it.

Student Opportunities

In addition to exciting major courses in law, management, marketing, economics and more, all fashion-centered, the program offers a creativity and entrepreneurship focus. Many students today are interested in starting fashion and beauty businesses online. Students also may volunteer as interns at fashion shows, or enroll in semester-long credit internships in New York City, a major world center of fashion.

Preparation for Advanced Study

The Fashion Studies major is combined with a strong University liberal arts core, and many elective course opportunities. Students are prepared well by the program for advanced study in areas such as business, fashion or law.

What Sets Us Apart

The business, ethics and sustainability; the Vincentian mission which allows for academic service learning in classes, study abroad, and the attention in business fashion classes with the need to improve the lives of workers globally and at home;  emphasis on reducing harm to the environment of fast fashion and of excess fashion creating waste and environmental issues and more. Also emphasis on fashion student entrepreneurship.

Fashion Studies Featured Faculty

Overseeing Fashion Studies is a Chair and a Coordinating Committee of faculty in the division to ensure varied expert perspectives monitor and support the program’s growth and relevance. 

In addition to faculty listed, a new faculty member is Assistant Professor Emma McClendon, a fashion historian, curator, and author based in New York City. She was formerly the Associate Curator of Costume at The Museum at FIT from 2011-2020, and is co-author of Denim: Fashion’s Frontier, published by Yale University Press and other fashion books.

Emma McClendon was also recently quoted in the following articles:

Harper's Bazaar, "The Understated Power of Oversize Clothes," January 16th, 2024
Click here to read the article.

The Guardian, "Hobbits and Jack Daniel’s: Can Men’s Wedding Rings become ‘Manlier’?" January 9th, 2024
Click here to read the article.

Vogue, "Since When Are Red Socks and Tights Everywhere?"
Click here to read the article.

The Washington Post, "Can Angelina Jolie make us care about sustainability?" 
Click here to read the article.

The Guardian, "A Symbol of Disenchanted Youth: The History of Skinny Jeans from the 4th century to Gucci."
Click here to read the article.

Cnn.com, "What really is plus-size fashion? Experts weigh in on the term’s ever-evolving meaning." Click here to read the article.

W Magazine, "Mermaids, Sirens and the Fashion Imagination" Click here to read the article.

St. John's University Crest
  • Assistant Professor

Department

Administration and Economics

Department Contact

Dr. Almerinda Forte

Division Chair

718 990-2039

St. Augustine Hall, 2nd floor, CCPS Offices, Queens Campus

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