Fashion Studies, Bachelor of Science

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.

Department Faculty

Please see the list of our department faculty. 

Almerinda Forte, Ph.D. is the Chair of the Administration and Economics Division, home of the Fashion Studies Program. She is also Professor of Accounting and Management. She holds an MBA from St. John’s and a Ph.D. from New York University. She also has a certificate from the Fashion Institute of Technology in Sustainable Design Entrepreneurship. Dr. Forte’s fashion expertise is in accounting and in leadership, ethics and sustainability aspects of the industry.

Professor Carmine Gibaldi, Ed.D., is Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship (ENT) and the co-Director of the University’s ENT Program.  Professor Gibaldi teaches the Fashion Entrepreneurship and E-Technology course.  He also teaches ENT courses at St. John’s and at Harvard University.

Professor Susan Glanz, Ph.D., is Professor of Economics and teaches Economics and Finance.  She teaches Economic Issues in Fashion and has researched and presented at conferences around the world.

Professor A. Andrea Licari, D.P.S, is Professor of Marketing and Fashion.  She teaches courses in Fashion Marketing, Introduction to the Fashion Industry, Fashion Branding, and more, and has worked in the Fashion industry.  She has taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology as well.  Professor Licari is the Director of the University’s Fashion Studies Institute.

Professor Catherine Ruggieri, J.D., is Professor of Management, Marketing and Fashion Management.  Professor Ruggieri is Dean Emeritus of the College of Professional Studies.  She holds an MBA from St. John’s and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.  She teaches the Management Aspects of the Fashion Industry and Global Fashion Management courses.

Richard Kirby Bigger, Adjunct Professor of Fashion Studies, is originally from the Chicago area and studied at Pratt Institute and The School of Art Institute of Chicago in Fashion Design and Fine Arts. He worked in the fashion design industry with companies like Nautica, American Eagle, Zoo York, Converse, Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein. The positions were creative and adhoc. Professor Bigger recently launched 2 brands F.U.R.L. (Forget U R Lost) and POLLIWOG. The brands are based on artisanal concepts representing ideas of being unique, imperfect, sustainable, intentional, and functional. Both brands can be viewed @ www.forgeturlost.com.

Courses

Major Area Requirements: 36 Credits

Required Coursework: 18 Credits

Major Area Elective Coursework: 18 Credits

Leadership/Marketing and Organizational Skills: 18 Credits

Required Coursework: 12 Credits

Elective Coursework: 6 Credits chosen from:

Other Liberal Arts Requirements: 9 Credits

Required Coursework: 6 Credits from:

And 3 additional credits in Social Sciences chosen from either:

Core Requirements: 42 Credits

And: Modern Foreign Language/Cultural Studies: 6 Credits from:

Free Electives: 15 Credits

Additional Information

Students majoring in Fashion Studies at St. John's benefit from faculty and alumni with extensive contacts in New York City's fashion industry. This alumni network provides outstanding internship and job placement opportunities, helping to prepare students for professional positions as fashion industry executives, professionals supporting fashion design processes or in many related business areas.

Students also gain an academic and professional edge by joining any of St. John's more than 180 student clubs and organizations. Clubs that may be of special interest to Fashion Studies majors include the Queens Campus fashion club, The Red House; the Staten Island Campus Fashion Club, Club Couture, and more, including:

• Advertising Society
• Communications Club
• Management Club
• Marketing Club
• Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture
• Communication Arts Film Society
• St. John's University Television Club (WRED)
•  WSJU-Radio
• The Torch

Fashion Studies majors also may apply to a variety of honor societies, including The Collins College of Professional Studies Honor Society, whose Members are recognized for academic excellence and demonstrable involvement in their churches and communities, and the St. John’s University President’s Society.

Of course, students also benefit from outstanding University-wide facilities and resources for which St. John's is widely known.

Facilities include labs in the Collins College of Professional Studies complex at Queens in St. Augustine Hall; high-tech classrooms, up-to-date computer and science laboratories and a 1.7 million-volume University Library whose resources are available to students at both campuses. Our D'Angelo Center is a five-story, 127,000-square-foot University and Student Center with classrooms, lecture halls, a Starbucks Café.

Students take advantage of St. John’s location in dynamic New York City and in the St. John’s global campuses. Our faculty and Career Center have strong ties to employers and other professional and educational resources throughout the New York area. Students also make New York their classroom through innovative courses like Discover New York.

Career Outcomes

The B.S. in Fashion Studies prepares majors to regard the Fashion Industry as an exciting and rewarding industry to work within, for individual personal satisfaction and to help positively influence the lives of many who work in fashion globally.

The program will prepare students to:

• Examine how the Fashion Industry operates and analyze how different talented professionals work together to support collections, shows, weeks, setting trends that affect customers tastes, preferences and purchases
• Develop expertise in varied aspects of fashion, retail, on line, acquisition of talent, fashion law, accounting, finance and more
• Research and be able to discuss the history of fashion, in the United States and western Europe
• Understand the latest important trends in fashion today, inclusion of fashion designers in many countries outside of the US and western Europe;  Diversity, at home and globally; the intersection of entertainment with fashion;
• Be aware of how and why fashion needs to be more ethical and responsible; the ethical obligations and social requirements that now impact fashion, including sustainability, fair trade, better conditions for workers at home and globally, and more.

Graduates will also be prepared for further study in law and fashion business fields.

Student Showcase

Click here to visit our student showcase website.

Additional Information

Digital Badge Options
In addition to our major in Fashion Studies, students interested in enhancing their skill set also have the option of earning Digital Badges in various fields. In order to obtain a badge, students must complete all required activities/classes for the badge they wish to be awarded. For a complete listing of those badges, please click here.