A Thorough Comparison of Famous Fashion Schools in the U.S.

~Parsons, FIT, Pratt, RISD, LIM, Kent State~

Long time no see! This time I wrote about fashion colleges in the U.S. (with translation help from ChatGPT)~

Unlike Japan, in the U.S. you study what you want to do after college. Your major is basically connected to the job you do after graduation.

When people say they study fashion in the U.S., the system of universities and specialized programs is very different from Japan. First of all, a “university” in the U.S. is an educational institution where you earn a bachelor’s degree (four years), and many fashion schools fall into this category. In addition, there are community colleges and graduate schools (master’s and doctoral programs), and enrollment timing, changing majors, and transferring are all flexible. There is no entrance exam for university. There are tests, but you take them 1 to 3 times during high school and send your vest to the schools you apply to (they are not tests for a specific university; you can send them to multiple universities. The tests are SAT/ACT). In the past, most universities required one or both of these, but recently it has become less necessary to submit those test results.

This time, we will compare the fashion programs of six representative schools in the U.S. Each school has clear strengths, and your choice changes depending on whether you want design-focused study, business-focused study, or to study in a particular city.

Parsons School of Design (Parsons School of Design / New York)

Programs: BFA Fashion Design, Fashion Marketing & Communication, graduate programs (such as MFA Fashion Design & Society)

Tuition: about $60,000 per year (roughly ¥9 million) + living expenses

Location: Greenwich Village, New York City

Campus life: Part of The New School, an urban campus integrated with the city. It is very close to the industry, and many famous designers such as Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford are alumni.

→ Recommended for: People who want concept-driven design education. People who want to leverage New York’s industry network.

Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT / New York State Fashion Institute of Technology)

Programs: Fashion Design (design major), Fashion Business Management (business major), textiles, cosmetics and fragrance marketing, and more

Tuition: in-state students about $7,000, out-of-state students about $22,000 (per year) → about one-third of Parsons

Location: Chelsea, New York City

Campus life: A relatively compact campus, but dorms and exhibition spaces are well developed, and the job pipeline is extremely strong.

→ Recommended for: People who want practical education while keeping costs down. People who want to look at not only design but also the business side.

Pratt Institute (Pratt Institute / Brooklyn)

Programs: BFA Fashion Design

Tuition: about $59,000 per year

Location: Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, New York (about 20 minutes by subway from Manhattan)

Campus life: A 25-acre, lush green campus. It offers an art-school atmosphere while still providing good access to NYC.

→ Recommended for: People who want to focus on design in a calm environment, a little away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD / Providence, Rhode Island)

Programs: BFA Apparel Design, Textiles

Tuition: about $64,000 per year

Location: Providence, Rhode Island (about 1 hour from Boston)

Campus life: Small in scale, but with a strong sense of community. One of the top art schools in the U.S., with strengths in craft and textiles.

→ Recommended for: People who want to thoroughly learn highly artistic fashion and craft-based techniques.

LIM College (LIM College / New York)

Programs: Fashion business major (marketing, merchandising, management, etc.)

Tuition: about $34,000 per year

Location: Midtown, Manhattan, New York

Campus life: A so-called “vertical campus” in a building-style school. An internship is required alongside classes, and practical experience in companies is emphasized.

→ Recommended for: People who want to specialize not in design but in the business side of fashion.

Kent State University (Kent State University / Kent, Ohio)

Programs: BFA Fashion Design, BS Fashion Merchandising

Tuition: about $13,000 in-state / about $24,000 out-of-state

Location: Kent, a college town in Ohio. It has its own campuses in New York (Garment District) and Florence, Italy, and study abroad and internships are required.

Campus life: You can experience the classic “American university campus life.” Sports and student organizations are also active.

→ Recommended for: People who want to enjoy a classic campus life while also including training in New York and Europe.

★ This is my university! It’s a calm place with lots of cute black squirrels (there isn’t much city life).

Summary

Want to master design in New York → Parsons / FIT / Pratt

Want to emphasize artistic elements and craftsmanship → RISD

Want to study fashion business in a specialized way → LIM

Want both campus life and international experience → Kent State (I did a one-month internship at a major Korean company and attended classes at the university for one month)

Fashion education in the U.S. is divided into the two axes of “design” and “business,” and the choice also changes depending on factors such as “location (urban or suburban)” and “cost (private or public).”