Master of Arts in Apparel Design

The common focus of the field is the study of fibrous materials and their use as apparel, as engineering structures (such as composite materials), in biomedical applications, and in home furnishings. The Field of Fiber Science and Apparel Design is applied and multidisciplinary, with faculty members drawn from the Colleges of Human Ecology and Engineering. Students are expected to develop strength in their base discipline as well as gain appropriate breadth to support the area of specialization. Active research programs exist in high-performance fibers and fiber-reinforced composites, Green composites, detergency and surface chemistry, perfume treated fabrics, textile materials in biomedical and geotechnical applications, polymers for electronics, liquid-crystal polymers, textile-dye chemistry, crystal morphology of fibers, electrospin of fibers, cellulose, apparel and fashion design, design ethnography, sizing and fit of apparel, functional apparel, cultural and historic studies of clothing and textiles, mass customization and technology, and technology management in the apparel industry.

Apparel Design provides a unique approach to graduate study through its focus on conducting independent research in aspects of apparel design including fashion theory, functional apparel, sizing and anthropometrics, cultural and historic aspects of dress and textile design, apparel industry issues, CAD and other technologies, etc. We help you craft your graduate research program based on your interests and goals to address significant issues of apparel design within the context of aesthetics, production, function, and the meanings of dress.

A baccalaureate degree from a college or university of recognized standing.
For the MA, MS, and PhD, minimum TOEFL scores are as follows: Writing 20, Listening 15, Reading 20, Speaking 26, as well as a minimum total score of 100. The Graduate School requires an overall band score of a 7.0 or higher on the IELTS.
Two recommendations and recommendation forms
Applicants who wish to specialize in apparel design for an M.A. or Ph.D. may be asked to submit a portfolio. For those whose research will be in applied design areas, a portfolio is required. Other research areas may not require a portfolio. Portfolios should contain whatever you feel is necessary to show your work. and need to be fewer than 10 MB to upload to your application.