Fashion Merchandising Degree Program

Explore the Fashion Merchandising degree program

Fashion is a business - a complex yet vibrant industry that is the fourth largest in the world. There is a constant need for new professionals. In recent years, fashion has seen much change. The internet has driven growth in online retail and social media marketing.

The Fashion Merchandising degree program at Wayne State offers the best in traditional yet relevant content. It combines this with coursework in technology, fashion forecasting, and product development to keep you up to date with current industry needs. The Fashion Merchandising degree program is rounded out with business coursework in law, management, marketing, and accounting.

Whether you want to own a business, become a buyer, or develop a product brand or line, the fashion merchandising degree program will prepare you to enter this exciting industry.

View program courses Download program fact sheet (PDF)

Fast facts

Degree options: B.A. or B.S. in Family and Consumer Sciences/Fashion Merchandising

Delivery format: On campus (Wayne)

Program credit hours: 56

Family and Consumer sciences core (18 credit hours)
Fashion Merchandising concentration (38 credit hours)

Note: Students must also take 30 credit hours of General Studies courses. A total of 120 credit hours are needed to graduate from WSC. Additional majors or minors can be added to help meet graduation requirements.

School: Business and Technology

Department: Technology and Applied Science

Prepare for your future

Opportunities and outcomes

Fashion merchandising topics covered

Clothing construction and design
Computer applications for fashion and retail
Fashion illustration techniques
Fashion analysis and forecasting
Supply chain, buying, and distribution for fashion retail
Social and psychological fashion theories and consumption behavior
Historic fashion through the 21st century
Accounting for non-business majors
Business law, management and marketing
Professional development and presentation

Student learning outcomes

Demonstrate professional communication skills in family and consumer sciences settings
Apply knowledge from their program of study to current and future issues in family and consumer sciences
Utilize critical thinking for problem solving in family and consumer sciences settings

Fashion merchandising internships

Our outstanding Career Services Office is available to help you find fashion merchandising internships and career opportunities. Students recently completed internships at the following locations:

Finx Fashion Collection
IKT Boutique
Omaha Fashion Week

Career services and internships

Graduates of the Fashion Merchandising degree program work in their chosen field using the skills they learned while at Wayne State College. Each year, eager employers welcome WSC graduates into their organizations.

Jobs of recent graduates:

Clothing Designer – A. Tsagas Fur & Leather Designs (Denver, Colorado)
Formal Wear Consultant – Men’s Warehouse (Omaha, Neb.)
Retail Supervisor – Banana Republic (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Wedding Planner – I Do’s by Macey (Ainsworth, Neb.)

job or grad school placement rate
within six months of graduation
Data based on most recent
employment outcomes survey

Cost of attendance

Most Affordable College in Nebraska

- College Affordability Guide, 2024

Wayne State is considered the most affordable four-year college or university in Nebraska. With same rates for in- and out-of-state students, our tuition guarantee, and our generous scholarship packages, it is clear to see how WSC earned the title. In fact, the average remaining annual cost of attendance for 2024-25 is $2,268 for undergraduate students after financial aid and scholarships.

Credits: 1
Description: The history, growth and development of family and consumer sciences. Career exploration of the opportunities for careers open to family and consumer sciences graduates. Freshmen, sophomores, undeclared majors or by permission of instructor.
Credits: 3
Description: A study of the fundamentals of verbal and nonverbal presentations, media techniques for presenting oral and written information, visual aids and their usage, and display techniques to enable the student to become more skilled at giving professional presentations.
Credits: 3
Description: Development of responsible consumerism through value clarification, goal formulation, decision-making, and effective use of resources.
Credits: 2
Description: Course to enhance the professional development of FCS majors. Topics to include networking, job search skills, portfolio development, professional associations, and entrepreneurship.
Prerequisite: FCS 313 Techniques in Professional Presentation
Choose one of the following courses:
Note:Fashion Merchandising majors will take FCS 103 Clothing Construction
- FCS 103 Clothing Construction (3 credits) - Evaluation of clothing construction for the consumer relative to sewing projects and ready-to-wear. Components of quality workmanship, apparel fibers/fabrics, and cost factors are emphasized through construction projects. Lecture and lab combined.
- FCS 302 Textiles (3 credits) - Serviceability concepts, durability, comfort, care, and appearance as related to fibers, yarns, fabric construction, finishes, and designs. Consumer oriented approach.
Choose one of the following courses:
- FCS 110 Family and Personal Relationships (3 credits) - A study of relationships throughout the life cycle. Application of the critical thinking process to the identification of values, the formulation of goals, and the decision-making model in order to improve the quality of life for individuals and families.
- FCS 115 Human Development and the Family (3 credits) - Principles and concepts of individual development through the lifespan in the context of the family.
Choose one of the following courses:
- FCS 240 Design and Interior Environments (3 credits) - The study and discussion of concepts, issues, and resolutions in which research of human behavior is influenced by built environment. Use of communication skills, problem-solving, and media to design interior environments. An exploration of sustainable design and its effects on interior design, architecture, city planning, and landscape design.
- FCS 305 Housing Development and Design (3 credits) - A study of architectural housing styles, future trends in housing, housing selection as it concerns the family during stages of the family life cycle. Floor plans, furniture arrangement, elements and principles of design, color theory, and their application to housing will be covered. Lecture and lab combined.

Fashion merchandising courses (38 credits)

Credits: 3
Description: A course for non-business majors to study the role of accounting as an information development and communication function that supports economic decision-making. This restricted overview of accounting emphasizes development of knowledge and skills to perform basic financial analysis, derive financial information for personal or organizational decisions, and utilize information for better understanding of business, governmental, and other organizational entities.
Credits: 3
Description: Introduction to the study of law, the law of contracts, agency and employment, negotiable instruments, personal property and bailments, and the laws governing the sale of goods.
Credits: 3
Description: Develops the management art and science of planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling through people to make ideas materialize within economic constraints of a business enterprise. Develops ability to construct policy, to make scientifically sound decisions within that policy, and to establish ethical procedures to ensure organized productive effort to intended objectives. Develops a management attitude, outlook, and ability.
Credits: 3
Description: This course facilitates students in conquering the essential concepts of product, price, promotion, distribution, segmentation, ethics, and social responsibility, while addressing the evolving digital and social media influences. The fundamentals will be stressed allowing for useful decision processes by managers while encouraging the development of the marketing specialist as one of the key decision makers in a firm. Marketing is critical to implementing strategy, gaining competitive advantages, and ensuring positive organizational results.
Credits: 2
Description: This course is a study of the historical evolution of the fashion industry. It will include an analysis of the social and psychological fashion theories related to past and current apparel consumption behavior.
Credits: 3
Description: Styles of fashion relative to garment components and industry trends are studied. Principles and elements of design will be applied to pattern drafting and garment construction. Lecture and lab combined.
Prerequisite: FCS 103 Clothing Construction, or instructor approval
Credits: 3
Description: Students will learn technical and illustrative techniques using traditional media and computer software. Lecture and lab combined.
Credits: 3
Description: Serviceability concepts, durability, comfort, care, and appearance as related to fibers, yarns, fabric construction, finishes, and designs. Consumer-oriented approach.
Credits: 3
Description: This course provides an analysis of supply chain distribution and buying for the fashion retail industry. It will include applications to brick and mortar, as well as ecommerce environments. Students will also learn computational concepts in retail math for purposes of analysis, interpretation, and problem-solving contexts.
Credits: 3
Description: Students will digitally design merchandise displays, store layouts, print and marketing media, website creation, and continue work on portfolio development. Lecture and lab combined.
Prerequisite: FCS 204 Fashion Illustrator, or instructor approval
Credits: 3
Description: This course explores the dress and adornment of ancient times to the 21st century. It will also include an examination of significant global cultures which have influenced the dress of Western civilization.
Credits: 3
Description: The application of elements and principles of design in the use of soft furnishings to enhance the decor of a living space. Measurements and calculations, fabric characteristics, construction techniques, and placement/installation of soft furnishings will be addressed. Lecture and lab combined.
Credits: 3
Description: This course analyzes how the fashion industry decides what is featured in retail stores, from runway collections to the streets of mainstream America. It also explores the factors that affect trends and influence fashion forecasting with examples and industry applications.
Credits: 1-3
Description: Practical experience in the classroom or other professional settings. Experiences can include laboratory assistance, organization, presentation, and evaluation of activity units in family and consumer sciences. May be taken twice.
Prerequisite: Department chair approval

Popular pairings

Many students at Wayne State will add a second major or a minor to complement their program of study or to focus their studies on a specific topic. Students who recently majored in Fashion Merchandising at Wayne State also paired this major with one or more of the following programs:

Business Administration (minor)
Graphic Design (major or minor)
Theatre Arts (major or minor)

View all majors and minors

Related programs

Students interested in the Fashion Merchandising program may also be interested in:

Family and Consumer Sciences (B.A. or B.S.)
Graphic Design (B.A. or B.S.)
Interior Design (B.A. or B.S.)

From an early age, I always had a creative mind and love for clothes and drawing. My love for clothing evolved into working in fashion retail, and from there on I knew I wanted to pursue a career in fashion. Through my degree program, I also enrolled in a lot of business classes and learned about entrepreneurship, which has inspired me to start my own business as a wedding planner. You really can’t beat the connections you’ll get to make with your professors here at Wayne State. Each and every one of my professors has shown that they care about me and my success. They go out of their way to make sure you understand the material. With the one-on-one communication, I was able to learn and gain more experience than any other college could’ve provided.

Macey Vonheeder

Ainsworth, Nebraska

Major: Fashion Merchandising