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Kent State University

Kent , Ohio ,United States

Fashion Merchandising - B.S.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Merchandising allows for students to acquire a thorough background in the business aspects of the fashion industry, whereby they develop competencies in fashion theory, retail operations, management and buying, fashion forecasting and promotion, the merchandising for apparel manufacturing and the development and marketing of fashion goods.

Students participate in a study abroad/away experience, which includes opportunities to study for a semester in New York City; Florence, Italy; and Paris, France, as well as through collaborative partnership programs with universities in Hong Kong, South Korea and London.

In addition, students in the Fashion Merchandising major have the opportunity to enroll in the combined degree program with the Master of Business Administration degree. The combined B.S./M.B.A. degree program allows high-achieving undergraduate students early admission into graduate school. Students enrolled in the combined degree program complete a maximum of 9 credit hours of graduate-level coursework for the M.B.A. degree during their senior year. This allows a student to accelerate their completion of the M.B.A degree after being awarded their undergraduate degree. Students complete a minimum of 150 credit hours (120 representing the B.S. degree in Fashion Merchandising and at least an additional 30 representing the M.B.A. degree). To be eligible for the combined degree program, students must first complete a minimum of 90 credit hours in the Fashion Merchandising major with at least a 3.300 overall grade point average. Upon achieving these requirements, students submit an admissions application to the M.B.A. program by the set application deadline. Students need to satisfy all requirements for the graduate admissions application.

Students in the Fashion Merchandising major can also pursue the B.S. Fashion Merchandising to Juris Doctor (JD) 3+3 degree pathway through Kent State University’s partnership with three Northeast Ohio law schools (Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland State University College of Law and the University of Akron School of Law). Interested students follow a three-year set degree plan and work closely with Kent State University’s Pre-Law Center. During the first three years, students complete almost all their general education and major requirements. During year four, students begin their first year of law school courses. Upon successful completion of the first year of law school courses, these credit hours are transferred back to Kent State University to complete the bachelor’s degree. After graduating, students complete their last two years of law school to earn their Juris Doctor.

Campus Information

Kent Campus

Intakes

  • April
  • Oct

Application Processing Time in Days: 30

Minimum English Language Requirements

English Level Description IELTS (1.0 -9.0) TOEFL IBT (0-120) TOEFL CBT (0-300) PTE (10-90)
Expert 9 120 297-300 86-90
Very Good 8.5 115-119 280-293 83-86
Very Good 8 110-114 270-280 79-83
Good 7.5 102-109 253-267 73-79
Good 7 94-101 240-253 65-73
Competent 6.5 79-93 213-233 58-65
Competent 6 60-78 170-210 50-58
Modest 5.5 46-59 133-210 43-50
Modest 5 35-45 107-133 36-43
Limited 4 32-34 97-103 30-36
Extremely Limited < 4 < 31 < 93 < 30

Job Opportunity Potential

Graduates of this program will be able to:

  • Understand the fashion industry, fashion markets, fashion products and services.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and skills of the fashion industry through reflective experiential learning.
  • Apply integration of the key knowledge of various segments of industry from fiber to finished product, products/services, consumer markets and technology in relation to the fashion industry.
  • Articulate conceptual and critical thinking applicable to the fashion industry.
  • Employ research processes and practices employed in the fashion industry.
  • Demonstrate their professionalism and communication skills required in the fashion industry through visual, oral and written forms.

PSW Opportunity

Post-Study Work visa or permit, allowing international students on F-1 visas to work in the US after completing their studies, typically through Optional Practical Training (OPT).

Eligibility:
To be eligible for OPT, students must have been enrolled full-time in a US educational institution for at least one academic year and be seeking work related to their major.

Duration:
Students can apply for up to 12 months of OPT, either before they finish their studies (pre-completion) or after graduation (post-completion).

STEM OPT:
Students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields can apply for an extended OPT period of up to 24 months.

Contact our PSA counselor for more information

Admission Requirement / Eligibility Criteria

New first-year applicants must finish secondary school in their home country by the time of enrollment to be eligible for university (comparable to the completion of senior high school in the U.S.). A student who has previously enrolled in a post-secondary (higher education) institution is required to apply as a transfer student.

First-year undergraduate applicants should meet the minimum requirement of GPA 2.5 on a U.S. 4.0 scale. Check for specific majors' selective requirements. Students who want a particular program but do not meet the minimum requirements may be considered for the pre-major.

If you are applying for first-year or transfer admission, you are not required to submit standardized test scores (ACT or SAT) as per Kent's Test-Optional Policy.

HONORS COLLEGE
International students with outstanding intellectual and creative ability are encouraged to apply to the Honors College. Honors students participate in special classes, taught by distinguished faculty, which are small and emphasize active participation.

All international undergraduate applicants must submit an English language proficiency test score to be considered for a Kent State program unless they meet specific exceptions or apply for conditional admissions.

All undergraduate applicants must obtain one of the following:

TOEFL iBT: 71; Home Edition iBT: 71
Revised PBT: 18 (average score)
IELTS Academic and IELTS indicator: 6.0
Duolingo:100
PTE Academic: 48
Completion of the Kent State University ESL Center Level 8 Intensive English program with a minimum of 3.75 out of 4.0 GPA
ELS Level 112 Intensive English Program completion
SAT: a minimum of 510 evidence-based reading and writing
ACT: a minimum of 21 in English
Please note, Kent State accepts MyBest™ scores for the TOEFL iBT® test, in addition to TOEFL iBT scores from a single test date.