Master of Science in Fashion Design and Merchandising

Mississippi State University

Starkville, Mississippi, USA
Master of Science in Fashion Design and Merchandising
Duration1.5-2 Years
LevelMasters Program
  • The School of Human Sciences offers the Master of Science degree in Fashion Design and Merchandising (FDM) with two concentrations:
    • Design & Product Development
    • Merchandising
  • FDM is based on an interdisciplinary approach to understand design, product development, fashion businesses, consumer behavior, and related industries in the context of fashion culture in society
  • It encompasses specialty areas in fashion design, product development, consumer behavior, textiles, historic costume, merchandising, and international trade
  • Graduates will become future leaders in the global fashion complex–textile, apparel, and retail industries–and promote the economic development of industry sectors that increase the quality of life for people around the world
  • Graduates will also advance research and policy in areas related to the fashion complex to broaden the effects of the academic application of research in practice, as well as governmental actions on the fashion complex
  • This degree is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of the fashion and retail industry, consumer behavior, product development, business principles, and technology applications
  • The master’s degree in FDM requires 31-32 hours of coursework and has a thesis and a non-thesis option. A specialization will require 9 hours of coursework completed in one of the areas at the master’s level
Fees componentsAmount
Tuition & fees1746042 INR
Hostel & Meals639092 INR
Insurance146773 INR
Transportation169331 INR
International Student Charges21972 INR
Books87888 INR
Personal227190 INR
Capital Improvement Fee7324 INR
Student Activities Fee732 INR
Total1300302 INR

Entry Criteria

Class 12thNo specific cutoff mentioned
BachelorsNo specific cutoff mentioned
  • Applicants must have earned a baccalaureate degree in FDM or a related field from a regionally accredited institution
  • In addition to holding a bachelor's degree, an applicant who receives regular admission status must satisfy one of the following graduate admissions requirements based on the level of work completed at the time of the application
    • 2.75 GPA on the last two years (approximately 60-70 semester hours or 90-100 quarter hours) OR
    • 2.75 GPA on 30 or more semester hours of undergraduate credit attempted after earning a bachelor's degree OR
    • 3.00 GPA on 9 or more graded graduate credit hours (courses taken as Pass/Fail or for S/U grades do not apply). For students with less than 9 hours of graded graduate coursework, No. 1 or 2 would apply OR
    • An earned masters or higher-level degree
ExamsTOEFL: 79

IELTS: 6.5

GRE: Accepted

Additional info
  • An applicant with a bachelor's degree from a non-accredited institution may request consideration from the Dean of the appropriate college before applying for admission. In either case, the Graduate Coordinator of the academic program may prescribe specific undergraduate-level courses as prerequisites to admission
  • Once all application materials have been submitted, applicants should contact the FDM graduate coordinator at 662-325-2950 to schedule an interview with members of the FDM graduate faculty. To accommodate international applicants, interviews can be conducted using distance technology
  • ELP waiver- Applicants who hold one or more degrees (baccalaureate or higher) from a college or university where English is the medium of instruction (as documented by an official statement from the college or university) are not required to submit English language test scores
  • For those applicants not possessing a B.S. in Fashion Design and merchandising, admission will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If accepted, those students will be required to complete leveling courses from the FDM undergraduate core curriculum.
  • Sole-authored writing sample and/or creative portfolio
    • The minimum length of the writing sample is five (5) pages, but the sample should not exceed 25 pages
    • The writing sample should be presented in APA style (title page, headers, references, etc.)
    • The digital portfolio should be a minimum of 10 pages and the file size should not exceed 2 GB showcasing work completed by the individual in the past five years
      • Examples of possible writing samples include, but are not limited to, papers from past courses, journal articles, or some written work product, such as a manual or technical report
      • Examples of possible creative work completed include, but are not limited to, original creative apparel designs, concept/trend boards, fashion illustrations, and/or technical sketches
  • The writing sample or creative digital portfolio should be e-mailed as an attachment to mhunt@grad.msstate.edu
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