Kent State University’s Fashion School has again been recognized in the Business of Fashion’s annual Global Fashion School Rankings. Moving up two spots in the undergraduate program category, Kent State’s Fashion School is ranked No. 17 worldwide in the 2017 review – a two-spot improvement from last year. In the Business of Fashion ranking, the Fashion School continues to be ranked No. 4 in the United States behind only Parsons School of Design, FIT and SCAD.
“We are thrilled to see further improvement in our placement in the Business of Fashion’s well-respected international rankings, especially since 25 more schools were added to the pool this year,” says J.R. Campbell, director of Kent State’s Fashion School. “Being fourth in the U.S. is indicative of our program’s ability to develop students’ critical competencies that prepare them for the fashion industry’s highly sought-after jobs.”
Kent State’s Fashion School has nearly 2,000 students hailing from 37 states and 26 countries. Offering Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in fashion design and a Bachelor of Science degree in fashion merchandising, the Fashion School at Kent State employs 57 faculty members throughout three locations: on the Kent Campus, at Kent State’s New York City Studio and at Kent State Florence in Italy.
A new policy implemented in fall 2017 requires all students within the school to fulfill both an international/study-away and internship requirement prior to graduating in their major. The Fashion School’s study-away options include its New York City Studio and Florence, Italy, locations, or exchange programs with the Hong Kong Polytechnic Institute, the Paris American Academy in France, Dankook University in South Korea or Reutlingen University in Germany. Currently, the school also offers study tours to Los Angeles, California and Germany.
The Fashion School at Kent State has been designated an Ohio Center of Excellence by the Ohio Department of Higher Education (formerly known as the Ohio Board of Regents) and is a member institution of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes (IFFTI). It also is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
For more information about Kent State’s Fashion School, visit www.kent.edu/fashion.