Fashion Design and Retail Merchandising
Discover your future in fashion. At Hocking College, our Fashion Design & Retail Merchandising program offers both a two-year associate degree and an occupational certificate that can launch you into the exciting world of fashion.
This dynamic program combines hands-on technical training with cutting-edge digital tools, preparing you for careers in fashion design, merchandising, product development, retail entrepreneurship, and more.
What You’ll Learn
Our curriculum is strategically designed to give you:
-
- Apparel design and construction skills using industrial equipment
- Consumer and market research experience
- Retail and entrepreneurship training
- Industry-specific technology skills, including:
- CLO 3D fashion design software
- Adobe Creative Suite
Facilities That Fuel Creativity
You'll learn in our fully equipped fashion studio, featuring:
- A sewing lab with industry-standard machines
- A retail lab where students manage and run real entrepreneurial ventures
- A dye & print lab for textile exploration, screen printing, and small-batch production
Professional Experience
You won’t just study fashion — you’ll live it. From day one, you'll engage in hands-on learning and connect with the industry through:
- Guest speakers & professional partnerships
- Fashion industry collaborations
- Internships & campus events
Students can make their dreams a reality - Preparing students to gain employment in creative or technical fields in the fashion industry at the corporate level, emerging small business level, or in entrepreneurship as a fashion-based start-up.
Annual Fashion Show
This highlight of the program showcases original student designs and celebrates their creative journey.
It’s more than a show — it’s a launchpad.
Click here to Learn More!
Hocking College offers all-inclusive pricing and works with students to assure they have complete college funding, including financial aid, before they start classes. Please reference the course curriculum tab for program costs.
All-inclusive pricing includes the following:
PER SEMESTER
$300......Learning Fee
$20........Health Center Services
$75........Career Center Services
Not included in the All-Inclusive Pricing
$53......Parking
Pricing for housing and meal plans can be found here.
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are statements of what a student will be able to do when they have completed a program. They represent the knowledge and skills a program has determined are most important for students to gain from that program and include both the Success Skills (institutional outcomes) and Program Outcomes. SLOs are specific and measurable so the program can accurately assess the degree to which students have achieved each outcome, and they align with college and institution mission and values. Data on the achievement of SLOs is used to make improvements in the program and increase student success.
Outcomes from the Fashion Design and Retail Merchandising Program at Hocking College
The following outcomes are skills, behaviors and attitudes cultivated in students seeking an Associate of Applied Business in Fashion Design and Retail Merchandising:
1. Consumer Analysis: Build critical research skills related to consumer buying patterns, cultural influences, trend forecasting, merchandising strategies, and consumer marketing by performing in-depth human studies and market research.
2. Complete Product Life Cycle: Form a strong technical foundation through a curriculum strategically designed to mirror the full product life cycle followed by final semesters building their own personal brand, receiving industry feedback, and launching their product for direct sale during the maker’s market as the culmination of their degree.
3. Apparel Technical Skills: Develop technical skills in apparel design, garment construction, textiles manufacturing, product development, garment manufacturing and apparel quality control.
4. Entrepreneurial Logic: Apply critical thinking and entrepreneurial problem-solving skills during hands-on learning development and industry-related job experiences. Develop practical business knowledge key to running a successful apparel-based entrepreneurial business through traditional or e-commerce outlets.
5. Technology in Fashion: Develop computer-based skills relevant to the fashion industry by utilizing the technology required throughout the full product development cycle.
6. Fashion Portfolio Development: Develop a thorough understanding of the requirements of a fashion portfolio, fashion industry-specific resume, future employer research requirements and interview best practices in order to achieve an entry-level role in the fashion industry.
Hocking College Institutional Learning Outcomes
1) Demonstrate sound critical thinking, information literacy and technological competency in the production of academic writing and presentations
2) Apply the methods of mathematical, statistical or analytical reasoning to critically evaluate data, solve problems and effectively communicate findings.
3) Demonstrate an awareness of the social, political and economic forces which shape individuals, institutions and communities in the modern world.
4)Understand social justice and the diversities and complexities of the cultural and social world past and present and come to an informed sense of self and others.
5)Demonstrate a foundation of knowledge in the natural sciences based on theory and laboratory skills.
6) Cultivate ethical values, personal wellness and personal learning strategies in the development of the whole person, mind, body and spirit.
7) Integrate content material to application in the workforce and apply discipline specific knowledge and skills to successfully transfer or effectively meet the expectations of internships, workplace, volunteerism and/or entrepreneurship endeavors.
8) Utilize the ethical and professional application of current information technology and tools effectively.
