Fashion Business (Minor)

Overview

The Fashion Business minor is offered through Parsons School of Design.

Today's fashion industry is rapidly evolving in relation to new business models, technology, global commerce shifts, consumer preferences, and the demand for social responsibility and sustainability, equity, inclusion, and social justice. This minor enables you to explore fundamental business aspects of the fashion industry and gain a foundational understanding of business and entrepreneurship.

Courses provide insight into the fashion industry for students interested in honing their skills in finance and business strategy, marketing, data analytics, and retail. The minor offers an analytical business perspective that can support students' personal practice in fashion in a variety of ways.

Curriculum

This minor requires successful completion of 18 credits. Students generally select one course from each of the subject areas listed in the chart below.  

Please note that you must choose from the courses listed below. Course substitutes are accepted only in rare cases. Course availability may vary from semester to semester. Some courses may be in development and offered at a later time. Students seeking to pursue alternative coursework to fulfill the minor should consult with their advisors.

Learning Outcomes

A student who has completed this undergraduate minor will be able to:

• Demonstrate an awareness of the historic and current economic, social, and environmental context of fashion business and of the need for new business models and innovative solutions and practices
• Competently conceive and articulate innovative new approaches and solutions to system design, supply chain management, and product development that represent alternatives to the current pattern of resource extraction, processing, consumption, and disposal
• Demonstrate an understanding of integrated and e-commerce retail operations and the way brands interact and connect with digital-native consumers
• Demonstrate an understanding of the techniques, methods, and practices for developing business plans, projections, and financial models in a business climate characterized by digitization, changing consumer needs, and environmental complexity
• Demonstrate knowledge of the primary and core functions of a fashion business, including product development, operations, finance, marketing and communication, and logistics; the way these functions are affected by market dynamics; and the way they together affect a business's ability to sustain itself
• Display solid knowledge of the role of emerging technology in the fashion industry and the way insights, trends, and other sources of data support and drive innovative user journeys, building compelling and frictionless digital experiences and narratives

Eligibility

The Fashion Business minor is available to undergraduate degree students across The New School.

Students can retroactively apply successfully completed courses toward a minor upon declaring or applying. After a student successfully completes a minor's requirements, the minor will appear on the student's academic transcript at graduation.

Please note:

• Students must successfully complete a minimum of 14 credits of coursework in the minor at The New School (transfer credits are not accepted). These credits must be distinct and may not also be applied to other program requirements, including the major, second minor, or ULEC requirements.
• For BBA students only: Please note that you are allowed only one core BBA course to apply to the minor; the rest of the credits must come from your electives.

For questions about this minor, please contact Romana Mirza at [email protected].