Fashion Design & Merchandising

FDM Fashion Show Students

Program Mission

Family & Consumer Sciences: Fashion Design and Merchandising undergraduate program at CSUN offers an analytical study of concepts and their application as they relate to the design, production, and merchandising of textile and apparel. Students may select an emphasis of study within the program in Fashion Design and Production (Option A), Fashion Merchandising (Option B), or Textile (Option C).

Educational Philosophy

Our method is to combine design technology, business strategy, and fashion merchandising in our approach to apparel manufacturing, processing and merchandising techniques, and textile product quality control. When our students graduate, they are prepared to apply their knowledge from the physical and social sciences, technology, aesthetics, and business to every opportunity and career throughout the apparel and textile industry.

Fashion Design and Merchandising program is included in the departmental accreditation by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS).

The Fashion Design and Merchandising program maintains a collection of garments popular over various historical periods. Uniforms are a specialty item in this collection. Items from the collection are displayed periodically in galleries on campus and are used as visual, tactile support for classroom lectures.

Mentorship & Advising

All students in the Fashion Design and Merchandising program are mentored and guided by our faculty advisers. Our courses integrate the educational experience that will help students attain promising careers in the fashion industry.

Undergraduate Programs:

Degree Road Maps:

Graduate Program:

For any course or program related questions please e-mail one of the following faculty advisors to make an appointment with them during their scheduled office hours. Be sure to print and take you most current Unofficial Transcript and any questions you may have.

Faculty Advisors

Dr. Wei Cao

Dr. Hira Cho

Dr. Jongeun Kim

Dr. Tracie Tung

You can find all faculty and faculty advisor scheduled office hours on the Students page under Advisement Forms and Resources.

Student Organizations

Internships

Internships are an important component to the Fashion Design & Merchandising program. It gives a valuable insight into how this chosen field works and secures a future career. CSUN has internship agreements with various companies across the Southern California area.

Internships are available in a variety of industry settings including:

  • Design
  • Manufacturing
  • Merchandising
  • Wholesale and retail firms
  • Education
  • Nonprofit community agencies

Career Opportunities

Career opportunities for graduates are as unlimited as the imagination. Our graduates move into careers such as:

  • Fashion Designers, Technical Designers
  • Fashion Consultants
  • Fashion Forecasters
  • Costumers and Costume Designers
  • Textile Designers
  • Textile Production Specialists
  • Textile Analysts
  • Wardrobe Stylists
  • Technical Designer
  • Visual Merchandiser
  • Quality Control/Production Managers
  • Fashion Journalists
  • Apparel Merchandisers
  • Retail Buyers and Managers
  • Sales Representatives/Executives
  • CAD Designers
  • Museum Curators
  • Historic Costume and Textile Preservation

Other Opportunities

Advisement

We, at FCS, are here to support you on your academic journey. This is a team effort coordinated between you and your faculty advisor. All students in the Fashion Design & Merchandising (FDM) program receive individual and group guidance from faculty advisers. Courses are chosen to integrate the educational experience into promising careers.

What's the Point

This is a place for you to reach out to your academic advisor with all your advisement questions. On this page, you can check your advisor and follow the instructions to have your advisement for your class schedule.

Please email your advisor to make an appointment with them during their scheduled office hours.

Advisement by Last Name Faculty Advisor
A - D Dr. Tracie Tung
E - K Dr. Jongeun Kim
L - Ro Dr. Hira Cho
Rp - Z Dr. Wei Cao

Instructions

  1. Identify your advisor. 
  2. Run your DPR. If you've never done it before, follow the instructions on the "Degree Progress Report and Planner Guide."
  3. Download a PDF version of your DPR. You can always save the html one to PDF by doing the following:
    1. "Print" the DPR
    2. Change the printer to "Adobe PDF"
    3. Click "Print". This will let you select where on your computer you want to save the file.
  4. After reviewing your DPR, email the DPR to your advisor to review.

Tips for Your Success

  • Did you upload a PDF version of your DPR? 

  • Make sure you are following the course sequence for students in the Fashion Design Option: FCS150/L ->  FCS 371/L (usually Spring only) -> FCS 471/L (usually Fall only) & FCS 472/L (usually Fall only) -> FCS475/L (usually Spring only) & FCS 476 (usually Spring only)

Summer Courses in 2025 

Below are the summer course offerings, and you are encouraged to register starting from March 18th.

  • FCS 253, Online (Session 3: July 9 - Aug 19)
  • FCS 256, Online (Session 2: May 27 - July 8)
  • FCS 260, Online (Session 3: July 9 - Aug 19)
  • FCS 494/I, Hybrid (session 1: May 27 - Aug 19, Meeting time at 11:30am-02:15pm on May 30th, June 20th, July 18th and Aug. 8th in Room MA 212).

You can find all faculty and faculty advisor scheduled office hours on the Students page under Advisement Forms and Resources. 

Fashion Design & Merchandising Open Lab

The Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Department offers open fashion lab hours in SQ 241 each spring and fall semester for all Fashion Design & Merchandising students.

  • Coming Soon.

You can also find current and previous open lab hours for the Interior Design option by visiting the FCS Open Lab Hours page under Students. Please check back often for updates.

Other Opportunities