The Master of Professional Studies in Global Fashion Management is a 45-credit graduate program with an innovative curriculum and distinctive classroom locations at FIT in New York, the Institut Français de la Mode in Paris, Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, and Centro in Mexico City.
Each city is a world center of a specific aspect of the fashion industry. An intensive ten-day seminar in each city explores that specialty:
- New York: Digital technology, retail, management models, sustainability, and entrepreneurship
- Paris: Historical and contemporary luxury industry
- Hong Kong / Mainland China: Production and supply chain; consumer demographics and demand
- Mexico City: Small-scale manufacturing; creative inspiration based on cultural and historical artisanal practices; emerging market economics and trade practices
Students gain a broad understanding of the social, cultural, and economic factors influencing sourcing, manufacturing, and marketing in today's global economy. Guest lectures and site visits complement classroom studies.
The program is completed within a 22-month period. In the final cross-disciplinary capstone project delivered before a panel of industry experts, candidates must demonstrate their leadership abilities in addressing the global business concerns of the 21st century.
Degree Requirements
For admittance to degree candidacy, students must have satisfied all outstanding prerequisites,
completed a minimum of 45 approved course credits, achieved a final grade point average
(GPA) of 3.0, and successfully completed the capstone courses. Students must have
advanced to degree candidacy before being permitted to attend graduation ceremonies.
Capstone project student teams and individuals create a thesis or problem that reflect
current industry practices and trends, and must develop creative solutions and recommendations
through a presentation directed to executive management, corporate entities, or entrepreneurs.
Emphasis is placed upon global business concerns, including merchandising, sourcing,
marketing, financial management, leadership, and digital commerce, among other disciplines.
Students collaborate on the capstone project with third-year law students from Cardozo
School of Law, who act as consultants to GFM's client, in offering legal advice based
on copyright, trademark, privacy, counterfeit, and other legal issues. Groups are
graded on their ability to analyze issues from the perspectives of the corporate environment,
collect and understand data, conduct effective surveys, utilize concepts learned in
the program, and present professionally. A jury of industry professionals will judge
the final projects for entry into the capstone event held in January, to an audience
of family, faculty, and industry executives.
Time Requirement for Degree Completion
Students matriculate on a full-time basis, and have four semesters to complete all degree requirements, including the capstone project. Extensions may be granted to degree candidates, on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the chairperson.