AAS Curriculum
The information on this page is for students entering the AAS Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing program in fall 2026.
If you are a student enrolled in the CFM Bachelor of Science program (Fall 2025 and earlier), please refer to the CFM BS curriculum in the current FIT online catalog.
Curriculum
For course descriptions in areas outside CFM, please refer to the current FIT online catalog.
| Type | Course | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Major Area | CM 100 Transformations in the Beauty Business | 3 hours |
| Major Area | CM 101 Beauty Categories and Industry Practices | 3 hours |
| Related Area | AC 114 Introduction to Integrated Marketing Communications | 3 hours |
| General Education | EN 131 English Composition and Rhetoric | 3 hours |
| General Education | SC 149 Chemistry for Cosmetics and Fragrances | 3 hours |
| Type | Course | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Major Area | CM 102 Beauty Business Operations | 3 hours |
| Major Area | CM 200 Beauty Law, Regulations and Ethics | 3 hours |
| Related Area | MG 153 Excel for Business | 2 hours |
| Related Area | CT 200 Content Design and Research | 2 hours |
| General Education | EC 141 Macroeconomics | 3 hours |
| General Education | choice - see Requirements below | 3 hours |
| Type | Course | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Major Area | CM 201 Digital Beauty Retail Strategy | 3 hours |
| Major Area | CM 202 Sensory Analysis and Evaluation | 3 hours |
| Related Area | IC 297 AAS Internship: Career Exploration OR AC 111 Advertising and Promotion OR FM 203 Business Intelligence in Planning and Buying |
3 hours |
| General Education | MA 222 Statistical Analysis | 3 hours |
| General Education | choice - see Requirements below | 3 hours |
| Type | Course | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Major Area | CM 203 Beauty, Health and Wellness | 3 hours |
| Major Area | CM 204 Building a Social First Beauty Brand | 3 hours |
| Related Area | MG 242 Principles of Accounting | 3 hours |
| General Education | choice - see Requirements below | 3 hours |
| General Education | choice - see Requirements below | 3 hours |
Liberal Arts Details
FIT's Liberal Arts Requirements for Associate Degree Programs: 24 credits total
- Three (3) credits EN 131 meets SUNY GE: Communication-Written (COMW) and Communication-Oral (COMO)
- Three (3) credits EN 203, EN 233,EN 275 or 200-level English course meets SUNY GE: Humanities (HUMN)
- Three (3) credits MA 222 meets SUNY GE: Mathematics (and Quantitative Reasoning) (MATH)
- Three (3) credits SC 149 meets SUNY GE: Natural Science (and Scientific Reasoning) (NSCI)
- Three (3) credits any 100- or 200- level course meets SUNY GE: Diversity: Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice (DVRS)
- Three (3) credits of any 100- or 200- level History of Art meets SUNY GE: Arts (ARTS)
- Three (3) credits FI 200, FI 225,HA 115, HA 118, HA 123, HA 124,HA 126, HA 228, HA 230, HA 237, or PC 151 meets SUNY GE: World History and Global Awareness (GLBL)
- Three (3) credits EC 141 meets SUNY GE: Social Sciences (SOCS)
See list of Gen Ed approved courses under NEW FIT's General Education Requirements and Courses. An FIT Gen Ed course cannot be used to meet more than one General Education area.
Course Descriptions
CM 100 Transformations in the Beauty Business
Students will examine the anthropological, sociological, and historical background
of the beauty industry from ancient times to the present. An emphasis will be placed
on the 20th and 21st. centuries focusing on events, beauty products, beauty companies,
terminology and technology that helped in the evolution of beauty rituals around the
world. A focus on research methods will provide students with the skills necessary
to conduct research thereby enhancing their decision-making capabilities. (3 credits,
3 contact hours)
CM 101 Beauty Categories and Industry Practices
Students will study the key product categories in the beauty sector including skin
care, hair care, ornamental cosmetics, fragrances and nail care. This course functions
as a road map for students to help them decide on what will be their specialty. Teamwork,
professionalism, and networking will be incorporated. They will examine product development
processes, cost of goods, global sourcing of materials and the heightened role of
sustainability across these categories. (3 credits, 3 contact hours)
CM 102 Beauty Business Operations
Students will examine the main areas of operations management in the beauty industry
and their impact on competitiveness and profitability. This course will provide students
with a solid knowledge of supply chain, purchasing, demand planning, inventory, logistics,
quality management, production, and distribution of beauty goods. The major issues
of sourcing, scheduling, operating and controlling the operations system will be studied
and analyzed. (3 credits, 3 contact hours)
CM 200 Beauty Law, Regulations and Ethics
Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of business law and how it affects
the beauty industry. This course will provide students with a solid foundation of
the key aspects of beauty law including claims, privacy law, data protection, and
intellectual property protection including patent, trademark and copyright. The legal
and ethical requirements of launching and importing beauty brands into the U.S. as
well as the legal considerations for entering foreign markets will be examined. Students
will investigate the ever-changing beauty regulatory landscape. They will examine
national, international, non- governmental and corporate regulations and their effect
on beauty product development. The lack of harmonization of regulations will be scrutinized
for the challenges it creates for global beauty brands. (3 credits, 3 contact hours)
CM 201 Digital Beauty Retail Strategy
This course will dive deep into the transformation of the retail environment and the
digital future of the retail experience in beauty. Where do we sell beauty? Students
will analyze the key characteristics of both store-based and non-store-based retailing
business models while evaluating the rapid technological changes impacting the ways
consumers interact with beauty brands. An emphasis will be placed on omnichannel retail
and e-commerce strategies that have reshaped the consumer journey, now dominated by
digital channels. Successful and disruptive retail innovations will be examined as
students explore the key elements that have contributed to their success in the beauty
marketplace. (3 credits, 3 contact hours)
CM 202 Sensory Analysis and Evaluation
Through both recognized standard and innovative evaluation methodologies, students
will study how to measure, analyze, interpret, and describe the organoleptic properties
of beauty products perceived by the five senses. They will be challenged to conduct
qualitative and quantitative, as well as monadic and comparative, sensory analyses
across multiple beauty categories. Today's beauty industry runs on data. Students
will identify trends and consumers' preferences and evaluate emotions triggered when
using beauty products, as they play an important role in the consumer's purchase behavior.
Sensory evaluation will be examined as a strategic tool that helps define marketing
briefs and support formulation choices during the development process of beauty products.
(3 credits, 3 contact hours)
CM 203 Beauty, Health and Wellness
Students will study the effect of trends in the beauty arena. Current trends such
as "clean beauty." DIY, "simple beauty," and sustainability will be introduced. The
paradigm shift that has occurred in the beauty industry bringing health and wellness
into the forefront of research and product development. Health and wellbeing and the
practices and philosophies behind these phenomena will be examined. The concepts of
holistic wellness, beauty from the inside out, and the new role of beauty as a partner
in health care will be studied. An analysis of the design of health focused, science
backed beauty products and rituals will be studied through laboratory and workshop
practices. (3 credits, 3 contact hours)
CM 204 Building a Social First Beauty Brand
This course will provide students with a full understanding of the fundamentals of
social media marketing and its role as it relates specifically to beauty brand building.
Through a series of lectures, workshops, case studies and guest speakers, students
will learn how to create a comprehensive social media strategy to support a brand's
goals and target audience, how to effectively collaborate with influencers as well
as techniques for crafting engaging and shareable content that resonates with their
audience. (3 credits, 3 contact hours)