SUNY Profiles - The State University of New York

COMMUNITY COLLEGES < 53
Fashion Institute
of Technology
Office of Admissions
Laura Arbogast
Director of Admissions and Strategic Recruitment
Seventh Avenue at 27th Street
New York, New York 10001-5992
212.217.3760, 800.GO.TO.FIT
fitinfo@fitnyc.edu
www.fitnyc.edu
Enrollment 10,413
Full-time Undergraduate: 7,163
Part-time Undergraduate: 3,044
Full-time Graduate: 127
Part-time Graduate: 79
Most Popular and Competitive Programs
Advertising and Marketing Communications;
Communication Design; Fashion Merchandising
Management; Fashion Design; and Photography
Faculty 1,007
Full-time: 253
Part-time: 754
Campus
A selective college of art and design, business and
technology, the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)
is located in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood
and makes extensive use of New York City’s crea tive,
commercial, and cultural resources. The ninebuilding
campus is home to a rich mix of innovative
achievers, creative thinkers, and industry pioneers.
FIT provides a complete college experience including
a vibrant student life, residence halls, athletics
and clubs. FIT’s singular approach to higher educa -
tion balances a real-world-based curriculum with
hands-on instruction, based on a rigorous liberal arts
foundation. It marries design and business, supports
individual creativity in a collaborative envi ron ment,
and encourages faculty members to match teaching
expertise with professional experience.
Unique Features
FIT’s faculty is drawn from top professionals in aca -
demia, art, design, communications, and business,
providing a curriculum rich in real-world experience
and traditional educational values. Industry experts
also serve as critics, guest lecturers, and mentors.
FIT offers more than 40 innovative majors leading
to AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees. Some,
such as accessories design and toy design, were the
first of their kind in the country. Others, such as
cosmetics and fragrance marketing and packaging
design, are unique to FIT.
The Museum at FIT houses one of the world’s
most important collections of clothing and textiles
and is the only museum in New York City dedicated
to the art of fashion. The permanent collection en -
com passes more than 50,000 garments and acces -
sories dating back to the eighteenth century, as well
as 30,000 textiles and 300,000 textile swatches.
Award-winning exhibitions, lectures, and symposia
inform and inspire nearly 100,000 visitors each
year. Recent exhibitions include American Beauty:
Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion, Eco-Fashion:
Going Green, and Night & Day.
FIT offers many distinctive facilities, specialized
labs, and state-of-the-art equipment to support
aca demic programs. In addition, the campus features
a wide range of amenities to create a vibrant
campus life.
The David Dubinsky Student Center houses arts
and crafts studios, a comprehensive health center, a
counseling center, a dance studio, a design/research
lighting lab (with more than 400 commercially available
lighting fixtures), a cafeteria, a game room,
lounges, an outdoor sitting area, the Style Shop
(the student-run boutique on the first floor), student
government and club offices, a student radio station,
two gyms, and a weight room.
The Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center
features photography, drawing, painting, and sculpture
studios; a printmaking room; display and exhibit
design rooms; a model-making workshop; and a
graphics printing service bureau.
The Marvin Feldman and Business and Liberal
Arts Centers house academic and specialized classrooms,
cutting and sewing labs, design studios, a
multimedia foreign languages lab, a professional
screen print facility, technical labs, a toy design
workshop, television studios, weaving labs, and the
775-seat Morris W. and Fannie B. Haft Auditorium.
Specialized facilities include the Annette Green/
Fragrance Foundation Studio, a professionally
equipped fragrance development lab; and a fabrics
and findings lab which replicates the resources and
techniques used by working fashion designers.
FIT’s Gladys Marcus Library provides more than
300,000 volumes of print, non-print, and electronic
materials. The periodicals collection includes over
500 current subscriptions, with a specialization in
international design and trade publications; online re -
sources include more than 90 searchable databases.
The Peter G. Scotese Computer-Aided Design and
Communications Facility provides students with the
opportunity to explore the latest advancements in tech -
nology and its integration into the design of textiles,
toys, interiors, fashion, and adver tis ing, as well as
photography and computer graphics and animation.
The college is home to more than 70 clubs,
socie ties, and athletic teams. Each organization is
open to all students who have paid their activity fee.
Concerts, dances, field trips, films, flea markets,
and other events are planned by the Student Associ -
ation and Programming Board and the various FIT
clubs throughout the year. Student-run publications
include a campus newspaper, a literary and art
magazine, and the FIT yearbook.
To Visit the Campus
Applicants wishing to visit the college should attend
an admissions information session and campus tour.
Information sessions are held several times a week
throughout the year (with the exception of holidays) in
the Marvin Feldman building. Sessions run approximately
one hour and are followed by a student-led
tour of the campus and housing facilities. This information
session and tour is designed for prospective
students and their families, registration is available
at www.fitnyc.edu/3115.asp.
The College is located at West 27th Street,
between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. It is easily
reached by every subway, major railroad line, and
bus route in the city.
By subway: Take the 1 or the N, R to the 28th
Street Station. Alternatively, take the C, E, or F to the
23rd Street Station or take the 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, D, F, N,
or Q to the 34th Street Station.
By railroad: Pennsylvania Sta tion serves Amtrak,
New Jersey Transit, and Long Island Rail roads.
Grand Central Station serves Amtrak and Metro-
North commuter railroads (Harlem, Hudson,
New Haven, Port Jervis, and Pascack Valley Lines);
23rd and 34th Street PATH stations.
By bus: In the city, take the 23rd or 34th Street
Crosstown bus or the Seventh or Eighth Avenue bus.
Out-of-city passen gers arrive at the Port Authority
Bus Terminal at 40th Street; New Jersey buses
come in to the George Washington Bridge Terminal.
Take subway or city bus lines from terminals to
the campus.
By air: Newark and LaGuardia Air ports are more
accessible than Kennedy Airport.
Admission Requirements
Variables used to assess a freshman applicant’s
qualifications include high school average (grades
9-11), rank in class, selection of coursework, awards
and honors, work experience, port folio (for all art
and design applicants), and an autobiographi cal
essay (two typed pages).
While each applicant is considered individually,
FIT selects the best all-around applicants for the
freshman class.
January 1 is the deadline for fall filing.
All students are admitted to a specific major and
must indicate that major on their application.
Transfer applicants are considered along with
freshmen, using the same variables, plus the
college transcript.
EOP Admissions
Candidates are considered based on special artistic
talent, aca demic potential, and finan cial need. Quali -
fications vary from program to program.
Financial Aid
Financial aid, based on needs analysis, is available
to all students who qualify.
Programs of Study
Associate-level students prepare for specific careers
by beginning major study immediately upon entry
into one of the college’s 15 two-year programs:
acces sories design, advertising and marketing communications,
communication design, fashion design,
fashion merchandising management (with an online
option), fine arts, illustration, interior design, jewelry
design, menswear, photography, production management:
fashion and related industries, textile
devel opment and marketing, textile/surface design,
and visual presentation and exhibition design.
There are eight one-year AAS programs for
students with sufficient college transfer credit.
Gradu ates who hold an FIT AAS degree or a comparable
degree from another college may apply to
FIT bacca laureate programs, designed to further
develop ana lytical and conceptual abilities.
Majors for the BFA degree are: accessories design
and fabrication, advertising design, computer animation
and interactive media, fabric styling, fashion
design (with specializations in children’s wear,
fashion design, intimate apparel, and knitting), fine
arts, graphic design, illustration, interior design,
packaging design, photography and the digital
image, textile/surface design, and toy design.
Majors for the BS degree are: advertising and
market ing communications, cosmetics and fragrance
marketing, direct and interactive marketing, entrepreneurship
for the fashion and design industries,
fashion merchandising management, home products
development, international trade and marketing for
the fashion industries, production management:
fashion and related industries, technical design,
textile development and marketing, and art history
and museum professions. ➤