Aspiring fashion designers in Ohio have several highly-regarded fashion design programs from which to choose. These schools accept nearly 80% of students who apply. Degrees range from certificates to Associate’s Degrees, Bachelor’s, Master’s and even PhD’s in fashion design. Over 50% of fashion design school graduates in Ohio earn 4-year degrees. Tuition for the average fashion design program is approximately $17,500 per year. Many students qualify for financial aid, and the average scholarship for Ohio fashion design schools is over $8000. Class sizes are usually small, often under 20 students.
You must attend a school that is approved by your state to provide training in the discipline you want to practice. Check with the school and the state board to be sure that your program of study will prepare you for any applicable state licensure.
Four year degrees require 120 to 130 credits for graduation. Classes that you can expect to take include pattern drafting, materials and methods of garment construction, design, marketing, and global fashion trends. You should expect to spend a lot of time in the classroom as well as the fashion design studios. It is important to take the opportunity to gain real-world experience and network contacts while in an Ohio fashion design school.
Ursuline College offers students in their Fashion Design program the opportunity to spend a year attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Ursuline also features the Historic Costume Study Collection with over 3500 items of historic 20th Century American clothing, which are available for hands-on study by students.
Working as an Ohio Fashion Designer
Nearly two percent of all the fashion designers in America work in Ohio, giving the state the fourth highest employment of fashion designers in the nation. A large part of the reason is that Ohio hosts the headquarters of several clothing retail giants like Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch. Columbus alone boasts the 5th highest employment of fashion designers among all the cities in the country. Ohio fashion designers earn an annual mean salary of $73,100 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only designers in Maine and New York earn more. Working designers in Ohio say that networking and making solid industry contacts are the most important career-seeking tools in the business. Many fashion designers start their careers cutting fabric in fashion houses or merchandising for clothing designers. You can work your way up to become a pattern designer, stylist, buyers, manufacturer’s representatives or even a fashion editor or head of a fashion house.
