Textiles and Fashion Design, BS

Textiles and Fashion Design (TFD) is a unique hybrid program that combines a deep understanding of materials and techniques with an academic base of history, science, and contemporary design.  The heart of the major lies in the hands-on studio courses where students learn to weave, dye, print, construct, pattern, illustrate, design and innovate.  Going beyond technique, TFD faculty encourage students to intuitively make, analyze and revise, leading to discovery and creative problem solving. Special topics focus on environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability as well as technology and non-traditional entrepreneurship.Coursework in the TFD program is enhanced by visiting lecturers, special projects with industry partners, and the on-site Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection. Upper-level students in the major are given the opportunity to professionally show their work to a public audience in the fall annual student showcase and the spring fashion show.Our award-winning students are both highly creative and superb craftspeople engaged in addressing real world problems and offering sustainable solutions.

TFD

Our bachelor of science degree (B.S.)  in textiles and fashion design (TFD) highlights craft technique as a pathway to creative practice and prepares students for an exciting creative career in design. Studies can focus primarily in textiles or in fashion, but students are encouraged to experiment in both areas. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary partnerships and encourages learning by doing in studios, outreach projects, and sustainable practices. Through capstone and thesis experiences in the final year, students are given time and mentoring to create and present their own unique body of work.

TFD–FIT

For those leaning toward an industry career, our program gives students the option to apply to spend their senior year at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City, the hub of the textile and fashion trade.  The FIT experience provides students with industry specific skills which, when paired with the creative liberal arts background, makes our graduates highly desirable and often recruited by industry leaders. Students apply to FIT in their junior year. If accepted by FIT, they participate in a visiting student program in one area of focus: Fashion Design, Textile Surface Design, Accessory Design, or Textile Development and Marketing.Upon graduation, students who attend FIT are awarded a bachelor of science (B.S.) degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in textiles and fashion design and an associate of applied science (A.A.S) degree from FIT.  Students attending FIT  who are considered Wisconsin nonresidents continue to pay out-of-state tuition, even if they reside in the state of New York.