Course description
The two-year Master of Arts degree program in Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice is an interdisciplinary, 48-credit program that offers comprehensive training in fashion history and conservation theory and practice. In the second year, students have the option to concentrate in curatorial or conservation studies.
The curriculum balances an emphasis on academic writing and research with practical skills. In courses that examine the role of fashion in different societies and cultures, you are encouraged to take an innovative approach to the study of costume and textile history. Each spring, students develop a topic and delivers a public presentation. Topics have ranged from fashion and architecture to fashion journalism to fashion and the televised woman.
Over two semesters, students plan and execute an exhibition that is mounted at The Museum at FIT . Exhibitions have included: Temptation , Joy and Scandal , Fragrance and Fashion 1900-1950 , Lily Daché , Glamour at the Drop of a Hat , and Sole Desire: The Shoes of Christian Louboutin .
The program emphasizes practical, professional experience, so you must complete an approved internship in order to graduate. Although only one internship is required, you may choose to serve additional internships for networking opportunities and professional growth. Internship sites have included The Museum at FIT, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, Christie's and Sotheby's auction houses, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, the textile conservation lab at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the Jewish Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the American Museum of Natural History.
You will also complete a qualifying paper, which may take the form of a scholarly research paper or article, an exhibition proposal or catalogue, a conservation treatment proposal and report, a grant proposal, a collection survey, or an interpretive program utilizing a variety of formats, including electronic media.
