What makes a fashion school program “the best” may vary slightly from student to student. A school with affordable tuition may be high on the list for some students, while others may think convenience or class size is more important. While all of these factors hold weight for most students, most college ranking groups consider a different set of factors when determining which schools deserve a place on the “best” list. Common factors include program offerings, faculty resources, graduation and retention rates, financial resources, student selectivity, and peer assessment.
Some factors carry a high number of points, while others are assigned just a few points. For example, graduation and retention rates may carry more weight than peer assessment. For some ranking agencies, student selectivity is a good indicator of a competitive program. Once the school has been evaluated based on the factors listed, the scores are calculated to arrive at a final overall score.
The state of Colorado is now home to 86 Title IV degree-granting institutions (2013). Although Colorado has fewer colleges than the national average of 90, several offer some of the nations best fashion programs. Many are located Denver—the state’s largest city. Take a look at the list below to see which Colorado fashion school programs made the cut and what they have to offer.
Best Fashion School Programs Colorado
Art Institute of Colorado – Degrees Offered: B.F.A. Fashion Design, B.A. Fashion Retailing, Fashion Retailing Diploma
Denver
Emily Griffith Technical College - Degrees Offered: Fashion Designer Certificate, Apparel Alterations Certificate, Apparel Pattern Drafting Certificate
Denver
Johnson & Wales University – Degrees Offered: B.S. in Fashion Merchandising & Retail Marketing with concentrations in The Business of Fashion, Fashion Promotion, Fashion Forecasting, Retail Industry Seminar, Merchandise Buying, Comparative Retail Strategies
Denver
Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design – Degrees Offered: M.A. in Design Strategy & Innovation, BFA Interior Design (Online), B.F.A. Illustration (on campus and online), BFA Fine Art (Alternative Materials coursework)
Fort Collins
Colorado State University – Degrees Offered: B.S. Apparel and Merchandising with a focus in Apparel Design and Production, B.S. in Apparel Merchandising with a focus in Merchandising, B.S. Interior Design, M.S. Design and Merchandising with a focus in Apparel and Merchandising, M.S. Design and Merchandising with a focus in Interior Design, Merchandising Minor
More Programs to Consider:
- San Francisco and Online
