The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts is an interdisciplinary and diverse community of artists, architects, and designers dedicated to excellence in learning, creative activity, research, and exhibition. Our unique structure allows us to build on the strengths of each unit—Art, Architecture, and Museum—and to draw on the resources of the University to create new knowledge and address the social and environmental challenges of our time.

About the Fashion Design Major

The Fashion Design major focuses on problem solving within the realm of various textile options, pattern-making, draping techniques, fashion illustration, and presentation. Students gain practical experience designing one-of-a-kind fashions as well as those suitable for mass production, taking courses covering topics such as industry standards and procedures, the history of fashion, and current trends. A broad-based academic exploration is encouraged, as fashion draws upon everything from history to geography to mathematics for inspiration and execution.

BFA Curriculum

Our innovative curriculum is designed to build technical, conceptual, and aesthetic skills for artists and designers, while providing opportunities for collaboration across disciplines. During the first year, all Art & Architecture students take shared drawing courses. Throughout the four-year program, students take both studio courses and Sam Fox School Commons courses that are offered by Art and Architecture and open to any student.

The First Year – These classes build the foundation for a professional education.

Classes include:

Drawing (2 semesters)
2-D Design, 3-D Design
Art History
Academic electives
Writing I
Practices in Architecture + Art + Design (taught by the deans)

The Second Year – Students begin to explore the area they would like to focus on in Art.

Classes include:

Introductory major courses
Digital Studio
Art and Art History electives
Academic electives
Spring Semester Study Abroad (optional)

The Last Two Years – These two years include intense study in a chosen focus area and a capstone experience, culminating with a public presentation or exhibition of work.

Combined Studies, Second Majors, and Other Options

Students may choose to pursue combined studies—dual degrees, second majors, and minors in other undergraduate divisions within the University. These academic investigations result in work informed by anthropology, architecture, biology, marketing, history, computer science, and countless other subjects.

Study Abroad

Studio Art majors can spend the spring semester of their sophomore year studying in Florence, Italy. The program focuses on studio work in addition to Italian language, Renaissance art history, and Italian art and culture. All students can participate in monthlong courses offered in Florence during the summer. Students majoring in Communication Design and Fashion Design can study abroad through affiliate programs during their junior year. Advanced undergraduate art students may also participate in a biannual course of art research and practice in Berlin, Germany.

Career Services

Career Specialists provide individualized assistance, in addition to offering group workshops on subjects like preparing artist statements and applying to graduate school. The transition after art school is guided in a number of ways, from facilitating connections with successful alumni, to coordinating art-related community service projects, to planning organized trips to cities like New York and Chicago, where students meet with art directors and gallery owners. Sam Fox School students establish careers in many different professional fields, in addition to teaching at colleges and universities across the country.

For additional information contact:

Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
College of Art
Campus Box 1031
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130
Phone: (314) 935-6500
Email: samfoxschool@wustl.edu 
Website: samfoxschool.wustl.edu

or

Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Campus Box 1089
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130
Phone: (314) 935-6000
Email: admissions@wustl.edu