Fashion and Apparel Design Program of Study

In Digital 2D, students are introduced to image/content creation, manipulation, editing, and management through Adobe Suite programs. Students will learn proper file management and workflow techniques, along with proper digital documentation and presentation of work. Students will also employ digital terminology across a wide range of disciplines and practices while also recognizing the cultural implications of digital creation, appropriation, and distribution. By the end of the course, students will have built a solid foundation of digital knowledge and skills that will benefit them as visual creators and communicators.

This beginning course focuses on sewing machine techniques using woven fabrics. Decision-making, such as threading, tension adjustments, and other methods of machine troubleshooting will be emphasized. Additional equipment and supplies critical to the sewing process will be demonstrated. Students will also have a brief introduction to sergers and industrial sewing machines. Students will be sewing a simple garment to better understand basic sewing construction techniques.

This course is an introduction to composition and color theory. Students will learn and apply the elements and principles of art and design in a variety of assignments through a variety of traditional and digital tools and media. All assignments will focus on how ideation techniques are fundamental to creative problem solving. Students will gain a clear understanding of how 2D elements and compositional theory are employed to create clear and effective visual communication, aid personal expression, and help comprise a personal aesthetic. Students will learn to identify how 2D fundamentals are employed in contemporary, professional, and historical work.

The focus of this course will be form, light, and content. Students will learn to imbue three-dimensional form with meaning and also investigate how light can affect perceptions of form and space. Research strategies, fabrication, and digital and material techniques are advanced through hands-on experiments, projects, and in-depth discussion. Students receive an orientation to MIAD’s 3-D Lab and Open Lab.

Research, Process and Connection is a theme-based introductory course in which students conduct research and engage in a creative process that leads to a body of visual work. Each section of RPC is devoted to a particular idea, process, or approach. Students will develop concepts, translate ideas, and apply methods as they make their work. Students will explore their work and thinking within a historical, cultural, and personal context. This will be reinforced through critical dialogue during stages of ideation, production, completion, and evaluation. At the end of the semester, students are required to present their final research in a digital presentation. These presentations should demonstrate visual evidence of work completed throughout the semester as well as the ability to analyze their progress and learning in a public format.

Digital 4D considers how image, text and sound unfold over time and across various distribution models. Students will learn and reinforce proper file management and workflow techniques, along with proper digital documentation and presentation of work. Students are introduced to video editing, basic animation, and audio tools, they will gain experience in using a variety of software and hardware, while considering their role as cultural producers. Motion graphics and the onscreen image-as-experience will be introduced. By the end of this course, through a series of projects, students will have completed a self-determined final project that incorporates a design or fine arts focus, and demonstrates an understanding of basic 4D principles.

The first-year writing seminar will emphasize the significance of inquiry. Students will experience writing as an intellectual, creative and meaning-making act. Practicing writing as inquiry will enable students to learn the skills, strategies, and conceptual frameworks that will transfer to every new learning context and situation. The course serves as a writing-based first year seminar in which students integrate their learning across all of their courses.

In this course, students will explore key works and moments of art and design across culture and time, while learning proper terminology and methodology for analyzing visual images, objects, and structures within the study of the discipline. Students will contextualize and interpret works recognizing that different interpretive frameworks can be used to analyze works of art and design. As a broad approach to the discipline, the course encourages inquiry, critical evaluation, and curiosity about the richness of art and design history. Students will acquire the analytical skills to navigate, translate, diagram, and express the complexities of visual culture and production.

Humanities is the study of what it means to be human through cultural inquiry and analysis. In this introductory course, students explore texts, artifacts, and situations to broaden their perspective and understanding of the human condition. Frames of inquiry will be influenced by history, culture, economics, political power and other social circumstances. The course takes an intersectional approach to analysis, examining the interconnected nature of societal categories such as race, class, and gender. In this class, research and dialogue are the fundamental modes of learning.

A technical skills course focused on apparel. Students will continue to build on sewing skills through samples, and also explore various flat patternmaking and draping techniques. Students will create a basic block set consisting of bodice, skirt and sleeves. By creating basic block patterns, students will then be able to construct mock-ups to begin the fitting process. Pattern manipulations with darts and fullness will be explored.

An introduction to the apparel design process through trend research and figure drawing. Students will learn the history of fashion illustration. Traditional rendering techniques for fashion will be explored, as well as design focused product development for a range of target markets. Target markets include women’s, men’s, non-binary, children, active wear, special occasion and adaptive clothing. This course is open to other majors as a studio elective.

In this course students will be introduced to the business, process and standards of the apparel industry. Discussions with industry professionals will be integrated into the course. Students will experience the entire process of creating a garment, creating specification packs, selling to buyers, and bringing the garments into stores for retail sale. Students will also engage in discussions about sustainability, human rights and industry operations. Group projects will be frequent in this course.

A continuation of Patternmaking and Construction I. Students will continue to use their basic block set from the previous course to manipulate patterns through flat pattern making techniques. Draping techniques using bias, fullness and contour fit will be explored. New patterns made will be sewn into mocks ups for fitting on live models. Students will continue to build apparel construction skills through creating sewing technique samples.

Development of digital croquis and the importance of developing specification packets for industry will be taught. Print and pattern repeats for various target markets will be developed per industry standards. Students will gain an understanding for professional presentations and visual communication will also be developed in the course. Industry feedback on projects will be emphasized.

In this course students will be introduced to the business, process and standards of the apparel industry. Discussions with industry professionals will be integrated into the course. Students will experience the entire process of creating a garment, creating specification packs, selling to buyers, and bringing the garments into stores for retail sale. Students will also engage in discussions about sustainability, human rights and industry operations. Group projects will be frequent in this course.

A studio elective is any studio course (art or design major course) within MIAD’s entire Program of Study, as long as it not a requirement of the student’s major, and as long as the student meets the prerequisite(s). In addition to required courses from all six majors, each semester MIAD offers various special electives with a range of topics.

WR200 is a course in which students use writing and research to engage in critical conversations about topics that matter. You will compose and communicate in a variety of forms as you hone your awareness of the relationship between audience, context, and purpose in a variety of rhetorical situations. This course emphasizes writing- in-process, and you will be challenged to take responsibility for all phases of the process: from journaling through drafting and revision to composing carefully crafted and polished texts. You will also conduct self-directed inquiry and develop proficiency evaluating and working with a variety of primary and secondary sources. Throughout, you will be required to demonstrate evolving critical judgement and self-reflection. Ultimately, students will develop the tools to shape informed opinions and engage thoughtfully and meaningfully in public dialogue about contemporary issues.

Prerequisite(s): WRTG120 & HUMT121

The Introduction to Natural Sciences is based upon first hand investigations and discoveries in the field of Natural Sciences. In this course students will deepen their understanding of the nature of the scientific method, its theoretical challenges, and pursue a series of empirical applications in the lab and in the field. This practical knowledge will be broadened through intensive reading, discussions, critiques, and oral assignments. This is an intensive, practical approach that uses the scientific method as a tool for investigation, problem solving and critical thinking. This course is challenging and demanding, but rewarding. Excellence in analytical and critical thinking skills are of utmost importance.

Prerequisite(s): none

The study of the history of fashion from the global perspective. The evolution of apparel and the textile industry, the history of textile technology, and apparel distribution as it reflects past cultures and influences present day fashions will be studied. Contemporary designs and their historical influences will be researched. Cultural influences and understanding cultural appropriation will be an ongoing conversation throughout the semester.

Further exploration of a variety of patternmaking and construction needs within the industry. This includes pattern development for size inclusivity, non-binary design, adaptive design and construction, and the use of non-conventional materials. Pattern manipulations and apparel construction samples will continue to be generated in this course.

Provides the students their first studio experience in designing their own collection. Starting with research and trend forecasting, students will employ digital illustration and utilize industry components in developing a complete collection. Fabric choices will be discussed as students develop patterns for their designs. Students will use advanced construction techniques for mockups that will be sewn and fit. Critiques will be held throughout the design process. By the end of this semester, students will have corrected patterns to work from in Apparel Design Studio II.

Digital Patternmaking and Construction introduces students to industry technology to develop standard pattern blocks and size grading. Personal fit patterns will be developed and sample mock ups will be sewn for fit. Patterns developed in this course can be used in future coursework.

Using the designs developed in Apparel Design Studio I, students will begin constructing garments in final fabrics. Clothing construction techniques and professional finishes will be demonstrated and utilized. Critiques on fit and construction will be scheduled throughout the semester. Final garments will be shown on models alongside the student’s research and design development.

This course prepares students to enter the industry as apparel designers. Students will learn to further define themselves as apparel designers while beginning to build a website, resume, and designer statement. Students will acquire greater understanding of industry trends and career opportunities. Guest speakers will impart significant and varied perspectives about entrepreneurship and the fashion industry. The work produced in Apparel Design Studio will be an integral part of this course in constructing a framework for showcasing student work as well as building concepts for Apparel Design Thesis.

Credits: 3.0

In The Creative Professional in Context, students explore the process of constructing a professional, public identity through written and verbal communication about their work in Fine Art and/or Design. They refine their skills in writing, speaking, and listening, and use writing as a means to examine the conceptual, critical, philosophical, and historical foundations of their emerging creative work within the broader contexts of their chosen fields and of visual culture broadly conceived.

In this course students learn to use writing as a means of effectively communicating ideas and information about their emerging professional identities. To these ends, students will write, edit and revise often; engage in self-directed research; analyze different rhetorical situations within the professional sphere; and refine their professional selves through both oral and written assignments. Instructors in WRTG300 employ frequent use of writing workshops and writing groups as well as individual writing assignments. Because the course is conducted in seminar fashion, students are expected to assume considerable responsibility for course materials and processes.

WRTG300 emphasizes the composition of polished, substantive written work, including description of studio work and processes, critical analysis of art/design texts, reflective writing, and communication with colleagues and peers. Assignments foster the development of a professional identity by engaging students in critical reading and discussion of key texts in visual culture and their major field, and identifying personal, cultural, and professional influences and connections that impact the student’s work. The course work will culminate in the creation of a substantive document representing a professional self, conceived in relation to these critical contexts.

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing & WRTG200

NASC320 is an advanced-level course that examines one of the many fields of Natural Sciences. Topics in Natural Science will rotate on a semester basis. Students will study the nature of scientific inquiry, the methods, theories, discoveries, technology, and language important to the specific field of science of their choosing. As part of the course, students will also conduct an independent inquiry utilizing the basis of scientific inquiry and research.

As an advanced course, NASC320 builds upon skills and knowledge acquired in NASC220. It is designed with the understanding that the coursework will focus on interpretation, analysis and critical method rather than on mere assimilation and recall of factual material. Students will examine a field of natural science through readings and lecture material from a variety of sources and from a range of scientific and critical opinion. The material and assignments will vary depending upon the field of natural sciences taught. This course can be retaken with change in topic for a 6 credits maximum.

Prerequisite(s): NASC220

NASC321: Topics in Natural Sciences – Field Experiences
As an advanced course, NASC321 builds upon skills and knowledge acquired in NASC220. It is designed with the understanding that the coursework will focus on interpretation, analysis and critical method rather than on mere assimilation and recall of factual material. Students will first examine the field of natural science through readings and lecture material from a variety of sources and from a range of scientific and critical opinion. Students will apply in the field the theoretical knowledge gained by a literature review, with direct inquiry and hands-on activities and investigations. This course relies heavily on field work, direct inquiry and self-directed independent research culminating with a peer-reviewed oral examination. Note: The field component of this course is 9 days, located offsite from MIAD.

Prerequisite(s): NASC220

Credits: 3.0

Service Learning is an interdisciplinary course with a service-learning component and is designed as the synthesis of a student’s four-year humanities and social science experience. In HUMT380 students will study a topic in-depth (i.e., cities, families, borders, aging, food) and be presented with many opportunities for interdisciplinary investigation. Through intensive reading, writing, research and oral assignments, students will analyze an issue in order to evaluate how social groups function and work towards resolution. Topics will be dealt with through scholarly and community investigations that may include sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, political science, and history.

In HUMT380 students will have the opportunity to examine a social issue in depth, from a variety of perspectives. The coursework will focus on the historical and philosophical background of a given topic, as well as helping students to learn how to assess a variety of approaches to social systems through an examination of the nature of service in the community.

In the study of the social sciences, we examine patterns in our personal lives, the communities we live in, and a larger global context in order to see how they are connected. Through the in-depth study of a particular topic (i.e., food, cities, family, rivers, borders, aging), students will be able to analyze an issue in order to evaluate how social groups understand and work towards resolution. HUMT380 includes a service- learning component that is connected to the topic being studied. This will take place in the larger community, and it will allow students to examine the information they are learning through thinking and acting in a multicultural context.

Prerequisite(s): Junior standing & WRTG200

In this course students will use research and trend forecasting as they initiate concept development for a final collection. Students will create garment patterns and muslins as they work to refine their vision and concepts. Three to five pieces that showcase the student’s creativity, technical skills and design will ultimately be produced for this original collection. Students will also be documenting their process throughout the semester.

Credits: 3.0

Apparel Design Thesis II is a continuation of Apparel Design Thesis I, where students will refine their concepts and patterns and complete their final thesis collection. Students will spend time improving their construction techniques and finishes in final fabrics. Peer and industry feedback will be a critical part of this course as students present their final garments. Students will produce a document of their process showcasing their design research and final collection.

Credits: 3.0

A studio elective is any studio course (art or design major course) within MIAD’s entire Program of Study, as long as it not a requirement of the student’s major, and as long as the student meets the prerequisite(s). In addition to required courses from all six majors, each semester MIAD offers various special electives with a range of topics.

A studio elective is any studio course (art or design major course) within MIAD’s entire Program of Study, as long as it not a requirement of the student’s major, and as long as the student meets the prerequisite(s). In addition to required courses from all six majors, each semester MIAD offers various special electives with a range of topics.

Senior Writing Seminar is an intensive capstone writing course run as a seminar examining the making of meaning through narrative; specifically, exploring forms of Life Writing. Students will study the various forms of “life writing” including: autobiography, memoir, new journalism and creative nonfiction. Through weekly written explorations, students will explore and practice the different forms that the genre of “life writing” may take. Within the context of a growing public popularity of autobiographical writing and memoirs, students will explore possible social, political and rhetorical purposes for writing from life and will compose a final, capstone life writing project individually as means for practicing this form of writing.

WR 400 is a capstone writing course that introduces students to emerging hybrid and intermodal forms of personal writing and causes them to analyze the contexts within which it is occurring. Through formal and informal written exercises, students will explore the capacity of language to help shape and give meaning and form to personal experiences, influences, individuals, achievements or landscapes. This writing should provide a reflective springboard for looking backward or for facing the future and determining larger contexts and meanings for experiences. It should also cause students to continue to develop more sophisticated skills as writers.

The nature and form of the writing that students produce will be various –individual writers will complete intensely reflective responses to readings and to one another’s writing. In an effort to identify past memories and influences, material choices and intentions, important events and people, composing short and long pieces about those issues and individuals.

Prerequisite(s): WRTG300 & Senior standing

ARTH318 provides students the opportunity to give in-depth focus to a wide range of elective topics in Art History. Experience in the disciplines is broadened through intensive reading, writing, research and oral assignments. Among the topics which students may choose to study are courses such as: 19th Century American Masters; Early Chinese Art; Women, Art, and Society; The Bauhaus; The History of Industrial Design; and others.

ARTH318 is an advanced-level elective course in Art History. In ARTH318 students will undertake an in-depth and systematic investigation of one area of study in Art History. This topic may focus on the art of a geographic area or culture, a particular movement in the history of art, or on the life and work of one artist or group of artists. In each case, the course of study will include an extensive analysis of individual works of art, the cultures from which these emerged, and the critical discourse that helps us understand this art more clearly.

As an advanced-level course, ARTH318 is designed with the understanding that the coursework will feature interpretation, analysis and critical method rather than the mere assimilation and recall of factual material. Students will be presented with readings and lecture material from a variety of sources – and from a range of historic and critical literature on the topic under consideration. Each student will be expected to engage actively with course materials and methods.

Prerequisite(s): WRTG200 & ARTH214

ARTH318 provides students the opportunity to give in-depth focus to a wide range of elective topics in Art History. Experience in the disciplines is broadened through intensive reading, writing, research and oral assignments. Among the topics which students may choose to study are courses such as: 19th Century American Masters; Early Chinese Art; Women, Art, and Society; The Bauhaus; The History of Industrial Design; and others.

ARTH318 is an advanced-level elective course in Art History. In ARTH318 students will undertake an in-depth and systematic investigation of one area of study in Art History. This topic may focus on the art of a geographic area or culture, a particular movement in the history of art, or on the life and work of one artist or group of artists. In each case, the course of study will include an extensive analysis of individual works of art, the cultures from which these emerged, and the critical discourse that helps us understand this art more clearly.

As an advanced-level course, ARTH318 is designed with the understanding that the coursework will feature interpretation, analysis and critical method rather than the mere assimilation and recall of factual material. Students will be presented with readings and lecture material from a variety of sources – and from a range of historic and critical literature on the topic under consideration. Each student will be expected to engage actively with course materials and methods.

Prerequisite(s): WRTG200 & ARTH214

Topic in Cultural Studies offers students a range of topics in the interdisciplinary study of cultural phenomena in various societies. Courses may draw on or combine the methods and perspectives of an array of disciplines, including literary theory, media theory, film/video studies, cultural anthropology, history, philosophy, political economy, communication, sociology, social theory, psychology, museum studies, art history, and the history, philosophy or sociology of science. Experience in the topic is broadened through intensive reading, writing, research and oral assignments. As an advanced-level course, HUMT360 is designed with the understanding that the coursework will feature interpretation, analysis, and critical method rather than mere assimilation and recall of factual material. Each student will be expected to engage actively with course materials and methods and contribute regularly to class discussions and/or oral collaborative efforts—such as focus groups and panel discussions—that relate to course material.

Prerequisite(s): WRTG200