Current Illinois State Students
Professional Practice / Internships
The Apparel, Merchandising, and Design (AMD) sequence in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences is a competitive admission program. The sequence prepares students for employment in the forecasting, product development, promotion, distribution, wholesale, and retail sectors of the global textile and apparel industries. Students study the flow of apparel through trend analysis, design and product development, production, marketing, and retail.
All AMD students take a set of courses to meet requirements within the sequence. These include textiles, fashion trend and industry analysis, advanced textiles, clothing and behavior, economics of fashion, apparel product analysis, fashion history II, principles of economics, and introduction to marketing management.
Within the AMD sequence, students can select either the Apparel Merchandising option or the Apparel Design and Product Development option. Students who select Apparel Merchandising take the following additional courses: fashion promotion, merchandise planning and control, advanced merchandising, business organization and management, retailing management and promotion, and professional practice (internship). Students who select Apparel Design and Product Development take apparel product development, apparel design, flat pattern design, draping and design, fashion history I, CAD for apparel design, and either professional practice (internship) or collection development as additional courses to complete the option.
The AMD program also includes a number of recommended electives from various departments on campus. Additionally, if a student is interested in both options in the AMD program, the recommended electives also allow him/her to select courses from the other option.
The professional practice course in AMD allows students to receive on the job experience as part of their education. Some of the companies at which AMD students have interned include Amsale, BCBG, Buckle, Nordstrom, Original Penguin, and Perry Ellis.
AMD students have the opportunity to participate in study tours both inside and outside the US. Students have travelled to New York as well as Florence, London, and Paris. The tours provide students the opportunity to learn about various firms within the textiles and apparel industry.
Faculty in AMD are productive scholars who received their educations from some of the most outstanding graduate programs in the field including Iowa State University, Oklahoma State University, and Oregon State University.
