FIT AND NEW YORK CITY
New York City is FIT’s extended campus a laboratory for learning and living and its unparalleled cultural and commercial resources immeasurably enrich the college’s programs and enhance each student’s opportunity for personal and professional growth. The faculty is composed of New York City professionals who infuse a hands-on teaching approach with real-world expertise.
Frequent field trips to the city’s numerous corporate headquarters, design studios, galleries, libraries, museums, retail establishments, and showrooms complement regular campus visits by fashion and other business leaders, who come as guest critics and to discuss current trends and emerging technology.
FIT FACULTY
FIT’s approach to teaching blends theory and practice and the college is deeply aligned with the leaders in the fields it serves. With a faculty drawn from professionals in design, art, business, and academia, FIT offers a curriculum rich in insight gained from their continuing professional activity, combined with the traditional educational values of the liberal arts. Student-instructor interaction is encouraged. The college offers a maximum class size of 25, and courses are structured to foster participation, independent thinking, and self-expression.
LIBERAL ARTS
The School of Liberal Arts’ offerings includes focused curricula that foster critical thinking as well as three-degree programs. The school also administers Presidential Scholars, FIT’s honors program, which is available to academically exceptional students in all disciplines. The program offers challenging courses, projects, colloquia, and extracurricular activities
FIT offers students the opportunity to declare liberal arts minors, which are offered in two forms: traditional subject-based minors and interdisciplinary minors unique to the college’s liberal arts curriculum. There is a wide range of options, including Dance and Performing Arts, Economics, Film and Media Studies, International Politics, several foreign languages, and concentrations in Asian Studies and Latin American Studies.
INDUSTRY ADVISORY BOARDS
Each of FIT’s degree programs is supported by an advisory group of professionals, drawn largely from the college’s highly placed alumni. Group members consult with faculty to review the curriculum and recommend updates and innovations. They arrange for student field trips to professional workspaces, participate in student recruitment, and help students identify career possibilities. Advisory groups also plan seminars on technical subjects and the latest advancements in their fields and work to maintain close ties between industry and the college
INTERNSHIPS AND CAREER PLACEMENT
Internships and job placement are an essential part of the FIT experience. The college’s extensive internship program provides students with vital experience in a vast array of New York City businesses. Sponsor organizations have included American Eagle, Bloomingdale’s, Calvin Klein, Estée Lauder, Fairchild Publications, MTV, and Saatchi & Saatchi. More than one-third of FIT internships lead to job offers by sponsoring companies. FIT’s Career and Internship Center provides a wide range of career-building workshops and resources and offers lifetime services to all alumni.
