ITU-FIT FASHION DESIGN PROGRAM
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT BOTH INSTITUTIONS
ITU, Faculty of Textile Technologies and Design
Textile Engineering Department of Istanbul Technical University (ITU) comes first among the top textile engineering schools in Turkey. Its history could be traced back to 1955; the year in which the textile division was established in the body of Mechanical Engineering. In 1983, the textile division was converted in to a department under the roof of ITU Mechnaical Engineering.
In 2004, with the inclusion of two more programs namely Fashion Design and Textile Development and Marketing, Textile Technologies and Design Faculty was established. Currently, the faculty has 3 undergraduate programs (textile engineering, and Fashion Design and Textile Development and Marketing) and three graduate programs (Textile Engineering, MSc, Apparel Retailing and Fashion Management, MSc, and Textile Engineering, PhD).
The textile engineers and fashion designers graduated from ITU are successfully recruited by a variety of companies in private sector and public foundations. Number of graduates is now over 1400.The engineers graduated from Textile Engineering Department are equipped with the knowledge of the behavior of textile materials and the functions of machinery in textile and clothing technologies. They also have strong basic engineering knowledge, analytical thinking and problem solving skills, understanding of their professional and ethical responsibilities, high level of communication skills and they can renew themselves with their investigating character. They are employed in departments of textile plants and companies varying from small to big scale, i.e., production, planning, quality control, sales or marketing or in agencies of domestic or foreign companies for textile products and textile machinery, concentrated in different regions of Turkey. The graduates who wish to carry out their further studies are successfully accepted by national and international graduate schools.
Parallel to the efforts in the Istanbul Technical University, Textile Engineering Department upgrades its programs in accordance with the requirements of the textile and clothing industry, and the international equivalency. Noteworthy actions taken are as follows: In 2010, the textile engineering program has been updated in order to cover the latest technological developments in textile and apparel as well as to provide students more time for the development of their skills and abilities necessary for the engineering practice through the facilities such as the library, computer and textile laboratories, and the practical training in industrial plants. The program, which is run in English, has also become more convenient for both intra- or inter- institutional multidisciplinary activities. The Department still strives for the continuous improvement of its undergraduate and graduate programs. In this context, the Textile Engineering Program has been accredited by ABET for a second time and this time it is a full ABET accreditation (for 6 years) starting from June 2011.
The program has also ERASMUS agreements with 13 institutions all over Europe. Furthermore, Master and Ph.D. programs have been regularly updated in accordance with the technological developments as well as the expectations of the industry.
Fashion Institute Of Technology, New York
In the 1940s, fashion and apparel industry members were faced with a dwindling number of qualified people to help them run and carry on their businesses. The next generation wanted to be doctors and lawyers—not tailors. A group of industry members, led by Mortimer C. Ritter, an educator with an interest in programs for young working people, and Max Meyer, a retired menswear manufacturer, set about organizing a school to ensure the vitality of their businesses. First, they created the Educational Foundation for the Apparel Industries to promote education for the industry. The Foundation then obtained a charter from the New York State Board of Regents to establish a “fashion institute of technology and design.” The institute opened in 1944 with 100 students, and was located on the top two floors of the High School of Needle Trades. Soon, supporters wanted to bring greater prestige to the industry by having the institute become a college with the authority to confer degrees. Industrialists and educators decided on two majors: Design (with programs in apparel, millinery, and textiles) and Scientific Management. The curriculum also included Liberal Arts. In 1951, three years after the State University of New York had been established and state law had provided for the creation of community colleges, FIT became the second SUNY community college empowered to grant the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree. By then, there were 400 day students and about 1,000 evening students.
FIT received accreditation in 1957, and as the curriculum and student body grew, the college moved into its first real home—a nine-story building on Seventh Avenue in the heart of the garment district—in 1959. The building had been planned for 1,200 students; by 1963, there were 4,000. During this time, the college’s curriculum was growing beyond traditional notions of fashion, to include subjects like photography and advertising and interior design. The college wanted to further expand its curriculum by offerings bachelor’s and master’s degrees— something that “was just not done” by a community college, according to the State University’s former chancellor. Representatives of the college and supporters in the industry and government lobbied hard to persuade legislators to allow FIT to do this. In 1975, an amendment to the Education Law of New York State permitted FIT to offer BS and BFA programs; another in 1979 authorized master’s programs.
By this time, six more buildings had been added to the campus, including two dormitories, and the Shirley Goodman Resource Center, which houses the Gladys Marcus Library and The Museum at FIT. The school continued to grow by adding state-of-the art facilities, like the Design/Lighting Research Laboratory and the Annette Green Fragrance Foundation Studio (the first of its kind on a college campus), making international programs available to students, and evolving its academic offerings. Today, the campus encompasses an entire city block, and serves more than 10,000 students. The college offers degrees in diverse subjects, such as Menswear and Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing, which are unique to the college, and Fashion Merchandising Management, Visual Presentation and Exhibition Design, and Toy Design, the first of their kind in the country.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT ITU-FIT Fashion Design Program
The Turkish textile and confection industry readily makes use of highly developed modern technology owing to the accumulation of continuous technological innovations and know–how on textile production. Thus, it makes significant contributions to the industrial development, employment volume and business trade development of Turkey. It is highly important that original design work, quality, efficiency and marketing and distribution skills be improved in order to sustain the competitive power Turkey has within the textile and confection industry of global markets. In this respect, it is of the utmost necessity that new fashion designers who are capable of creating high class fashion and new trademarks are educated. The Fashion Design program was established based on this aim in 2004 with the collaboration of the “Fashion Institute of Technology” (FIT) of State University of New York and Istanbul Technical University.
The student quota for this program is 40 in total, ten of which is for foreign students. The medium of the four year program is English. Students maintain 5 semesters of their education in ITU, İstanbul (1st year fall-spring, 2nd year fall, 3rd year fall-spring semesters), and 4 semesters of their education in FIT, New York (2nd year spring-summer, 4th year fall-spring semesters). Students who achieve success will be entitled to a double diploma and one year employment experience opportunity in the USA following their graduation. Students who wish to attend this program must achieve 180 (Equiponderant or Numerical Points) in the YGS exam prepared by the Turkish Higher Education Council and must also prepare and submit a portfolio, succeed in the oral examination as well as design skills and talent test carried out by ITU –FIT Fashion Design Program. Students must achieve (iBT 80, PBT 550, and CBT 213) in the TOEFL test in order to start their education in the undergraduate program.
The fashion design program is composed of apparel design skills such as draping, sewing techniques, and pattern making, apparel production as well as theoretical and practical art lessons. Various computer programs are also used to increase the skills of future designers who are capable of creating fashion and trademarks.
PROGRAM FACTS
- ITU-FIT Fashion Design Program is an international, dual diploma program.
- Program has admitted students since 2004-2005 academic year.
- The medium of instruction is English. The students who do not satify language requirements are registered to Prep. School.
- Students achieve 180 and over for YGS exam can apply to the program. In doing so, they are required to prepare a portfolio whose details are given on web page http://www.sis.itu.edu.tr/duyuru_ekler/moda_tekstil/ilan201510/moda_basvuru_kayitlari.html. In additon to that, they need to get pre-registered via the relevant web page available on sis.itu.edu.tr.
- The student quota for this program is 40 in total, ten of which is for foreign students.
- The courses given by ITU are held on ITU Gümüşsuyu Campus.
- For the tuition fees, please refer to the relevant section on www.uolp.itu.edu.tr. The fee are paid in the first week for each term, i.e. in two instalments.
NOTE:
(1) ITU Fashion Design students accepted to the FIT Bachelor’s degree program will attend FIT for the fourth (4th) semester as well as for the summer sessions (i.e. the second year students). They will do so as non-matriculated (visiting) international students. To register for FIT courses, they will be required to show evidence of English language proficiency (TOEFL PBT 550, IBT 80 and over; or PTE score of 53) and of satisfactory completion of the necessary course pre-requisites. Also, they must show evidence of having attained a 2.5 Grade Point Average (GPA).
(2) In order to be admitted to FIT for their 4th year , ITU Fashion Design students must show evidence of having attained a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) and must present a design portfolio that meets the required standards of the department. To register for FIT courses, they will be required to show evidence of English language proficiency (TOEFL IBT 80 and over; or PTE score of 53) and of satisfactory completion of the necessary course pre-requisites. ITU students who do not meet these criteria will not be admitted to FIT for the fourth (4th) year.