Apparel Merchandising & Management, B.S.

About the Major

Students work on garments at a production table.

Do you dream of a career in the fashion and apparel industries? Then study apparel merchandising and management at Cal Poly Pomona.

In this major, you’ll get a comprehensive education into all aspects of the industry. You can also specialize in different parts of the industry with one of our options: fashion retailing, apparel design and production, or textile technology and sustainability. In addition, there are minors in fashion merchandising and footwear design and merchandising.

You’ll get hands-on experience working with the technology and software that professional designers use in our extensive facilities. You can test textiles, help run a boutique, and design and produce a fashion line to sell in the Bronco Bookstore.

Los Angeles is a major center in the international apparel industry, which provides numerous opportunities for field trips, guest speakers, internships, networking, and jobs.

Our graduates have entered the industry working in product design and development, production management, marketing and promotion, wholesaling, buying, visual merchandising, retail management, or e-commerce. They have worked for major labels and retailers such as Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Target, Macy’s, and Nordstrom.

Curriculum

Our curriculum combines theory and application in both the class and on-the-job internships.

The degree requirements break down into several areas:

Major requirements: These cover the fundamentals of each option. The curriculum sheets will have the full list for the major. The university catalog will have course descriptions.
Major electives: Students should consult their advisors to determine what courses to take.
General Education (GE) requirements: Students should consult their Degree Progress Report (DPR) for information regarding these requirements. Unless your major requires specific GE courses, you should refer to the list of approved GE courses in the University Catalog.
The Interdisciplinary General Education program is an alternate pattern for partial fulfillment of the GE. American Institutions courses may also satisfy certain GE requirements.

If you have any questions, contact your academic advisor and make an appointment. Drop-in hours are also available, both in-person and virtually. Faculty mentors and student peer advisors can also assist. Visit the academic advising link for more information about these resources.

Important Links

A female model walks the runway at a fashion show on the Cal Poly Pomona campus.

Get Involved

Get involved, get connected. Develop leadership and team-building skills. The Department of Apparel Merchandising & Management has several clubs, including the Fashion Society, which puts on an annual fashion show. In addition, the Huntley College of Agriculture, which includes the department, has several clubs that are open to any major, including Ag Council, the Huntley...

Alumni Success Stories

“The apparel merchandising program fully prepared me to start my career in the highly competitive apparel industry.”

Sarah Dumlao ('14, apparel merchandising and management) production planner, Nike Global Headquarters

Career Outcomes

More Career Resources

Fashion Buyer

Selects and purchases apparel and accessories for retail stores based on trends, customer preferences, and budget.

Fashion Trend Forecaster

Focuses on upcoming trends. Predicts the color, fabric, textures, materials, prints, streetwear styles, accessories, graphics, and footwear, and other styles that will be presented on the runway. Have knowledge of the fashion industry and research findings

Fashion Marketing

Responsible for managing ways to promote fashion merchandise and prove their ability to increase sales. In-charge of promoting the ideal target consumers for the fashion company’s products. They also create advertising campaigns for retail stores, brands, and businesses. Fashion marketers also are behind the scenes for photoshoots and travel to new store openings and analyze marketing campaign results.

Fashion Merchandising

Oversees the creation of fashion stores and visual displays. Work closely with designers to study constantly changing market trends. Responsible for the entire stock of apparel which may include transferring apparel from the stockroom onto the sale floor.

E-Commerce Manager

Audit and optimize product listings in online store. Merchandise the products within each collection based on best sellers. Collaborate with content creator/marketing team to optimize product photos, marketing copy, etc. Maintain data integrity across listing channels. Create, manage and perfect product listings on e-commerce, including planning and creating titles and descriptions with good search engine optimization (SEO) value and search engine marketing (SEM) optimization. Optimize collection pages by maintaining product listings, pricing competitively, and sorting products within collections. Create promotions and new sales collections.

Fashion Product Manager

Plan, coordinate, and control the manufacturing processes. Ensure that the cost, quality, and number of goods are correct. Define business goals and think of strategies to stand out from competitors. Oversee the process at domestic and overseas factories where the apparel is sampled, design changes are made and completed product for collections.

Product Developer

Work closely with marketing and sales departments to produce products based on what the consumer wants and make sure that they operate safely and efficiently. Uses specialty software and recruitment to design products.

Visual Merchandising

Use design skills to promote the products and services for a retail company and other organizations. They create aesthetically pleasing product displays and store layouts and designs to attract customers and encourage them to purchase the products. Produce window displays, store signs, floor plans, interior displays and special promotion displays throughout the store.

Fashion Consultant

Offers fashion advice and recommendations to consumers or companies. They use their trends and fashion knowledge to assist others in the fashion industry.

Textile Designer

Creates designs that are used in the production of knits, weaves, and printed fabrics or textile products.

Textile Production Manager

Work with design and sales teams, buyers, and quality control departments. Visit factories and manage orders from retail and wholesale customers. Work and deal with suppliers. Attend trade shows and conferences frequently. Check quality standards, prices, and delivery times

Textile Technologist

Textile technologists work with many materials including man-made and natural textiles, leather, fur, plastics, and metals. They are responsible for producing fabrics for furnishings, household items, medical supplies, or textiles for use in the textile industry