Last month, we ranked the best fashion
schools in the U.S., but as we all know, many of the best
fashion education opportunities can be found across the pond. London is
practically the capital city of fashion schools, though excellent fashion
programs can also be found throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. Here, you'll
see how they stacked against the best schools stateside.
From location to tuition to resources, there are a
lot of factors to consider and compare when choosing a school — and not as much
guidance available as there is for more "traditional" fields of
study. That's why, since 2010,
we've put together rankings of the best fashion
schools culled from data and our own extensive surveys.
They include not only fashion trade schools, but
also larger universities with reputable fashion programs. Some have only
undergraduate fashion programs, while others have graduate opportunities as
well; certain schools only offer fashion design degrees, though others include
specialized majors ranging from merchandising to costume design. All of this is
detailed in the pages linked below.
But first, our methodology. Here's what we took
into consideration:
Annual tuition: Art and design schools are generally expensive,
although tuition can vary drastically and, at many colleges, it increases each
year. The number you see on each college's page does not include room and board
and incidentals. While tuition is not the most heavily weighted category on our
list of criteria, we did factor the cost into our rankings as
it relates to the cost of living in the area where the corresponding school is
located.
Famous and successfully
placed alumni: Famous alumni are something that we consider,
yes, but we also reward schools with great placement rates. Just because a
school hasn't produced a marquee name (yet) doesn't mean it isn't good. Every
single one of these schools has placed students in major fashion houses,
commercial labels and other important fashion businesses. Behind every Michael
Kors, Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang is a talented support staff helping to
ensure that everything runs smoothly. And getting paid good money to do it.
Student and alumni feedback: We surveyed thousands of past and present students
about their experiences at each school. We also considered the quality of the
faculty, the practical and business training on offer, resources, technology
social life, career counseling and financial aid options.
Also of note: We spend hours upon hours researching and reporting
on these schools — each school name below links to a page detailing our
findings. No list is entirely scientific, but it is objective. Keep this in
mind if you don't see your favorite school here or disagree with the ranking
your alma mater received.
Here's the full ranking:
17. IED Barcelona
Source: Fashionista