M.S. in Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design

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Curriculum

THESIS OPTION

The thesis option requires the following:

• The completion of a minimum of 30 credits, including six credits of thesis research.
• Thesis and the passing of an oral examination in defense of the thesis. One copy of the thesis prepared in accordance with the Graduate School requirements must be submitted to the Graduate School.

NON-THESIS OPTION

The non-thesis option requires the completion of 33 credits, half of which must be TMD courses numbered 500 or above including at least one course that requires a substantial paper or practicum involving significant independent study.

Students must present the paper to a committee of three faculty members and archive the paper on Digital Commons.

TMD 511 and 512 are required of all students. Other requirements vary depending on the specialization selected. Specializations include textile science; historic textiles and fashion; textile conservation; and cultural analysis; and fashion merchandising.

Completion of a major paper. Typically the student registers for TMD 540 under a TMD professor to work on the paper. Although students often identify the research topic they wish to investigate in TMD 511 Research Methods, they are not completing experiments, designing surveys, or working with primary sources. Instead, the paper is typically a thorough review of the literature on a specific problem. The student submits three copies of the completed paper—one to the major professor, and one for each of two faculty readers—in advance of a meeting where the paper is presented. The readers and the major professor may suggest revisions. The student is asked to provide the TMD Department with a corrected copy and to archive the paper on Digital Commons.

Students beginning their programs in Fall 2023 will be required to complete written comprehensive exams.