Overview
At The University of Texas at Austin, we offer an undergraduate degree in Textiles and Apparel with the opportunity for students to specialize in merchandising or product development & design. Fashion merchandising students develop the analytical and strategic skills needed to manage fashion products in the ready‑to‑wear industry, focusing on consumer insights, assortment planning, sourcing, and the global apparel supply chain. Students in product development and design build the technical and collaborative skills required to develop market‑driven apparel, translating trends and consumer needs into commercially viable fashion products through materials selection, fit, production, and cross‑functional teamwork. All students in Textiles and Apparel gain foundational knowledge of textiles to support both areas by grounding students in material performance and decision‑making.
In addition to meeting all University and College of Natural Sciences requirements, TXA students can specialize in merchandising or product development & design. All TXA students take foundational courses (TXA 301C Introduction to the Fashion Industry; TXA 305 Textiles, TXA 314C Computer Aided Design, TXA 314K Product Development & TXA 331E Textiles and Apparel in the Global Marketplace) and then follow the guidelines for their chosen specialization where students will gain advanced and mastery level skills within their selected area of either merchandising or product development & design.