The Fashion Institute of Technology has been named in five recent rankings as one of the best colleges of its kind in the world.
The Business of Fashion—in its first Global Fashion School Rankings—has placed FIT fifth in the world (and second in the U.S.) in the Best Overall category, while also placing FIT third globally in the Most Influential category.
In PayScale.com’s 2015-2016 College Salary Report, FIT ranked second in the nation among community colleges for alumni median mid-career salaries ($72,100). FIT also ranked second in the category of alumni holding bachelor’s degrees in art, with a mid-career salary of $91,800.
Washington Monthly ranked FIT eighth out of 100 in its Best Bang for the Buck Colleges in the Northeast category of its 2015 America’s Best Colleges Rankings.
AffordableSchools.net ranked FIT fifth in its 2015 list of the Most Affordable Bachelor’s Degrees in Entrepreneurship.
Fashionista.com, earlier this year, included FIT in its 2014 list of The Top 50 Fashion Schools in the World in the number six position, a significant jump from its ninth-place ranking in 2013.
“FIT is in the company of outstanding institutions throughout the world that are doing excellent work,” said FIT president Dr. Joyce F. Brown. “As a public college of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, FIT is affordable and accessible to a diverse student population, offering a business and design curriculum that fosters critical thinking, encourages creative problem solving, and leads to jobs.”
The Business of Fashion used the following criteria to develop its list of 21 fashion institutions around the world: global influence (reputation, selectivity, and awards), learning experience (satisfaction with fellow students, quality of teaching, and resources), and long-term value (students’ preparedness for the marketplace based on graduation rates, employment opportunities, and accessibility of alumni). The ranking incorporated 60 data points gathered directly from the institutions on the list, plus a survey of more than 4,000 fashion students and alumni, as well as a reputational survey of 88 human resources professionals and fashion influencers.
PayScale.com, which links individuals and businesses to the largest salary profile database in the world, ranked 468 two-year colleges and universities by how much their alumni go on to earn, as well as 114 colleges and universities by the salaries alumni of their art programs earn.
Washington Monthly developed its list of Best Bang for the Buck institutions based on three criteria―social mobility, civic engagement, and research. The magazine also rates colleges that are doing the best job of helping non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices. Sixteen of the top 20 institutions are public universities.
AffordableSchools.net compiled its results for affordable entrepreneurship bachelor’s degree programs from the National Center for Education Statistics, followed by queries to all institutions of higher education in the United States that offer a BA in entrepreneurship. The final list comprised 15 institutions. FIT’s Entrepreneurship program is designed to address the real-world demands of today’s marketplace and to train a new generation of fashion industry thought leaders in a global, viral environment.
Fashionista.com used the following criteria to rank the 50 schools on its list: annual tuition, famous graduates, placement rates, students and alumni feedback, quality of faculty, practical and business training offered, social life, and financial aid options.