Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Fashion Design and Merchandising Certificate of Achievement

This certificate program is designed to prepare students in Fashion Design and Merchandising to engage in the world of entrepreneurship. The program’s interdisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship equips students with relevant tools in exploring various pathways to entrepreneurship such as full-time business ownership, sub-contracting (freelancing), consulting, corporate intrapreneurship or mission-driven social entrepreneurship.

This interdisciplinary certificate provides students with basic fashion merchandising concepts, understanding of industry terminology, clothing construction, presentations, and illustration techniques. Fashion merchandising training can lead to careers as full-time or freelance fashion illustrators, designers, technical designers, patternmakers, product developers and entrepreneurs.

The projected number of annual completers for the Certificate of Achievement – Entrepreneurship degree is 3 - 7 students.  This estimate is solely based on course enrollment data for two semesters since the program started in fall 2018.  Projections made were based on the macro and microeconomic environment surrounding the program.

The goals of the Certificate of Achievement – Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Fashion Design and Merchandising is to prepare students for the world of entrepreneurship. The program equips fashion students with the foundational tools necessary for every startup. The program helps develop students not only for for-profit but also for social enterprises that yield positive social impact. It would also enrich students’ skillset for corporate intrapreneurship in the fashion industry. 

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Apply an entrepreneurial mindset that breeds creativity and innovation in the field of fashion merchandising.
• Use terms and concepts related to functional areas of entrepreneurship necessary for startups.
• Analyze the marketing environment to identify entrepreneurial opportunities and areas for growth and development.
• Develop an agile and lean business plan for a startup project/enterprise that is ready for pitching.
• Compare different entrepreneurship pathways in relation to a project or business idea related to fashion merchandising.

The program starts with the introduction of basic entrepreneurial skills needed to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and help students come up with an idea to bring to market. It also helps students decide what type of entrepreneurial venture they can pursue. The interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum leverages on the critical courses from Fashion Design and Merchandising to complete the entrepreneurial tool kit required to launch an idea to market. These foundational courses prepare students to acquire intrapreneurial skills that are highly sought by employers today. ENTR 101 Introduction to Entrepreneurship, ENTR 102 Applied Design Thinking and MRKT 140 Introduction to Marketing all address the foundational base of entrepreneurship.

The program allows students to take ten more units to gain the knowledge and skills in the areas of Fashion Design and Merchandising.  For those who are already registered under these disciplines, the Certificate in Entrepreneurship can be stacked over the one they are currently taking. 

 

First semester courses                          Units               Sequence

ENTR 101  Introduction to 

                      Entrepreneurship                 3.00                S1, Y1

FASH 45A      Personal Styling                    3.00                S1, Y1

FASH 54A      Fashion Styling                      3.00                S1, Y1                                                                                                      

  Total   9.00

Second semester courses                     Units              Sequence

FASH 48      Fashion Show Production       4.00               S2, Y1

DSGN 105   Design Thinking                       1.50               S2, Y1

ENTR 102     Applied Design Thinking 

                     in Entrepreneurship               1.50                S2, Y1

MRKT 140    Marketing Principles               3.00               S2, Y1

 Total   10.00             

                                                                   Total Certificate 19.00     

The Certificate of Achievement in Entrepreneurship is relatively new and is continuously evolving. This curriculum is designed to only provide the foundational knowledge for a startup and advises students to take further courses in finance, marketing, or general business to dive deeper to other functional areas of business.

There are 13 community colleges in the Bay Region issuing 52 awards on average annually (last 3 years) on TOP 0506.40 - Small Business and Entrepreneurship. There are three colleges in the Mid-Peninsula Sub-Region issuing 6 awards on average annually (last 3 years) on this TOP code. There are twelve 4-year universities or colleges offering undergraduate and/or graduate degrees in Entrepreneurship, or BS in Business with concentration in Entrepreneurship (University of California Berkeley, Stanford, UC Santa Cruz, CSU East Bay, Dominican University, Menlo College, Saint Mary’s College, San Francisco State, San Jose State, Santa Clara University, Sonoma State and University of San Francisco).