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Fashion Schools in Columbus, Ohio: Costs and Industry Guide

By · Reviewed by Kamila Katkauskaite (Creative Brand & Content Coordinator), November 4, 2026 · Editorial policy

Columbus is a retail headquarters city. Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Designer Brands (DSW) and Express are all based in or around the city, and they hire merchandisers, buyers, planners and product developers. The city has two main fashion programs: a fashion design degree at a private art college downtown, and a fashion and retail program at Ohio State with close ties to those companies.

This guide compares the two, explains how students use the local retail industry, and sets out living and transit costs. For every Ohio program, including Kent State, see our Ohio fashion schools guide.

Fashion schools in Columbus

Costs below are published tuition and the average net price after grants, from U.S. Department of Education data. Net price includes housing and food. At CCAD, grants bring the real cost far below the published price. Official 2026-27 prices are in the program notes below.

School Location Type Tuition (in-state) Average net price Focus
Columbus College of Art & Design Downtown Columbus Private $42,200 $27,723 Design
The Ohio State University University District, Columbus Public $13,641 $17,269 Design and merchandising

The main programs

Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD)

CCAD, a private art and design college at 60 Cleveland Avenue downtown, offers fashion design as one of its 11 BFA majors and as a minor, and it also offers a master’s in retail design. It is a small school, with 831 undergraduates in 2025. Tuition for 2026-27 is $43,300, or $57,095 including room, board and first-year fees, but CCAD reports that 99% of first-year students receive aid, averaging $26,443.

The Ohio State University

Ohio State does not offer a fashion design degree. Its program is Fashion and Retail Studies, a Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology with two tracks: merchandising, and product development. An internship is required. Students who want to design garments can join the Fashion Production Association, which ends the year with a fashion show or exhibit. The program has an industry advisory board of nearly 50 retail professionals, and its Fashion Retail Exchange, run with the local nonprofit CBUS Retail, brought more than 100 industry professionals to campus in 2026; recent graduates went into Victoria’s Secret and Dick’s Sporting Goods merchandising roles. Ohio residents pay $14,050 in 2026-27 tuition and fees, and out-of-state students $44,271.

Other options

Columbus State Community College has no fashion program, but its Marketing associate degree includes a retail management major, and it lists a 2+2 pathway from its Associate of Arts into Ohio State’s Fashion and Retail Studies. The pathway guide is dated 2018, so confirm the course list with both schools. Ohio residents pay $202.93 a credit at Columbus State. Federal data also lists a fashion program at Ohio University Lancaster, but the campus’s current list of bachelor’s majors includes nothing in fashion or retail. For a full fashion design degree at public prices in Ohio, Kent State’s School of Fashion in northeast Ohio offers fashion design BA and BFA degrees and a fashion merchandising BS.

The industry around the schools

Abercrombie & Fitch, owner of the Abercrombie and Hollister brands, has its global headquarters on a company-owned campus in New Albany and about 43,200 employees worldwide. Victoria’s Secret is headquartered in Reynoldsburg with about 33,000 employees, and Bath & Body Works, a beauty and home fragrance company rather than a clothing one, is based in Columbus. Designer Brands, the parent of DSW, is headquartered on DSW Drive in Columbus and designs and sources footwear for brands including Vince Camuto and Keds. Express filed for bankruptcy in 2024 and was bought by a group led by WHP Global; in 2025 its new chief executive was based at its Columbus headquarters. Lane Bryant still occupies its New Albany campus, which it sold in 2022 and leased back for at least 20 years.

You may read that Columbus has the third-largest number of fashion designers in the country, after New York and Los Angeles. That claim comes from a private 2016 estimate. Federal survey data counts only about 90 fashion designer jobs in all of Ohio, against 5,540 in the New York metro area, though designers working at retail headquarters may be counted under other job titles. Columbus is best understood as a city for merchandising, product development and corporate retail careers.

Jobs and pay

Buyers and purchasing agents in the Columbus metro area earned a median of $77,150 in May 2025, close to the national median of $77,710, and about 4,200 work in the area. The federal survey did not publish a separate figure for Columbus fashion designers; nationally they earned a median of $80,960. Our fashion merchandising degree guide explains the buying and planning jobs.

What it costs to live here

Rent in Columbus is moderate but varies a lot by neighborhood. HUD sets fair market rents by ZIP code here. For fiscal 2026 they are $1,670 a month for a studio and $1,790 for a one-bedroom in downtown ZIP code 43215, where CCAD is, and $1,200 and $1,290 in ZIP code 43201, the University District next to Ohio State.

A COTA bus ride costs $2, and fares are capped at $4.50 a day or $62 a month for riders who pay the same way each time. Ohio State students on the Columbus campus get unlimited COTA rides for a $13.50 fee each term. From January 6, 2027, they ride with a COTA pass in the Ohio State app instead of their BuckID.

Transfer routes and aid

Ohio public colleges share Ohio Transfer 36, a general education package that transfers between them, plus Transfer Assurance Guides for introductory courses in many majors. Students who finish an associate of arts or science at Columbus State complete Ohio Transfer 36.

The Ohio College Opportunity Grant goes to Ohio residents with a Student Aid Index of $3,750 or less and household income no greater than $96,000. In 2026-27 the full-time maximum is $4,000 at Ohio State and $5,000 at private nonprofit colleges such as CCAD. Community college students get $0 from it in most cases, because the federal Pell Grant already covers their tuition.

Is studying fashion in Columbus worth it?

For merchandising, buying and product development, yes. Few cities put so many retail headquarters within a short drive of a public fashion and retail program, and Ohio State’s in-state price is low for a degree with that access. Design students have one local option in CCAD, which is costly before aid, and should compare it with Kent State and with programs in bigger design cities such as New York and Chicago.

Frequently asked questions

Does Ohio State have a fashion design major?

No. Ohio State offers Fashion and Retail Studies, with merchandising and product development tracks. Students design garments through the Fashion Production Association.

Is CCAD expensive?

Its 2026-27 tuition is $43,300, but CCAD reports that 99% of first-year students receive aid, averaging $26,443.

Which Columbus companies hire fashion graduates?

Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, Designer Brands (DSW), Express and Lane Bryant, mostly in merchandising, planning, product development and buying.

Where else should I look?

See fashion design schools in Ohio, fashion schools in Chicago and our other city guides.

Sources

What changed on this page

  • November 2026: city guide published.