Every school list on this site starts with U.S. Department of Education data, not opinion. This page explains exactly how the lists are built, what the numbers mean, and how to flag an error.
Where the data comes from
We identify schools through the Department of Education’s College Scorecard and IPEDS databases, using the federal program classification codes for fashion and apparel education: CIP 19.09 (apparel and textiles) and CIP 52.19 (fashion merchandising and related retail programs). If a school doesn’t report an active program under these codes, it doesn’t appear in our tables. A small number of well-known design schools report under general art codes instead — where that matters, the state guide says so in plain text.
What the numbers mean
Tuition is the published annual price from the school’s latest federal reporting. Average net price is what students receiving federal aid actually paid after grants and scholarships — for most students this is the more useful number, and it is often less than half the sticker price. Enrollment is total institutional enrollment, not the fashion program alone.
How schools are ordered
Tables sort by in-state tuition by default, lowest first, and readers can re-sort by any column. Table order comes from the federal data alone. Separately from our tables, this site shows clearly labeled sponsored listings from advertising partners — those placements are marked as ads and have no effect on which schools appear in our tables or how they rank.
Affiliate disclosure
When you request information from a school through links on this site, we may receive a commission. This never affects which schools appear in our comparison tables or how they’re ordered — the lists come from federal data before any commercial consideration.
How often we update
Cost and enrollment figures refresh when the Department of Education publishes new reporting, typically annually. Each state guide shows the date its data was retrieved. The current dataset was retrieved in July 2026.
Corrections
Every guide is reviewed by Ankit P., who maintains the site’s school database. If you spot an outdated figure or a program that has closed or launched, tell us — corrections ship quickly.