Parsons School of Design is the art and design college of The New School, a private university in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Its fashion design program is one of the most famous in the world, known for a conceptual, research-driven approach and for alumni who run major labels. It is also one of the most expensive fashion educations in the United States. This profile covers its fashion programs, cost, admissions and outcomes from U.S. Department of Education data, and who it suits.
Fashion programs
Parsons’ School of Fashion offers a bachelor of fine arts in fashion design, which most students enter after a shared first year with other Parsons design majors, and an associate of applied science in fashion design aimed mainly at students who already hold a degree in another field. At graduate level it offers an MFA in fashion design and society and programs in fashion studies and fashion management. The undergraduate design curriculum moves from drawing, draping and construction in the early years to a thesis collection in the final year, with a strong emphasis on research, sustainability and the social side of fashion. Parsons also runs programs in Paris through Parsons Paris, and The New School offers business-oriented degrees such as strategic design and management.
The program’s reputation rests on its critique culture and its graduates’ visibility. Students build a body of work that is reviewed by faculty and visiting critics from the industry, and the best senior collections receive wide attention.
Cost
Federal data lists published tuition at The New School of $61,558 a year, the same for all students, and an average net price after grants of $48,163 a year. That net price includes New York living costs, and it is among the highest of any school we track. Design students should also budget for materials, which add up quickly in the thesis year. Parsons does award institutional scholarships, so ask for a full aid estimate before ruling it out, but plan as if you will pay close to the published price.
Admissions
The New School admitted 63% of applicants in the most recent federal data, an average across all of its colleges. Parsons applicants submit a portfolio of their own work and, where the application requires it, the Parsons Challenge, a visual response to a prompt, through the school’s online portfolio platform. Parsons wants to see how you think: process work, sketchbooks, research and experiments carry as much weight as finished pieces. Guides to Parsons portfolios commonly advise against styled outfits made from purchased garments. Check the current admissions requirements on Parsons’ site before applying.
Outcomes
The New School reports a completion rate of 69% in federal data. Median earnings ten years after starting are $64,471, but that figure covers The New School as a whole rather than fashion graduates, so treat it with caution. Outcomes in fashion design are wide: some graduates launch their own labels or join major design houses, while many work as assistant designers, technical designers or in related creative jobs, which pay far less in the first years than the tuition might suggest. Ask the program for recent graduates’ destinations.
Studying in Greenwich Village
Parsons’ main buildings are around Fifth Avenue and 13th Street, in a neighbourhood of universities, galleries and studios, about a mile and a half south of the Garment District. Being part of The New School gives design students access to a university with strong programs in the social sciences, music and liberal arts, which suits the program’s interest in fashion’s social and environmental side. Students intern with New York design houses and brands during school, and the senior thesis year is designed to produce a collection that can be shown to employers and press.
Questions to ask before applying
- What will your total cost be after Parsons’ own scholarships? Ask for a written estimate with your application, and compare it with FIT and with strong public programs in your state.
- Do you want a conceptual or a technical design education? Look at recent senior collections and decide whether that is the kind of work you want to make.
- How will you pay for materials in your thesis year?
- Would the associate program suit you better? Students who already hold a degree can use it as a shorter route into fashion design.
Who Parsons suits
- Students who want a conceptual, experimental design education and the critique culture of a top art school.
- Students with strong portfolios who can secure substantial scholarships, or whose families can afford the full cost.
- Designers aiming for creative director or independent label careers, where a Parsons network carries weight.
Who should look elsewhere
- Students who would need large loans: the cost is hard to recover on early-career design salaries.
- Students who want an industry-focused technical design or merchandising education; FIT is public and closer to that model.
- Students drawn to the business side of fashion; a merchandising program, compared in the fashion merchandising degree guide, is a more direct and affordable route.
How Parsons compares
The usual comparison is with FIT, a few miles away. Parsons is private, conceptual and expensive; FIT is public, technical and industry-led, and its published in-state tuition is a small fraction of Parsons’. Every New York option is compared in the New York fashion schools guide, and the New York City guide covers the cost of living and the industry around both schools.
Frequently asked questions
Is Parsons worth the cost?
For students with the portfolio to earn scholarships and a clear creative goal, it can be. For students who would borrow heavily, a public program usually leads to the same entry-level design jobs for much less.
Does Parsons require a portfolio?
Yes. Applicants submit a portfolio and complete the Parsons Challenge.
Is Parsons part of The New School?
Yes. Federal data reports Parsons as part of The New School, so cost and outcome figures cover the whole university.