Textile & Apparel Studies

Types of Degrees Textile & Apparel Studies Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many textile and apparel studies graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	139
Doctor’s Degree	6
Graduate Certificate	5

What Textile & Apparel Studies Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to textile studies were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Textile Studies Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Textile Studies Majors

When studying textile studies, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities for Textile Studies Majors

As a textile studies major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Textile & Apparel Studies Major?

People with a textile studies degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Farm and Home Management Advisors	7.7%	$49,840
Fashion Designers	2.5%	$72,720
Interior Designers	4.5%	$53,370
Marketing Managers	10.1%	$134,290

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Textile & Apparel Studies?

This major is dominated by women with about 88% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of textile studies majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	3
Black or African American	21
Hispanic or Latino	5
White	43
International Students	61
Other Races/Ethnicities	6

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Textile Studies. About 43.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• South Korea
• India
• Taiwan
• Turkey

How Much Do Textile & Apparel Studies Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in textile and apparel studies made a median starting salary of $30,532 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $30,532 (25th percentile) and $30,532 (75th percentile).

We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to textile studies so take that into consideration.

Salaries According to BLS

Textile Studies majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $52,700 to $87,610 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Textile & Apparel Studies

Some careers associated with textile studies require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for textile studies careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	3.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	10.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.6%
Some College Courses	8.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	9.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	42.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.3%
Master’s Degree	16.5%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.5%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	3.8%
Doctoral Degree	1.3%

Online Textile & Apparel Studies Programs

In 2020-2021, 136 schools offered a textile studies program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	43	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	58	4
Bachelor’s Degree	4	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	33	6
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	7	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Textile & Apparel Studies Worth It?

The median salary for a textile studies grad is $59,120 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 48% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $384,400 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Textile & Apparel Studies

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to textile studies.

Major	Number of Grads
Human Development & Family Studies	1,589
Food, Nutrition & Related Services	1,214
General Family & Consumer Sciences	368
Family & Consumer Economics	251
Human Sciences Business Services	58
Housing	54
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences (Other)	8

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Elisa.rolle under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.