Fashion merchandising programs prepare people to market lines of clothing to retail stores. Students learn how to design promotional campaigns. They also learn about wholesale purchasing. They learn how to set up and manage contracts.

Every day you see a lot of advertisements for clothing. Fashion is a large industry, because most Americans spend a respectable chunk of their budget on clothing. The actual production may take place abroad, but clothing accounts for a lot of sales in this country. That's why you may find a lot of opportunity in fashion merchandising.

You may work as a fashion buyer, selecting merchandise for retail stores or catalogs. You may be an event coordinator, organizing fashion shows. You may manage a clothing department or specialty store.

In a fashion merchandising program you learn important business subjects such as accounting and marketing. You also learn the specifics of the fashion business. You study how clothing is designed and manufactured. You learn the role of advertising and how clothing reaches consumers.

About 260 colleges offer an associate degree in fashion merchandising. This normally requires two years of full-time study beyond high school. About 110 colleges offer a bachelor's degree in this field. This takes about four years of full-time study. However, this program often is a specialization in a marketing program, giving you a broader background in business subjects and more liberal arts requirements. Both two- and four-year programs often include an internship.