Today’s feature is not a single major or minor, but rather a unique college within a university.
The College
The Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State University brings together different areas of study within the world of textiles, combining art, design, business, science, engineering, and technology. From the website:
Textiles today are innovative, life saving, creative, global, all around you and thriving right here in North Carolina. Our textile students build their education on a foundation of science that takes them to fashion houses, NASA, textile design companies, laboratories, graduate school and beyond. From designing elephant collars that protect remote villages and innovating bite sleeves that shield military officers from harm to developing fabrics that harvest energy and garments that monitor your vital signs, our students lead lives of impact. Along with our faculty and staff, they embody the Think and Do philosophy that is NC State.
The following majors, and areas of concentration, are offered:
- Fashion and Textile Design
- Fashion Design
- Textile Design
- Fashion and Textile Management
- Fashion Development and Product Management
- Textile Brand Management and Marketing
- Polymer and Color Chemistry
- American Chemical Society Certified
- Medical Sciences
- Science and Operations
- Textile Engineering
- Chemical Processing
- Information Systems
- Product Engineering
- Textile Technology
- General Curriculum Track
- Medical Textiles
- Technical Textiles
- Textile Supply Chain Operations
Two Interesting Courses
FTM 385 Fashion and the Consumer
This course focuses on consumer decision process for textile products, including the study of environmental, individual, psychological and marketing influences on behavior of consumers in the textile consumption process. Further examination will include influences on the process, including fashion theories, the mass media, demographics and psychographics, and societal trends. Current development and research in the textile consumer decision process are reviewed.
MT 366 Biotextile Product Development
Overview of the product development process for medical textiles and implantable biotextile devices. FDA classification system for medical and healthcare products. Review steps in identification of healthcare needs, market size and demand, product specifications and design, prototype fabrication and sterilization, in vitro testing of mechanical, chemical, surface and biological properties, in vivo animal testing, regulatory issues, consumer and clinical trials and explant analysis. Examples of medical textiles for personal hygiene, wound care, external support, orthopedic, general surgery, dental and tissue engineering applications. The student will be introduced to the process of new product development as it applies to medical textiles and biotextiles.
Five Possible Complementary Minors
While multiple minors are offered within the Wilson College of Textiles, allowing students to minor in a directly-related field of study, additional minors at North Carolina State outside of the Wilson College of Textiles could also complement a Wilson major:
- Art and Design
- Biotechnology
- Business Administration
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Supply Chain Engineering
Unique Opportunities Within the College
An Emerging Designers Showcase is held annually, and the college encourages students to participate in one of many study abroad programs that align with the college’s programming.
Sample Similar Programs:
- Fashion Institute of Technology: multiple majors, including:
- University of Wisconsin-Madison: Textiles and Fashion Design Major
- Georgia Tech: Materials Science and Engineering Major, Polymer & Fiber Materials Concentration