The School of Fashion was established in 1987 and is the first department in Chinese universities to specialize in apparel. It is considered a significant pioneer in higher education for apparel in China.
The school welcomes undergraduate, master, and doctoral students from all over China. We offer two undergraduate majors and nine professional majors, including Apparel and Accessory Design (five majors: women's apparel, men's apparel, knitting, sportswear, and theater and film costume design); Apparel Design and Engineering (three majors: data analysis and pattern making, smart apparel engineering, and apparel function and design); and the digital fashion design experimental class. Apparel and Accessory Design and Apparel Design and Engineering are both characteristic national majors and national first-class undergraduate majors. Additionally, Apparel Design and Engineering has passed international engineering certification.
The school offers two postgraduate programs and research directions in apparel art and design, as well as apparel design and engineering, based on the disciplines of design and textile science and engineering. Additionally, there is a doctoral program specifically focused on "Salvage, Heritage, Design, and Innovation of Chinese Traditional Costume Culture" to cater to the country's unique needs.
The school is dedicated to assembling a top-notch full-time faculty with a global perspective, extensive theoretical knowledge, practical experience, and a fusion of art and industry. Our faculty comprises 129 members, including 111 professional educators, 19 senior lecturers, 32 sub-senior lecturers, 28 Ph.D. holders, and 8 doctoral candidates. Our faculty comprises 81 young and middle-aged lecturers under 45 and 50 with more than a year of international study and additional training. We have one national teaching team, one Beijing excellent undergraduate education team, three Beijing teaching teams, two Changcheng Scholars, one leader of the High-Tech Innovation Program, two high-level overseas talents, one Beijing excellent lecturer, four Beijing famous lecturers and young lecturers, one Beijing pioneer of teaching ethics, one Beijing young model of teaching ethics, 12 national top fashion designers, and one national top pattern maker. Our faculty structure is well-balanced with robust strengths.
The school has a special focus on the textile and apparel industry as well as the cultural and creative industry. We have successfully trained and delivered almost 7,000 skilled graduates to these industries. Currently, we have over 1,329 undergraduate students, 377 master students, and 50 doctoral candidates enrolled in our programs. Our students have excelled in various professional events both domestically and internationally, such as the Arts of Fashion Competition in the US, the "Hempel Award" China International Young Designers Contest, the Swarovski International Fashion Competition, and the New Talent Award. In the past five years, our students have won over 200 awards, including 42 gold, silver, and bronze awards in various national and international competitions.
The school focuses on scientific research related to the relationship between people, clothing, and the environment. To support this, we have established two institute-level research institutions: the Institute of Sports Fashion Innovation and the Institute of Fashion Science and Technology. Additionally, we have created nine school-level research centers and platforms, namely the Youth and Children Apparel Research Center, Professional Apparel Research Center, Senior Apparel and Life Research Center, Apparel-related Body Research Center, "Research Center of Apparel Culture, Design and Innovation, Research Center of Virtual Fashion Innovation, Research Center of Future Apparel and Technology, Research Center for Better Living, and Research Center for Sustainable Development of Textile and Apparel.
The school is highly regarded as a hub for global collaboration and academic exchange in apparel and fashion within China. It plays a significant role in organizing the International Youth Design Competition and hosts the annual academic conference for the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institution (IFFTI). Additionally, we have forged partnerships with various universities and research institutions across the world, including the US, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Japan, South Africa, ROK, and Hong Kong and Taiwan. In 2011, we became an IFFTI member.
The school focuses on BIFT's academic orientation of integrating science, art, and fashion. This approach leads to professional education and teaching development through art-technology integration and actively connects with industry resources. We aim to accelerate academic progress and knowledge innovation, expand the frontiers of technology and fashion, and respond to social development and needs.