Arts, culture and society

This program builds skills employers value across industries, including critical thinking, communication and problem-solving. Coursework also strengthens your ability to analyze information, manage projects and make systems-driven decisions.

You’ll explore four topic areas to become career-ready:

• Global and natural science perspectives
  • Learn to think scientifically, interpret data and explore global challenges in science and technology.
• Humanities, identities and society
  • Study culture, identity and human behavior through history, philosophy and the arts.
• National and civil service and professional studies
  • Explore government, civic leadership and ethical practices in public and professional settings.
• Organizations, technology and ethics
  • Understand how organizations function, use digital tools and apply ethics in practical settings.

Build on your previously earned credits with this transfer-friendly program

ASU values your previously earned credits and has designed this program to minimize credit loss. With a broad range of courses, you can tailor how you complete your remaining degree requirements.

You’re an ideal candidate if earning a bachelor’s degree supports your goals, whether you want to shift careers, advance in your current role, prepare for graduate school or achieve personal milestones. Completing a widely recognized general studies degree can help you stand out as a well-rounded candidate with marketable skills.

How three of our most flexible programs compare

Our most flexible degrees — general studies, interdisciplinary studies and liberal studies — share a commonality of choice and transferability. Housed in a college with advisors who specialize in supporting students with diverse interests, these programs enable you to explore multiple areas of study. Each offers a different level of customization and structure. Discover the best option for your goals:

• General studies
  • Finish your degree efficiently by applying the credits you’ve already earned. By choosing the most flexible path, you’ll build career-relevant skills and graduate with the academic credentials needed for advancement.
• Interdisciplinary studies
  • Design a degree that combines two areas of study and builds transferable expertise from nearly 200 concentrations. This is a strong option for gaining focused knowledge aligned with your career goals or graduate study.
• Liberal studies
  • Pursue a humanities-based education and tailor your course plan to your interests. This degree combines structure and choice, offering a broad foundation to explore diverse academic paths.

ASU FIDM faculty with deep industry experience teach you the fundamentals of sourcing, buying, planning and understanding consumer behavior. Coursework prepares you to create and manage product assortments by selecting and overseeing the products offered to customers. You'll also gain expertise in using technology to design engaging visual displays across retail stores and drive strong financial outcomes.

This program also builds skills in:

• Cost management and negotiation.
• Open-to-buy management.
• Retail math (industry applications such as pricing strategies, sales forecasting and inventory management).
• Sustainable product planning, curation and management.
• Vendor management.

Upon graduating, you can pursue high-impact domestic and global merchandising roles.

Choose the right fashion degree for your career goals

All fashion majors gain an understanding of the industry, from creative design and technical production to manufacturing, distribution, merchandising and retailing. The right specialization for you depends on your career goals and interests. Available concentrations include:

• Apparel product development
  • Ideal for those who want to be involved in the entire product lifecycle from concept to consumer. As a generalist, you’ll focus on bringing products to market.
• Merchandising
  • Designed for those interested in the core of the fashion business. You’ll study merchandising through the lens of branding, planning and buying.
• Technical design
  • Best suited for those passionate about garment fit, construction and design. As a specialist in this field, you'll turn creative ideas into tangible products.

This program teaches you how to bring creative ideas to life by guiding apparel through the product lifecycle. You’ll learn to coordinate designers, merchandisers and manufacturers to turn concepts into viable products, ensuring they meet industry standards and consumer demands.

Gaining product development expertise can jumpstart your fashion career and open doors for growth. Exposure to the entire development process can further help you build industry connections and expand your skill set.

The knowledge and skills you’ll develop

Courses explore how to evaluate design choices for production feasibility, proper garment fit and suitability for mass production. You’ll develop an understanding of material sourcing and costing, as well as how to collaborate with merchandisers to position products for retail success.

The curriculum incorporates technology designed to enhance accuracy and efficiency in product development. You’ll use Optitex to develop patterns and analyze fit through 3D prototypes and Adobe Illustrator to create digital 2D technical drawings. Practical assignments also offer opportunities to gain proficiency in CAD, product lifecycle management systems and CLO 3D. Through this software and applied coursework, you’ll be able to:

• Apply the science of body sizing and scaling.
• Create production-ready tech packs (instructions for manufacturing garments).
• Develop grade rules that align with measurement charts.
• Use visual communication techniques in creative industries.

Choose the right fashion degree for your career goals

All fashion majors gain an understanding of the industry, from creative design and technical production to manufacturing, distribution, merchandising and retailing. The right specialization for you depends on your career goals and interests. Available concentrations include:

• Apparel product development
  • Ideal for those who want to be involved in the entire product lifecycle from concept to consumer. As a generalist, you’ll focus on bringing products to market.
• Merchandising
  • Designed for those interested in the core of the fashion business. You’ll study merchandising through the lens of branding, planning and buying.
• Technical design
  • Best suited for those passionate about garment fit, construction and design. As a specialist in this field, you'll turn creative ideas into tangible products.

This digital concentration builds on traditional marketing principles to connect with audiences in the digital realm. In tailored courses, you’ll learn how organizations use digital media tactics, create engaging experiences and build relationships through social media. Topics range from content planning and paid media buying to email marketing and user experience. You’ll also get hands-on practice with Google Analytics, The Trade Desk, HubSpot, Hootsuite, Semrush, OpenAI and other industry tools.

As a digital marketing major, you’ll gain the skills to craft impactful campaigns and make strategic decisions. You’ll graduate prepared for careers in search engine optimization, growth marketing, social media marketing and analytics. This degree also provides a competitive edge for roles in media buying and planning, influencer marketing, e-commerce and more.

Who’s a good fit for this program?

This program is ideal if you’re passionate about combining marketing and technology to transform how brands engage with customers. It’s also a great fit if you’re interested in marketing beyond content creation, such as understanding consumer behavior and using insights to guide marketing initiatives. Whether you’ve gained experience through organizations or student-led ad agencies, or are new to marketing, this program provides the skills to launch your digital marketing career.

If you’re interested in exploring marketing more broadly — such as brand management, graphic design, video production or advertising — ASU’s online bachelor’s in marketing may better align with your goals.

Fashion is a dynamic industry that could lead to various lucrative career paths. Apparel technical designers, commonly called ‘garment engineers’, are experts in body shape, fit and apparel construction. Their work ensures manufactured garments are comfortable, functional and consistent, sized to fit target consumers and sewn together properly.

This program provides insight into the technical designer’s role in the fashion industry flow, from creative design and technical production to manufacturing and distribution. Now is an exciting time to enter a field needing professionals with digital and quantitative skills to convert ideas into products.

The knowledge and skills you’ll develop

As a student, you can expect to gain hands-on skills in the software used in the fashion industry. You’ll use Adobe Illustrator to create 2D technical drawings and Optitex to develop patterns and analyze fit through 3D prototypes. You’ll also learn the methodologies of fit and body shape. Other practical skills include developing industry-standard, production-ready tech packs to provide precise instructions for manufacturing garments.

With ASU’s first-of-a-kind partnership with Optitex, graduates will have one year of access to the software to continue honing their pattern-making skills, strengthening their portfolio and supporting their pursuit of fashion careers. Demonstrable experience with this software can give you a leg up when applying for technical design roles.

Choose the right fashion degree for your career goals

All fashion majors gain an understanding of the industry, from creative design and technical production to manufacturing, distribution, merchandising and retailing. The right specialization for you depends on your career goals and interests. Available concentrations include:

• Apparel product development
  • Ideal for those who want to be involved in the entire product lifecycle from concept to consumer. As a generalist, you’ll focus on bringing products to market.
• Merchandising
  • Designed for those interested in the core of the fashion business. You’ll study merchandising through the lens of branding, planning and buying.
• Technical design
  • Best suited for those passionate about garment fit, construction and design. As a specialist in this field, you'll turn creative ideas into tangible products.

Industrial design is broad and includes all forms of making and creating from sketching to 3D printing, bringing your ideas to reality. This discipline combines innovative and artistic vision with problem-solving abilities and technical expertise. With a commitment to improving the lives of human beings and the environment, industrial designers turn creative ideas into tangible products and services that benefit society. In this bachelor’s in industrial design, you’ll explore all aspects of the design process, including:

• Ideating.
• Implementing new products and services.
• Iterating.
• Developing.
• Prototyping.
• Testing.

The skills you’ll develop as an industrial design major

This program is adaptable and future-focused, ensuring you develop the skills to thrive in the ever-evolving industrial design industry. Courses emphasize design thinking, iterative design and product development. You’ll explore multiple mediums, including sketching, hand-making models and designing 2D and 3D models. Additionally, you’ll build collaboration skills by sharing ideas, receiving constructive feedback and offering input to others.

You’ll also gain proficiency in design software and tools including Adobe Creative Suite, SolidWorks, KeyShot, Rhino, and AI tools. To complete your courses, you’ll need access to a gaming-quality PC. While additional materials will be needed as you progress through the program, starting with basic equipment is encouraged.

What can you do with an industrial design degree?

Industrial design combines creativity, craft and research to transform ideas into innovative solutions. As a graduate, you’ll be equipped to create products that are not only visually appealing but also functional and meaningful. Your work can span UX design, transportation, health care, housewares, packaging, entrepreneurship and even space exploration — all while considering social and environmental challenges across industries. You’ll also have opportunities to collaborate with professionals, including CEOs, engineers, marketers and expert product users to bring ideas to life.

For aspiring entrepreneurs, this bachelor’s in industrial design provides the tools needed to jumpstart a path to success. You’ll gain experience brainstorming ideas, iterating and collaborating with others. Alternatively, you can apply your skills to positions such as an industrial or product designer, user experience designer, design strategist, illustrator, automotive designer, product manager, service designer and more.

This concentration provides you with a comprehensive understanding of the art form and business of filmmaking. Courses are designed as project-based learning experiences that train you in the use of innovative technology and equip you with the skills and knowledge base needed to pursue diverse career paths in the entertainment industry. You’ll graduate with a broad toolset in areas such as:

• Entertainment and media ethics.
• Feature, short and episodic screenwriting.
• Foundational production skills.
• History and practices of the film and media industry.
• Producing practices, including on-set production and production management.
• Production for feature films, television and internet content.
• Screenwriting for feature films, television and new media.

Who’s a good fit for this program?

This degree is a good fit for those seeking careers in the film, media and entertainment industries. As an ideal candidate, you’ll be a creative who’s interested in the interdisciplinary nature of filmmaking and the journey of a story from idea to intended audience. While there are film production courses that include hands-on learning with equipment, this is a generalist degree that will give you a broad understanding of the art form and industry.

Whether you have experience working in the entertainment industry or are making a career shift to pursue your passion, this program will provide you with the industry insight and educational credentials to build a lasting career.

What jobs can you get with a filmmaking practices degree?

With a filmmaking practices degree concentration, you’ll be prepared for a variety of careers in Hollywood and beyond, including media and entertainment production, producing, marketing, management and public relations.

This program will provide you with an understanding of what it takes to build a lasting career in the media industry, equipping you with knowledge of ethical practices and an appreciation for innovative storytelling on screens big and small.