Bachelor's degree students spend their first year investigating a range of creative tools and methods, building a solid foundation for study and practice in all art and design fields. They also take liberal arts courses to develop the research, writing, and critical thinking skills needed to broaden their abilities as artists and designers.
Students and faculty in the BFA AMT program share a culture of making and thinking to create compelling, innovative services and goods. You practice interdisciplinary learning methods, integrating creative approaches from a range of disciplines while focusing on a field or creative practice. The city serves as a lab for discovery, so you learn directly from Paris' creative community.
Study Pathways
The curriculum helps you acquire key skills and familiarity with methods and disciplines, including
The following two interrelated pathways let you focus your creative practice or discover ways to bring together art and design:
A Broad, Deep Foundation
All first-year students at Parsons have the same curriculum, which provides a solid base in art and design. You can explore broadly or focus on an area of interest by selecting options within first-year studio courses. You can begin your studies in Paris and switch to the New York campus, continuing your studies there if you wish. During your sophomore and junior years, you master core design principles. In studio courses you define an area of focus and develop it in projects including a year-long capstone project. Internships familiarize you with creative work settings, preparing you for life after graduation.
Curriculum Chart
Innovation infuses all aspects of the BFA Fashion Design program at Parsons Paris, from the study of silhouette to the analysis of systems of production and distribution. Parsons' educational approach is combined with the design sensibility and resources of this European setting, inspiring you to envision fresh ways to make beautiful, sustainable, and socially responsible fashion in a major fashion capital and the birthplace of Haute Couture.
Creative and Critical Approaches
Your first year at Parsons Paris exposes you to the creative tools and methods essential to exploring art and design and developing reading, writing, and critical reasoning skills. In the following years, you master 2D and 3D processes and garment construction techniques, take courses in business and fashion history, and undertake projects to help refine your creative vision. In your senior year, you produce a thesis collection and graduate portfolio. Guest lecturers and fashion industry partners challenge you to enrich your practice, preparing you to enter the field in areas such as fashion, costume, and accessory design as well as marketing, merchandising, and curatorial work.
Globally Connected
The BFA Fashion Design program immerses you in the world of Paris fashion. Paris' culture, heritage, and traditions, along with contemporary forward-thinking artisans and designers, broaden your understanding of European craftsmanship and develop your practice within a new creative framework.
As a student at Parsons Paris, you also have access to our faculty, alumni networks, and internship opportunities at the New York campus and globally. Students in Paris and New York City share a curriculum, so you can begin study in either city and complete your degree in the other.
Curriculum Chart
The Bachelor of Business Administration in Strategic Design and Management program (BBA Strategic Design and Management) gives you a solid foundation in the entrepreneurial and strategic aspects of design and in design aspects of business. Project-based studio and seminar courses integrate business, design, and liberal arts education, promoting interdisciplinary learning through wide-ranging research and collaborative work at our Parsons Paris campus.
Exploring Business and Design
The four-year curriculum encompasses introductory and advanced courses in strategic thinking and management in design and business; innovation and sustainability research; quantitative thinking, data analysis, and financial management; critical reasoning through reading and writing, visual communication, and information design; scenario planning; and entrepreneurship and leadership. You can begin your studies in Paris and then switch to the New York campus, continuing your studies there if you wish.
Project-driven Learning
Course formats include lectures with discussion sections, seminars, and studios, offering you a range of learning experiences emphasizing individual and group work, project-driven learning and special workshops, as well as field-based research. In Senior Seminar and Thesis classes, you research and analyze both economic and cultural aspects of the marketing and management of designed objects, environments, and experiences, drawing on Parsons Paris' European setting.
Curriculum Chart
