The Texas A&M Board of Regents on September 1^st approved of Tarleton’s proposal to offer a Bachelor of Science to walk the runway in the catalog for the 2017 year.

Fashion Studies, will start being offered as a Major at the school instead of Family & Consumer Sciences in Fall 2017 by the approval of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

“The new degree is different. It offers some fashion design…it’s a multi-dimensional degree, and give students more than one path to follow,” says Associate Professor, Doctor Karol Blaylock.

“Students coming to us now are from the Metroplex, Austin, and [other major cities] we still have the rural area students coming in but a lot of people who are interested in fashion are coming in from the big cities,“ Blaylock says.

“They’re looking for a smaller school, they’re looking for a school, a program that is multi-faceted, so that they more options when they leave,” Blaylock continued.

“One of the things about our fashion merchandising program… every fashion option student has walked across the graduation stage already employed. Because they were required to do an internship. The majority of them were hired by the internship company…” Blaylock said.

“To me, that’s my favorite part of the job, knowing that when they walk across there {stage} they have jobs…but those kids 100%.”

In a related class, a new class takes place in the Engineering Technology building.  A class on Basic Apparel Construction taught by Lynne Lovett, Adjunct Professor at Tarleton.

“We’re comparing commercial garment’s and that’s what they’re emulating as they build their garment’s throughout the semester… they do three projects during the semester. We start with something really simple, like a book bag. Its all straight seams so its very simple for them to construct.”

Lexi Hughes, a senior Majoring in Family & Consumer Sciences says as she designed her newest design with Blaylock, “Ever since I was little, I always wanted to be a market vendor. My best friend’s mom was a buyer for Dillard’s for the longest time and ever since I was like five I think, I always wanted to be her.  I went into the Family and Consumer Science program and I absolutely fell in love with the teachers and the program, and everything felt perfect and I knew this is where I was supposed to be and everything’s so much fun.” Hughes said.

In addition, a five day New York Fashion Study tour is also being planned to take place in May 2017. Anyone who is interested can sign up to go, but it is mostly fashion student geared.

For more information on the degree plan, call Dr. Karol Blaylock at 254-968-9194.