The Department of Interior Design and Fashion Studies offers a Master of Science degree in fashion studies with two areas of emphasis: merchandising and sustainable fashion business. The merchandising emphasis is part of the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (GPIDEA), an online multi-institutional program allowing students to do course work at times convenient to their lives. Students choosing the merchandising emphasis complete 36 credit hours of coursework including a culminating experience. The sustainable fashion business emphasis is predominantly an on-campus program with opportunity for some online courses. Students are required to complete 24 credit hours of coursework and 6 credit hours of thesis research (30 credit hours total). The sustainable fashion business emphasis is an individualized program of study, capitalizing on the interests and disciplinary background of students and faculty to build the theoretical and methodological skills necessary to solve human ecological problems involving fashion systems.

Graduates with a merchandising emphasis are prepared to work in product development, promotions and retail management. For professionals in the industry who lack the theoretical background of merchandising, the expertise offered through this emphasis may provide for diversification or career advancements. Graduates with a sustainable fashion business emphasis are prepared for professional careers within industry, for college instructor positions, and for pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy degree.