Points of Distinction

FIT has a best-in-class reputation for excellence. The “points of distinction” below draw from a wide range of data to help make the case when communicating with prospective and current students, industry professionals, and other audiences. This document is updated twice a year.

You can use the general list of “top points” or choose from the broader list that follows, mixing and matching to suit your needs. The “top points” cover a variety of areas and are the most important and useful for promoting FIT overall. Below these are additional data, statistics, and rankings that are divided into sections based on the college’s brand pillars and strategic goals, as follows:

Superior Faculty of Practitioners and Scholars includes information about the expertise and accolades of our world-class faculty.
Student Success highlights indicators of student satisfaction and achievement—accomplishments that take place while a student is matriculated or immediately upon graduation. Alumni achievements are listed immediately after.
Pioneering Curriculum features the ways in which the college has broken new ground throughout its history, with first-of-its-kind programs and industry-leading education.
Unique Environment focuses on The Museum at FIT, the Gladys Marcus Library, and state-of- the-art labs in diverse disciplines.
Reputation: Lists and Rankings collates the best of the numerous recent college rankings FIT has been included in. The list is divided by school; certain majors that have accrued a significant number of rankings are pulled out as well. Safety and value rankings appear at the end of the section.
The Museum at FIT is the only museum in New York City devoted solely to the art of fashion. It is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (an honor given to less than 5 percent of museums).
Global Reach emphasizes the wide variety of countries students come from and visit to study abroad.
Diversity describes the racial and ethnic makeup of the student body.
Sustainability shows that this is a core FIT value by detailing the many ways the curriculum and physical plant are infused with sustainable principles and practices.

Top Points

1. CEOWORLD magazine ranks FIT as the number one fashion school in the U.S. and second in the world.

2. A 2022 study by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University placed FIT first among public colleges that predominantly award associate’s degrees for its “net present value” 10 years post-graduation, a measure of return on investment. FIT also placed second among all public four-year colleges.

3. FIT graduates rank 13th nationwide for mid-career salaries among community college alumni.

4. One year after graduation, 86 percent of the class of 2018 were working full-time, and 70 percent in the creative field they studied.

5. As part of its commitment to sustainability, FIT has reduced its carbon footprint by 55 percent since 2007, more than any other school in New York.

6. The Museum at FIT is the only museum in New York City devoted solely to the art of fashion. It is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, an honor given to less than 5 percent of museums.

7. FIT’s Special Collections, some 500,000 works on paper, compete in importance with comparable archives at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

8. FIT gets an A+ for diversity from Niche.com—it is among the top 2.5 percent most diverse colleges in the country.

9. 82 percent of associate’s degree students graduate within three years, more than double the national average.

10. Niche.com ranks FIT the tenth best public college in New York State, based on a comprehensive assessment of U.S. colleges based on millions of statistics and student reviews.