The thread starts here.

Interested in color, pattern and texture? Want to make a positive sustainable impact in a creative role? Every textile you live with, from fashion to home to automotive interiors and so much more, is created by a textile designer. In the BS in Textile Design program, you will turn innovative ideas into inspired, curated collections. In our collaborative maker spaces, our students blend aesthetic and creative skills with the latest technologies, responding to contemporary global opportunities.

In our BS in Textile Design program, you will be immersed in studio and technical courses in textiles for fashion, interiors and performance —featuring woven design, knit design and print design, dyeing and finishing, and materials technology. You will be taught by active members of the textile design field, including artists, design directors, authors and researchers. Visiting artists and guest lecturers expand the educational experience, bringing real-world collaborations to campus.

Through partnerships with industry and national and international design competitions, our program will provide you with practical experience. You can also build on both your textile design skills and understanding of global cultures through an inspiring study abroad experience in locations such as Scotland, New Zealand, Italy, China and Japan. And, since our faculty remain active in the textile design field, our internship program is one of the strongest in the industry. You may intern with companies such as Urban Outfitters, Lilly Pulitzer, Free People, Anthropologie Home and Abercrombie & Fitch starting in your junior year.

Upon graduation, you’ll be prepared to enter the global textile marketplace with a commanding competitive edge and attain positions in all areas of the industry from national and international firms to boutique and specialty retailers.

Our graduates’ first jobs include: print designers for apparel and home furnishings, dobby and jacquard woven designers for contract and residential upholstery, knit designers and programmers for innovative fashion, and textile specialists for high performance sports apparel. Whether your dream is to design for an international brand or create couture pieces at a boutique firm, Textile Design at Jefferson is your starting point.  

Thomas Jefferson University has been a textile leader since 1884. As part of this program, you will join a class of students who are regularly featured at major exhibits, compete in premiere competitions and are sought after by industry leaders to collaborate on real-world design challenges. You will not only get an education – you’ll earn a reputation.

Video: Learn firsthand from our students and faculty about what it's like to be a Textile Design major