VCU Fashion Internships

The Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising strongly encourages all students to intern during the summer between their junior and senior year.  We feel that an internship provides practical experience as well as building the student’s resume.  Employers are impressed by the work experience and learning opportunities provided by internships.

An appropriate internship exposes the student to the fashion industry, and allows them to apply their academic knowledge to the “real world”. For this reason, we expect the student to gain knowledge on an executive or professional level that is generally found in the corporate office of a fashion organization.  Many students intern as assistants in the buying office of a retail organization or the design room of a major fashion manufacturer. Some interns work in forecasting organizations, magazines or in product development. These opportunities are spread all over the United States and occasionally internationally but primarily in New York City.

Students are required to attend at least two preparatory meetings prior to enrolling in the internship course. They will be required to complete a resume, cover letter, and to develop learning objectives with their internship coordinator and their internship supervisor. They will be given several assignments to complete while working and are expected to turn these materials into their internship coordinator in a professional and timely manner.

We have two internship coordinators for the Fashion Department:

Fashion Merchandising:           Assistant Professor Rose Regni              rjregni@vcu.edu
Fashion Design:                          Associate Professor Kristen Caskey       kacaskey@vcu.edu

Jessica Nelson at her desk takin' a snack break, CK Jeans, NYC .