The Top 10 Costume Design Schools in the U.S.

UMKC’s Gillian Herold designs an 1840s dress for a production of Jane Eyre. — UMKC’s Gillian Herold designs an 1840s dress for a production of 'Jane Eyre.' Courtesy of School

For the budding costume designer, choosing the right school can be as daunting as constructing a period garment from scratch.

Besides focusing on a specialty — such as film, television, theater or themed entertainment — class size, tuition and other considerations come into play. If it’s on-the-job training that’s of utmost importance, select a school with an active campus theater program such as Carnegie Mellon, Yale or UNCSA. Networkers can meet with industry professionals through extracurricular programs at SCAD, FIDM or UCLA. For a well-rounded résumé, classes in costume animation (CalArts), millinery (UMKC) and corsetry (USC) are available. And if location, location, location is at the top of the list, aspiring designers can’t beat Tisch in the Big Apple or one of the L.A. area’s four schools that benefit from Hollywood right in their backyard.

THR consulted with educators and industry pros for its annual list of the top 10 costume design schools, uncovering that elusive “it” factor marketers call USP (unique selling point). However, one common thread (no pun intended) remains constant: These ten schools in the United States — plus a bonus international school, Wimbledon — continue the race to adapt to shifting industry trends and technological advancements.

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)

Image Credit: Courtesy of Alejandro Caminos/CalArts 2021

VALENCIA, CALIFORNIA

Co-founded by Walt Disney — who conceived of a school that “nurtured future generations of creative talent and a multi-disciplinary community of the arts” — CalArts is the product of the 1961 merger of the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and Chouinard Art Institute, where the legendary Bob Mackie and Edith Head began their illustrious careers.

Animation and digital have opened a new field for costume designers, resulting in the costume in animation course. Says Ellen McCartney, director of experience design and production, “We treat the school as a big studio where students come to find their voice as a designer. They are challenged by projects, productions, and new ways of thinking that have no known solutions and must work their way through a problem, whether it is theoretical or practical. It is one of the very few art Institutes that includes the performing arts of theater, music, and dance under one roof.”

TUITION BFA and MFA, $54,436

ALUMS Ariel Boroff (Station 19), Sandra Burns (Last Man on Earth), Marco Morane (Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, and Shakira)
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama

Image Credit: Courtesy of Louis Stein/Courtesy of School

PITTSBURGH

Professor of design Susan Tsu touts the “serious, hands-on mentorship by faculty” in the relatively small, highly individualized classes. Students have the opportunity to assist and design for up to 25 productions, including at local theaters, and a chance to land one of four spots in the Television Academy Foundation Internship program. Classes include costume concept illustration, taught by a Hollywood concept illustrator, and captured storytelling, where students learn how to design for the camera.

TUITION BFA $67,822-$80,540; MFA, $36,300

ALUMS Ann Roth (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Terry Gordon (The Queen’s Gambit); Eduardo Castro (Once Upon a Time), Daniel Orlandi (Ford v. Ferrari)
David Geffen School of Drama at Yale

Image Credit: Will Heath / NBC/Courtesy of Subject

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

Perhaps the most significant change is the name. Thanks to a generous 2021 donation by David Geffen, his namesake School of Drama now allows graduate students to study tuition-free upon acceptance.

Industry trends also signal change; as Ilona Somogyi, assistant professor adjunct of design explains, “Due to COVID and the state of live theater, most of our graduates are working in the booming field of television and films made by streaming companies. There seems to be a real shift in the business of costuming and a sense of unease about stage costuming returning to pre-pandemic levels.”

The curriculum includes an emphasis on costume illustration and is bringing into the program SyncOnSet, an increasingly industry standard digital tool for tracking costumes and props. Students work alongside colleagues in everything from acting, playwriting and stage management to sets and lighting. There is a professional costume shop. And the program boasts three full-time costume design professors for every four students in the class.

“The program at Yale is great because it teaches you to think like a director,” says alum and Saturday Night Live costume designer Tom Broecker. “It makes you think about storytelling from all the different elements. Understanding the totality is key in being a good designer.”

TUITION MFA tuition-free upon acceptance.

ALUMS Donna Zakowska (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Jenn Rogien (Orange Is the New Black)
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM)

Image Credit: Courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages/Courtesy of School

LOS ANGELES

Helmed by film and TV costume design department creative director Jacqueline Saint Anne (former president of the Costume Designers Guild) and co-chairs Nick Verreos and David Paul, FIDM is a new addition to the top 10 list. Students focus exclusively on costume design for film and television with classes taught by working costume designers. They also are required to work on two films, one as a costume designer and another gaining hands-on experience as a supervisor.

With its proximity to Hollywood, the school benefits by guest-speaker visits from such names as Ellen Mirojnick (Bridgerton), Mark Bridges (News of the World), and FIDM grad Trish Summerville (Mank). Students are also exposed to the best in design through the school’s annual Art of Costume Design in Film and The Art of Television Costume Design exhibitions.

TUITION B.A. in design $30,000; advanced Associate in Arts in film and TV costume design, $33,750

ALUMS Alix Friedberg (Big Little Lies), Salvador Perez (The Mindy Project), Mandi Line (Pretty Little Liars), Agata Maszkiewicz (Lucifer)
NYU Tisch School of the Arts

Costume sketch of Maria (played by Rachel Zegler) for 20th Century Studios’ West Side Story. Costume designed by Paul Tazewell, a graduate alumnus of NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Sketch by Shane Ballard. Shane Ballard/20th Century Studios

NEW YORK CITY

At Tisch — where Tony Award-winning designer Justin Townsend is the incoming chair of the Department of Design for Stage and Film — storytelling and collaboration remain the cornerstones of the MFA-only program as students design productions with the graduate acting, film and dance departments during their three-year studies.

Tisch administrative director Barbara Cokorinos notes that faculty, location and active alums (who participate in portfolio reviews) are important distinctions. “Our faculty continues to be a selling point as costume designers study closely with Susan Hilferty [currently designing Broadway’s Funny Girl] and Constance Hoffman [Julie Taymor’s The Green Bird].”

The school utilizes all that Manhattan offers with visits to film studios and locations, costume shops, the fabric district, and museums.

TUITION MFA, $65,000

ALUMS Paul Tazewell (West Side Story), Mark Bridges (Joker); Clint Ramos (Respect)
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Image Credit: Courtesy of Savannah College of Art and Design

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

If learning from top costume designers is top of the list, SCAD has featured guests and mentors ranging from Lou Eyrich (American Horror Story) and Mitchell Travers (In the Heights) to Ane Crabtree (Invasion) and Jenn Rogien (Orange is the New Black). Students also can hobnob at such industry events as SCAD Savannah Film Festival, SCAD TVFEST and exhibition openings at the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film.

The school boasts a film backlot and a new state-of-the-art mixed-reality XR Stage. Built on an 11-acre site, the SCAD film studios complex is the largest of its kind in higher education. The backlot includes a town square, city hospital, charming Savannah-style treescapes, and fabrication space for props, costumes, and sets.

Classes on laser cutting techniques, fiber and character design for gaming are a few of the special interest electives available while also collaborating with lighting, set, and themed entertainment design departments.

TUITION BFA, $39,105; graduate level, $40,050

ALUMS Layne Brightwell (Ozark), Jo Hepburn (Respect), Anna Tringali (City on a Hill)
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

LOS ANGELES

A robust track record for job placement, renowned faculty (Deborah Nadoolman Landis, PhD, director of UCLA’s David C. Copley Center for Costume Design and head of costume design Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko) and its L.A. location are just a few of the reasons UCLA is a perennial favorite.

The school heeds the call of a changing industry with classes in 3D costume design rendering (geared towards action heroes). Added last fall, the annual colloquium Debating the Black Body in Fashion and Popular Culture showcases the work of Black costume designers Sharen Davis (King Richard) and Danielle Hollowell (Girls Trip), while the new course Fashion, Costume & Culture tackles sustainability and the ecosystem of fashion.

Its monthlong Costume Designers in Residence program has drawn Sandy Powell (The Irishman), Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther) and Arianne Phillips (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood). The program’s History of Costume Design in Movies class is a natural for Landis who wrote a book on the subject (Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design).

TUITION BFA, $17,256 (in-state), $43,000 (out-of-state); MFA, $14,085

ALUMS Rebecca Guzzi (Ratched), Jackie Martinez (WandaVision); Alexa Newman (Glow) Alice Garland (Jungle Cruise)

A sketch for 2019’s Harriet by UCLA MFA student David Mendez Mateau. Courtesy of David Mendez Mateau
University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC)

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

Talk about well-rounded résumés. Students at UMKC are assured of graduating with a working knowledge of costume design’s major construction areas (millinery, tailoring, wig ventilation, mold making and casting). A new $32 million Innovation Studio includes virtual reality technology and a 3D printing lab.

Third-year costume designers also benefit from an “assist in New York” program creating costumes for the Kansas City Repertory Theatre while working in New York (or Chicago or L.A.). Students spend up to five weeks gaining valuable hands-on experience, “swatching,” shopping, and organizing for the show.

TUITION Undergrad, around $10,796 (in-state, depending on number of courses) and $26,744 (out-of-state)

ALUMS Tom Houchins (Station 19), Jonathan Knipscher (Pretty Little Liars); Caroline Allander (Swimming with Sharks)
University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA)

WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA

UNCSA is a stand-alone arts conservatory known for its well-rounded emphasis on theater. As co-director Bill Brewer says, “Our curriculum trains designers through structured theoretical coursework in a broad range of genres, including contemporary theater, Shakespeare, opera and musical, circus and dance, and film and television.”

Diverse classes include digital costume rendering, portraiture, textiles, millinery and 3-D printing, essential skills vital in keeping up with an ever-changing film environment. The school also has an active alum group that includes costume designer and board member Paul Tazewell, a 2022 Oscar nominee for his work on Spielberg’s West Side Story.

TUITION Undergrad, $6,487 (in-state residents), $23,732 (out-of-state); MFA, $9,196 (in-state), $23,899 (out-of-state)

ALUM Michelle Pflug (Gilded Age)

UNCSA grad Clare Parker’s design for the opera The Italian Straw Hat presented by Fletcher Opera Institute. Courtesy of Peter Mueller/Courtesy of School
University of Southern California (USC)

LOS ANGELES

A low ratio of students to teachers coupled with a costume-specific faculty that includes prominent designers from TV and film (including Terry Gordon and Ann Closs-Farley) is a major draw for those seeking one-on-one guidance.

Thanks to its conservatory approach, USC students participate in productions of the School of Dramatic Arts in not only costume design but also scenic, lighting and projection design. For students interested in period work, these courses — historical costumes for the theater and corset construction — are a must.

TUITION BFA, $60,446

ALUM Sara Fox (The Mandalorian)
Wimbledon College of Arts, University of the Arts London (UAL)

Dance production Rebel Tartan at Wimbledon College of Arts. Courtesy of Ali Wright

INTERNATIONAL

The years of 2021-22 marked a few changes at UAL, both on a physical and curriculum level. In response to the needs of the industry for those with good tailoring skills, the school recruited a new tailoring/menswear lecturer. There is also a growing interest in digitally based costuming, resulting in the second year of their popular Projection Mapping and Creative Cut classes. The campus is undergoing renovation with the investment in new state-of-the-art digital technology, motion capture and interactive performance spaces.

UAL offers two specialist disciplines — costume design and costume interpretation — that encourage innovative design through new and emerging media. The school collaborates with the National Gallery in a costume installation that offers valuable exposure for students. Last year the showcase previewed 165 costumes by graduating students across central London venues, from the Strand to Victoria.

TUITION B.A. (Hons), £9,250 (U.K. students), £23,610 (international students)

HOLLYWOOD ALUMS Jane Petrie (Apple TV’s The Essex Serpent), Trisha Biggar (Outlander), Caroline McCall (HBO’s Bad Wolf), Sammy Sheldon Differ (Marvel’s Eternals), Charlotte Sewell (Infinite)

A version of this story first appeared in the March 9 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.