Whether it’s fashion marketing or developing cutting-edge video games, Woodbury University offers both academic excellence and real-world experience — students are taught by industry experts and intern with the best companies in the business.
Woodbury University had 1,216 total students in the Fall 2024 semester, with 821 undergraduates and 395 graduate students. Faculty are mostly industry experts – for instance Cory Sayles, Adjunct Faculty, Game Art & Design is Lead Environment Artist and Lead World Builder for Infinite Reality, a metaverse company, and is an XR Technician for Infinite Reality Studios; Wayne Kastning, Assistant Professor in Fashion Design, has 35 years experience in the fashion industry, including designing for Carolina Herrera and his own label, WK Studio.
The student-faculty ratio at Woodbury University is 9:1; students don’t just learn about the creative industries—they actively engage with them. With a curriculum that combines academic excellence and hands-on experience, graduate students step directly into the fast-paced industries of fashion, gaming, filmmaking, and digital arts. The mandatory internship ensures that students gain real-world experience at the best companies. It is an introduction to careers that match their academics and interests and provide practice-based work experience.
Internships develop skills that will make students valuable employees, build their resumes and expand their professional networks. Whether it’s working with fashion brands like Max Mara; entertainment giants like Disney, Warner Brothers and Netflix; or gaming internships at Insomniac Games and Activision Blizzard, these opportunities are stepping stones for launching successful careers. “My internship at Warner Bros. was as great as it sounds,” says student Erick Rodriguez. “I was given the space to share my ideas and even had them embraced by the team.”
This combination of rigorous academic training and industry experience ensures that Woodbury graduates are equipped with the knowledge and the professional connections and skills needed to excel in their chosen careers. Let’s take a closer look!
Fashion Design BFA
Woodbury Fashion Design program is tailored to meet the needs of students wishing to enter the exciting world of fashion and costume. The professional faculty and industry experts teach all aspects of fashion design and the innovative developments in the fashion industry. Students develop womenswear, menswear, swimwear, knitwear, and activewear collections and can explore additional design categories such as shoes, lingerie, fashion sustainability, millinery and denim. Fundamental skills include new approaches to the study of textiles, including treatments, embellishments, laser cutting, silk-screen printing, knitting, dying, fabric printing and embroidery.
Internships are a required component of the BFA Fashion Design degree and students may get opportunities at fashion brands Max Mara, Etro, Parker Smith Jeans, Denimography, BCBG, Manhattan Swimwear and Kenneth Cole Swimwear. Students have access to the Fashion Study Collection where they can choose to study by construction techniques, designer attribution or chronology. Examples include eighteenth century textiles, footwear, couture beading samples and knitwear. The collection boasts film costumes from such luminaries as Edith Head and Adrian.
Senior students create their own collections for Woodbury’s annual fashion runway event. A formal senior review process provides an opportunity for students to talk about their vision and design work, and display their collections to a jury of fashion professionals. The culmination of their fashion education is the creation of an industry-level portfolio that will open doors to their dream jobs!
Hollywood designers have been associated with Woodbury: Howard Greer was instrumental in creating the first professional costume design training program offered by Woodbury in 1931, and William Travilla, famous for his Marilyn Monroe designs, is a Woodbury graduate. Woodbury alumna Brittany Diego was named to Forbes Next 1000 list, Araksi Balyan showcased her collection at LA Fashion Week, Natalie Yaru is CEO of Manam, a fashion brand specializing in luxury leather apparel and accessories, and Alexis Marcy didn’t let her small town roots prevent her from pursuing a career developing red carpet dresses, bridal looks and couture samples for a London-based fashion designer.
Game Art and Design, BFA
The Game Art and Design program brings together art, animation, computer technology, sound design, storytelling and game design. It aligns with both the Applied Computer Science and the Animation programs, sharing courses in their major sequence. Students work together in a cross-disciplinary team environment of artists and designers that mirrors the professional world. They learn to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing technology, both in the production and distribution of video games. And focus their professional skill set, as they discover and develop their own creative voice. PS Woodbury University is surrounded by many commercial game development studios, both large and small.
Game Art and Design studio courses are held in computer labs and dedicated studios. Lab Macs and PCs are loaded with industry-standard video game development software, plug-ins, apps, utilities and digital audio synthesisers. The curriculum examines all aspects of video game design and the creation of art and animation for games. Students may choose from two concentrations: Game Art, focusing on character and environmental design and animation; and Game Design, focusing on elements of design such as game conceptualisation, play mechanic creation and prototyping.
Internships are required when pursuing BFA in Game Art and Design and there are invaluable opportunities at Nickelodeon, Insomniac Games, Activision Blizzard, Disney, Code Headquarters, AVR Studios, Lionsgate Entertainment, Clockwork Creations, and Killer Sunshine Studios.
Fashion Marketing, BFA
The Fashion Marketing major prepares the next generation of fashion professionals with the core essentials of business while simultaneously embracing the creative aspect of fashion. The university provides a list of electives that introduce core fashion careers in buying, luxury brand marketing, management for e-commerce entrepreneurs, and trend science to enable students to forecast fashion trends.
Fashion Marketing aligns with students who are drawn to creative industries but also have an equally strong mind for business. Fashion marketers are entrepreneurs, digital marketers, merchandisers, buyers, a creative director, or a trend forecaster of tomorrow. The program helps to drive curiosity, encourage collaboration, and empower students to create their career paths with the tools and skillsets to achieve.
Fashion Marketing majors explore theories of marketing, consumer behavior, brand marketing, digital strategy and International business. Drawing upon case study analysis and industry collaborative research, students learn to apply fashion marketing principles to solve problems and develop plans of action. Through partnerships with fashion industry leaders, the university leads with mentorship to build its curriculum to prepare students for their careers. Mentoring guidance over the years has come from companies such as IWC, Gucci, DKNY, Nike, Burberry, Christopher Baily, BCBG, Aldo, and more.
“I always say that a fashion marketing student has a good head for business and, at the same time, enjoys the design process of creative industries. We encourage this way of thinking and, throughout our program, apply both convergent and divergent ways of thinking when working through innovations and business strategies. Our students become industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and creators of new business opportunities. So is the business of fashion a promising career? While changes are ahead, it is safe to say that this $1.2 trillion global industry is here to stay,” explains Wendy Bendoni, Assistant Professor of Marketing and Fashion Marketing.
Filmmaking, BFA
BFA in Filmmaking is a professional degree that prepares graduates for production careers in film, television, and media. Students learn narrative filmmaking through a comprehensive curriculum including film production, screenwriting, cinematography, directing, producing, and film marketing and distribution. The program empowers students to hone their critical, creative, and professional talents by advancing knowledge in the history, industry, and practice of film production. Students work with filmmaking equipment and learn as active filmmakers. Throughout the program, students study films in screening room, shoot on soundstage and campus, and edit productions in film labs. The university exposes students to Hollywood through coursework and a required internship in the media industry — every student is given the opportunity to write, produce, direct, and edit their own thesis film.
The program emphasis on film as both an art-form and an industry is well-aligned with its advantageous location in Burbank, a few miles from major studios. This means that students learn from faculty who are both scholars and industry practitioners, develop industry connections, and find nearby employment when they graduate. Internships are a required component of the BFA degree in Filmmaking and students get opportunities at Di Bonaventura Pictures, Hulu, The Jim Henson Company, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Pricetone Recording Studios, Roddenberry Entertainment, Sony Pictures, United Talent Agency and Warner Bros.
PS Woodbury University has a professional partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, the powerhouse studio behind a stunning portfolio of content and brands that span television, film, and streaming platforms. This partnership has provided strong connections for student internships and career opportunities and the entertainment company has also made contributions to the filmmaking program that allow the university to acquire equipment that it otherwise wouldn’t have.
Applied CS – Media Arts, BSc.
The Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Science – Media Arts is an art and technology hybrid degree focusing on emerging digital practices as a tool to innovate within the fields of digital design, entertainment, and media arts. This STEM degree transitions students into technological innovators and professionals who possess the ability to generate innovative design solutions using cutting-edge technologies.
The Applied CS – Media Arts curriculum is structured around three main categories of classes: Design and Media, Programming, and Hybrid Studios. Each one has been designed to work with a specific technology and high-demand programming skills applied to a creative environment. In Design and Media, students will explore visual arts in different contexts: two- and three-dimensional modeling, animation, digital fabrication, digital media, interactive prototyping, and experiential design. The Media Arts program has a rigorous programming sequence. During the degree, students become proficient in several programming languages and their applications. By paying special attention to the development of a broad set of technical skills, this program opens a full new world of experimentation for students. The hybrid courses are carefully designed to work with a specific, cutting-edge technology and high-demand programming skills applied to a particular creative environment.
The Applied CS – Media Arts department has extensive technical facilities at its disposal, centered around dual-platform teaching and production labs with state-of-the-art Mac/Windows workstations as well as VR/AR Labs. In addition, students have access to a 4,000-sq. ft. sound stage and Woodbury Making Complex which includes a wood/metal shop, a digital fabrication lab, and a KUKA robotic arm.
Internships are a required component of the B.S. in Applied CS – Media Arts and there are opportunities at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories, Microsoft, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Oblong Industries, Two Bit Circus ,Code Headquarters, Fancy VR, IMAX Corporation, and Architectural Technology Laboratory Venture. The program has nurtured several successful professionals — Matthew Gonzalez is a creative developer, designer, and programmer working at the intersection of art and technology while Seba Alabdullatif is pursuing Master’s degree at New York University in the Integrated Design and Media program.
Masters in Interdisciplinary Design
This interdisciplinary design degree foregrounds cross-disciplinary innovation in experience design, media, technology, and spatial systems. Students engage in collaborative design studio focused on speculative futures, experiential design, and system-wide thinking. The curriculum features cutting-edge design studios that explore current practices and future innovations. Through immersive experiences, students focus on research, critical thinking, design strategy, and entrepreneurship, while refining their creative voice.
Studios are fast-paced and dynamic, led by resident and visiting faculty. During this program students will get the opportunity to engage in innovative courses including a foundational studio course focusing on strategies to utilize design as a means of defining culture and lifestyle; a course that explores the tools, skills, and production methods of current and emerging technologies — primarily analog — in design media, with an emphasis on effective and appropriate creative visualisation, analysis and utilization; and a course addressing the fundamental principles, practical applications, core concepts and theories underlying design systems. And upper term Seminar and Thesis courses.
All MDes applicants are eligible for merit-based scholarships, with awards ranging from $8,000 to $20,000 annually. Graduate students are eligible to receive teaching or research assistantships, based on their GPA at the time of application, with stipends ranging from $3,000 to $6,000. Students enrolled in the MDes course will have access to the Making Complex, The Design Center, top of the line computer labs, and all of the additional making and creating facilities at Woodbury University’s campus.
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
