Most of the fashion schools and training programs that are available to the residents of Maryland are online or distance learning courses, meaning that there isn't a physical school or classroom. Rather, students download the curriculum, upload their assignments and participate in online chats via the Internet. Some of these distance learning programs include Westwood College Online, Penn Foster Career School, Art Institute Online and Ashworth University.
A few nearby cities and states offer fashion school opportunities for Maryland residents. Washington, D.C., is home to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and Howard University, which offers a bachelor's degree program in fashion merchandising. The Fashion Center is in Arlington, Va., and the Soo Young Lim School of Fashion Designing is in Falls Church, Va. There is also the Fashion Design Training Studio in Newark, N.J.
Both local and remote fashion schools offer many of the same classes and curricula. They cover the fundamentals of design, merchandising, marketing, retail sales, showroom floors, how design and technology interact, how clothing is constructed and the major fashion houses.
Despite there being a lack of fashion schools within the state, there are fashion houses of all sizes located in Maryland, meaning that aspiring fashion students still have the opportunity to intern or work in a fashion, design or retail environment in their community. GA Designs, A/X Armani Exchange, Fila USA, Designline, IC Isaacs & Co., Grand York Interiors, Studio 2457, Alexander Blank Fabrics Inc. and Patrick Sutton all have locations within Maryland.
Maryland does not contain many fashion schools, it does have its share of design and arts schools. A few schools offer design and arts programs, including the Baltimore School for the Arts, Hagerstown Community College, Morgan State University in Baltimore and Salisbury State University and the School of Art + Design at Montgomery College in Silver Springs. Loyola College in Baltimore also offers a bachelor's degree in fine arts, and the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore offers a fiber and textile design program.