North Carolina State, in Raleigh, is a major research institution. Seventy percent of faculty members are researchers, and 2,500 graduate students have received research grants since its inception. North Carolina State University College of Textiles is ranked the 13th best by "The Princeton Review." The College of Textiles (COT) sits on 1,000 acres and has a 300,000-square foot, $45 million research and teaching center. The COT houses a Model Manufacturing Facility (MMF) that features real-world operations capable of end-to-end production suited for its world-class Applied Research Program.
Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, now Philadelphia University School of Design and Engineering, is one of the oldest textile schools in the U.S., founded in 1884 by Theodore Search and other textile manufacturers. Philadelphia University offers an M.S. in Textile Engineering and a PhD in Textile Engineering and Science. The university prepares students for careers in textile engineering, with courses in textile manufacturing, textile chemistry and technical textile development. Other disciplines in the curriculum include courses in chemistry and manufacturing processes.
Georgia Tech is located in a 400-acre park in Atlanta and, according to "The Princeton Review," is one of the top 10 public universities in America. Georgia Tech's School of Polymer,Textile & Fiber Engineering (PTFE) merged with the School of Materials Science and Engineering in July 2010. PTFE specializes in polymer and fiber engineering and offers a Bachelor's degree in Materials Science and Engineering and both a Master's degree and a Doctorate in Polymers, Textile and Fiber Engineering.
Auburn University's Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, in Alabama, offers a Materials and Engineering program. Undergraduates can earn a degree in Polymer, with a concentration in chemicals and polymer characterization, or a degree in Fiber, which focuses on courses in fibrous structures, mechanics and materials. Graduate degrees in these curriculum paths include an M.S. in Polymer and Fiber Engineering and a PhD in Integrated Textile and Apparel Science.