Product & Merchandising Management

Guided by industry standards to prepare you for a career in buying, product development, visual merchandising, retail design, and more

Program Details

Location:

Corvallis

Program Type:

Major, Minor

Overview

Product & Merchandising Management

Can you see yourself working for a brand or retailer to develop, present, and manage the product assortments they offer to consumers? Merchandisers play an instrumental role in ensuring that brands and retailers offer consumers what they want, whether it is in fashion goods such as clothing and footwear or consumer products and packaged goods like food and beverage, cosmetics, and cleaning products.

We prepare you for careers related to the development and presentation of customer-right merchandise. You’ll develop skills in fashion forecasting, market analysis, design thinking, retail and merchandising analytics, and visual merchandising through coursework and hands-on projects.

You will also graduate with a solid business foundation through courses such as global sourcing, entrepreneurship, marketing, consumer behavior, and more.

A quality education guided by industry standards — our program is ranked as one of the top-five fashion merchandising programs on the west coast.

We offer product and merchandising management as a design major program and merchandising management as minor to supplement any major in Corvallis.

Options:

Once you enroll in the product & merchandising management program, you can select an area of focus from the following options:

The Dean’s Academy is an academic forum for high-achieving first-year students, transfer students, and current undergraduate students who wish to maximize the educational and experiential aspects of their college experience. Invitation to this option is restricted to those who meet eligibility requirements.

Learn more

The sports business option provides students with an understanding of the fundamentals of the business of sport, including sports finance, marketing, analytics and sponsorship. The program builds on core business knowledge acquired in business and design programs, and prepares students for careers in sports-related organizations.

Learn more

28+

degrees and areas of focus

85% Job placement rate

of classes have fewer than 50 students

450

companies recruit our students each year

Product & Merchandising Management Opportunities

Study Abroad

Study Abroad

Florence, Italy: Accademia Italiana

London, England: London College of Fashion

Seoul, South Korea: Hanyang University

Explore study abroad opportunities >

Student organizations and clubs

Associated Clubs

American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists

National Retail Federation

See all clubs >

Scholarship

Scholarships

Cecelia T. Shuttleworth

Merchandising Management Scholarship

N. Marie Ledbetter Memorial Scholarship

See all scholarship opportunities >

Careers

Possible Careers

Fashion Buyer

Digital Merchandiser

Product Line Manager

Category Planner

Merchandising Management and Business: Add an option or minor

The merchandising management minor pairs well with business specialty degrees, e.g., marketing, business analytics, entrepreneurship, supply chain and logistics management or accounting.

The minor provide specialization that positions business students for careers in the retail industry – the largest private-sector employer in Oregon and the U.S., according to the National Retail Federation.

Fashion forward: Student lands dream job at Macy's

Career success takes focus, talent, education, strategic decisions and hard work — but sometimes, bringing all of these assets to the right place at the right time leads to a perfect breakthrough.

Merchandising management major, Kristy Milien had such a breakthrough experience. Milien served as founding president of the National Retail Federation student club, and one of her signature accomplishments was organizing a student trip to the retail industry’s biggest event in New York City, The Big Show.

“The minute we landed in New York and drove to the city, I knew I had to live there,” Milien said.

Read More

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Excellent people and excellent resources available to students — that’s the best thing about the College of Business

Sarah Moore ‘09
Columbia Sportswear

Where our graduates work

Graduates from the college's product and merchandising management program have become apparel designers, brand managers, computer aided design specialists, fabric coordinators, product developers or theater costume designers.

  • Adidas
  • Amazon
  • Coastal Farm and Ranch
  • Columbia Sportwear
  • Crate and Barrel
  • Eddie Bauer
  • Gap, Inc.
  • Hanna Andersson
  • Kohl's
  • Kroger
  • Macy’s
  • Nike
  • Nordstrom
  • Oakley
  • Pendleton Woolen Mills
  • Target Corp.
  • Under Armour
  • UNIONBAY
  • Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
  • zulily

Here's why you should be a College of Business student

A success plan for life

Professional, personal and leadership skills form the backbone of successful careers. Blueprint, our award-winning series of classes, is focused on professional and leadership development and financial literacy. With Blueprint, you’re on track to graduate on time, with the skills and network to choose your career, and the savvy to make the big decisions at the right time.

We're not just business; we're family

Our first-year students live in one of our business-themed residence halls. This learning-focused, student-first, open-door culture makes the big Oregon State campus feel like the supportive place it is – and feel a lot smaller and easier to navigate than you might think.

We’re the only college at OSU that has a dedicated Career Success Center for our students. We help you find an internship, write a resume and find a job.

Ranked and accredited

Oregon State is ranked in the top five for online education with U.S. News & World Report. The College of Business overall, as well as our accounting program, is accredited by AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. AACSB International is the premier accrediting agency for degree programs in business and accounting.

Discover the OSU difference