Product & Merchandising Management
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.
Curriculum & learning outcomes
All students earning their OSU undergraduate degree (180 credits) in a design discipline from the OSU College of Business complete a common design core. This core, consisting of about 86 credits across all four years, provides students with a strong design foundation. Additionally, product and merchandising management coursework for the major and minor and a sample four-year academic plan are listed below.
Major required courses
Minor required courses
Four-year plan
View the Four-year plan on the OSU catalog website.
Curriculum & learning outcomes
The following learning goals and objectives are in addition to those in the design core learning goals and objectives.
Product and merchandising management graduates will be competent to:
- Explain how social, environmental, political, cultural and economic systems, and geography relate to the planning, creation, production, merchandising, distribution and consumption of textile, apparel and footwear products and resulting company performance.
- Apply market research skills throughout the line planning and development process to establish line direction in terms of color, style, materials, separates/coordinates balance and pricing.
- Development assortment plans that are in line with specific target markets, company location and/or selling format, marketplace trends and performance goals.
- Develop merchandise budgets and analyze and update budgets to meet company performance goals.
- Use industry-relevant technology to formulate and communicate merchandising decisions.
- Apply visual and promotional strategies across different selling formats that would potentially enhance company performance.