Campus and Facilities

FIT’s nine-building campus is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, an area filled with galleries, shops, cafés, museums, restaurants, and theaters catering to New York’s eclectic cultural scene. The campus comprises numerous computer labs, design and production studios, athletic facilities, the Gladys Marcus Library, and The Museum at FIT, which houses one of the world’s most important collections of costumes and textiles. FIT has four residence halls—three on campus and one close by on West 31st Street—offering single-, double-, triple-, and quad-occupancy rooms and apartments.

GLADYS MARCUS LIBRARY

(212) 217-4340
fitnyc.edu/library

The Gladys Marcus Library creates a foundation for lifelong learning by teaching research and critical thinking skills that carry students beyond the classroom into careers. The library offers a comprehensive array of research support services both in person and online. The Research Services Desk offers in-person support for course-related and other research needs. One-on-one research appointments are available for tailored help in the format most suited to specific questions. Remote services include live chat, text, and email reference services. FIT librarians offer library instruction sessions that support research for assignments—in person for on-campus courses and remotely for online courses—and other content, such as customized research guides and video tutorials.

The library’s diverse collection is developed to support FIT’s programs. Print, nonprint, and digital resources are available to all members of the FIT community. The library offers a wealth of electronic resources hosted by FIT, the New York State Library, and SUNYConnect. All databases are available remotely, via FIT login, 24 hours a day. The specialized periodicals collection is home to international design and trade publications and includes more than 400 current subscriptions. The library makes available professional-level resources, such as fashion and trend forecasting services, FIT Archive on Demand, and sketch collections. The library hosts a Love Your Library series of events and other programming that are offered throughout the academic year.

Special Collections and College Archives (SPARC) houses rare books and periodicals vetted for their rarity or importance to research in the fields of fashion, textiles, interior design, and other creative endeavors; however, its main collecting strength is American women’s fashion design from the late 19th century through the 1980s. It also holds and cares for important records reflective of the history of New York City’s Garment District. SPARC’s primary source collections include more than 6,000 linear feet of books, periodicals, oral histories, designer/design firm archives, and the college’s historical records. Its unique 450-plus manuscript collections contain more than 500,000 works of art on paper, including many original designer sketches. Selected SPARC resources have been digitized and are available online. SPARC is accessible by appointment only.

Collection highlights include:

• A. Beller and Company fashion sketches, circa 1914–1929
• Bergdorf Goodman Custom Salon fashion sketches, circa 1930–1969
• Marc Bohan for Christian Dior fashion sketches, 1965–1967
• Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon manuscript collection, circa 1910–1930
• FIT Talks, an oral history program of the creative industries, 1977–present

The library investigates, assesses, and implements innovative services and programs that measurably facilitate and enrich the learning experience for our community and global researchers.

The Museum at FIT has a world-class permanent collection that encompasses more than 50,000 garments and accessories, dating from the 18th century to the present, including 4,000 pairs of shoes. Every year, the museum organizes four fashion exhibitions, two in the Special Exhibitions Gallery, which are accompanied by publications and symposia, and two in the Fashion History Gallery, which is the only venue in the United States to offer a permanent (rotating) display of 250 years of fashion, drawn solely from the museum’s collections. In addition, Gallery FIT is dedicated to student exhibitions.

The Museum at FIT is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, and its director and chief curator, Dr. Valerie Steele, is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors. In addition to its exhibitions, the museum organizes an extensive array of specialized classes, tours, and public programs.

All exhibitions and public programs are free to the public, and the museum attracts more than 100,000 visitors a year. Museum hours are Tuesdays through Fridays, noon to 8 pm, and Saturdays, 10 am to 5 pm.

DAVID DUBINSKY STUDENT CENTER

Throughout the eight-story David Dubinsky Student Center are lounges, a game room, the student radio station, the Style Shop (the student boutique on the first floor), student government and club offices, arts and crafts studios, a comprehensive health center, the Lari and Barbara Stanton Fitness Center, the counseling center, and an outdoor sitting area. Financial Aid Services, Educational Opportunity Programs, and Disability Support Services (FIT-ABLE) offices are also located here. In addition, the student center houses 50,000 square feet of laboratories and studios, including the Annette Green Fragrance Foundation Studio, a professionally equipped fragrance lab that is the only one of its kind on a U.S. college campus, and provides an environment for fragrance development. The street-level dining hall features a variety of food stations and a wide range of menu options, as well as a full-service Starbucks. The Barnes & Noble at FIT bookstore is located on the lower level. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the full range of services and activities offered by the Department of Student Life, located on the seventh floor.

FRED P. POMERANTZ ART AND DESIGN CENTER

The Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center houses photography studios and darkrooms, painting and printmaking rooms, a sculpture studio, a graphics laboratory, and a model-making workshop. Specially equipped studios provide creative work areas for students in the fine and applied arts. The graphics laboratory, Print/FX Graphics Lab, provides a controlled and calibrated computer environment in which students can prepare digital files for printed output. The laboratory includes high-resolution, large-format printers to accommodate photography, presentation graphics, overlays and specialty graphics, banners, posters, displays, fine art, textile proofs, and CAD prints. The laboratory is also equipped with slide duplication, scanning, wire-binding, and laminating capabilities. On the first floor is the Katie Murphy Amphitheatre, used for both student presentations and industry events.

MARVIN FELDMAN CENTER AND THE BUSINESS AND LIBERAL ARTS CENTER

These two buildings house academic and specialized classrooms, laboratories, design studios, and the Morris W. and Fannie B. Haft Theater.

These buildings also house the academic and administrative offices for the School of Art and Design, the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology. The Feldman Center is home to the Registration Center, the Registrar, Admissions, the Academic Advisement Center, the Writing and Speaking Studio, and the Office of International Student Services.

PETER G. SCOTESE COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN AND COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

The center enables Art and Design students to explore technology for use in advertising, animation, fashion, interiors, packaging, photography, textiles, and toys. Baker School of Business and Technology students use the labs for patternmaking, textile development, production management, and more. The center is also available to students in the schools of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Graduate Studies and the Center for Continuing and Professional Studies.

The center offers access to both Mac and Windows operating systems, and supports specialized coursework in various programs. Labs are available with peripherals and software applications from Adobe, Apple, AutoDesk, Corel, Dassault Systèmes, Gerber, IBM, JDA, Lectra, NedGraphics, Nemetschek, Pointcarré, Pulse, Stoll, and many others.

DESIGN/RESEARCH LIGHTING LABORATORY

This educational and professional development facility provides the opportunity to study lighting design through experimentation and firsthand observation using a computer-programmable light-control system. Students in the graduate school’s Exhibition and Experience Design program use this facility, along with several undergraduate majors.

FABRICS AND FINDINGS LABORATORY

A facility of the School of Art and Design, this laboratory replicates the resources and current methods used by professional fashion designers. It provides students with a hands-on experience of the same techniques used by working designers to create fashion collections. Lab materials are updated seasonally.

CONFERENCE CENTER AT FIT

The Conference Center at FIT features state-of-the-art conference and training rooms for industry seminars and workshops. The Conference Center also houses the John E. Reeves Great Hall, a nearly 6,400-square-foot venue for fashion shows, lectures, exhibitions, trade shows, and other events.

CLERY STATEMENT

The safety and well-being of FIT’s students, faculty, staff, and visitors is of paramount importance. Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, FIT publishes an annual report containing crime statistics and statements of security policy, accessible online at fitnyc.edu/safety/statistics. A paper copy of the report will be provided upon request by contacting Public Safety’s administrative office number at (212) 217-4999.