Campus and Facilities

FIT’s campus occupies an entire block in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, an area filled with galleries, shops, cafés, restaurants, and theaters. The campus provides a vibrant, supportive environment for our uncommonly creative community. Campus highlights include the Gladys Marcus Library and the renowned Museum at FIT, which houses one of the world’s most important collections of fashion and textiles. In addition to a range of specialized labs, studios, and technologies geared to FIT’s academic programs, the college offers a full-service dining hall, athletic facilities, and a Barnes & Noble bookstore. Three residence halls are located on West 27th Street, and a fourth is on nearby West 31st Street.

FRED P. POMERANTZ ART AND DESIGN CENTER

Along with the academic and administrative offices of the School of Art and Design, the Pomerantz Center houses display and exhibit design rooms; drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture studios; a graphics laboratory; a model-making workshop; and the Katie Murphy Amphitheatre. An innovative new gallery located in the lobby provides exhibition space for the school’s students, faculty, and alumni, as well as outside artists. 

PRINTFX AND FABLAB

Room D529, (212) 217-5470
fitnyc.edu/printfx

A professionally staffed digital facility, PrintFX has high-resolution, large-format printers to accommodate poster printing using various papers including fabric, as well as Riso printing and book binding. FabLab services include 3D printing, 3D scanning, laser cutting, vinyl cutting, vacuum forming, and button pin making. The self-service area offers scanning, trimming, and soft proofing.

MARVIN FELDMAN CENTER AND THE BUSINESS AND LIBERAL ARTS CENTER

The Marvin Feldman and Business and Liberal Arts Centers house academic and specialized classrooms, cutting and sewing labs, design studios, a multimedia foreign languages lab, knitting labs, and the Morris W. and Fannie B. Haft Theater. Specialized facilities include the fabrics and findings lab, which replicates the resources and techniques used by working fashion designers. Also located in these buildings are the academic and administrative offices for the Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology and the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

PETER G. SCOTESE COMPUTER-AIDED DESIGN AND COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Room C220, (212) 217-3520

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.

DAVID DUBINSKY STUDENT CENTER

This eight-story building offers facilities for both academic and extracurricular activities. These include arts and crafts studios, lounges, the student-run Style Shop boutique, student government and club offices, a radio station, gyms and dance studios, and a state-of-the-art fitness center. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the full range of services and activities offered by Student Life, located on the seventh floor. Also in the center are Health Services, the Counseling Center, Disability Support Services (FIT-ABLE), Educational Opportunity Programs, and Financial Aid Services. The dining hall and Barnes & Noble bookstore are here as well.

Academic facilities in Dubinsky include the Toy Design lab, Jewelry Design studios, the Annette Green Fragrance Foundation Studio, the design/research lighting lab, and a television studio.

SHIRLEY GOODMAN RESOURCE CENTER

The center, on Seventh Avenue, houses the Gladys Marcus Library, The Museum at FIT, and the School of Graduate Studies.

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.

The library is located on the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of the Goodman Resource Center, with the entrance on the fifth. The Research Services Desk, which provides support to students, faculty, and staff, is near the entrance, as is Access Services. The main book collection, study carrels, small group work area, and a quiet study space are also on the fifth floor. The Periodicals Desk, with an extensive print collection of magazines, newspapers, and trend forecasting services, is on the fourth floor. The Library’s Special Collections and College Archives unit (accessible by appointment only) acquires, preserves, and provides universal access to primary research materials. 

The central stairway serves as an FIT art gallery. Open lab areas, a maker space, an art resource lab/photography space, and VR stations are on the sixth floor. The library houses multiple instruction classrooms, Mac and PC workstations, printers, scanners, and self-service copiers, and other technology peripherals are all available across the library space.

THE MUSEUM AT FIT

(212) 217-4530
fitnyc.edu/museum

The Museum at FIT is New York City’s only museum dedicated to the art of fashion. Designer Michael Kors calls it “the fashion insider’s fashion museum.” Founded in 1969 by the Fashion Institute of Technology, the museum’s mission is to educate and inspire diverse audiences through innovative exhibitions and public programs that advance knowledge of fashion.

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.

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

(212) 217-4300
fitnyc.edu/gradstudies

FIT offers seven graduate programs. The Master of Arts programs are Art Market Studies; Exhibition and Experience Design; and Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice. The Master of Fine Arts programs are Fashion Design and Illustration. The Master of Professional Studies programs are Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management and Global Fashion Management. The administrative and faculty offices, classrooms, laboratories, study collections, and research room for the graduate programs are housed on the third, fourth, and sixth floors of the Goodman Center.

Alumni Hall, Coed Hall, and Nagler Hall are on the West 27th Street campus. Kaufman Hall is in the nearby Hudson Yards neighborhood; shuttle service to campus is provided. For more information, see Residential Life.

THE CONFERENCE CENTER AT FIT

The Conference Center at FIT features 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 exhibitions, fashion shows, lectures, trade shows, and other large 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.