LIM College is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

for-profit college Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities generally operated by their owners, investors, or shareholders in a manner prioritizing shareholder primacy as opposed to education provided by non-profit institution (such as non-se ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

focused on the business of

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

and lifestyle. LIM College offers master's, bachelor's, and associate degree programs in fashion-focused majors with an emphasis on the connection between real-world experience and academic study.

History

LIM College was founded in 1939 by retail and education expert Maxwell F. Marcuse as the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, at the request of retailers who wanted a school that would teach women about the fashion business and merchandising. LIM became co-ed in 1971 and Maxwell's son, Adrian G. Marcuse, became president in 1972. During his tenure, LIM College became accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and earned authority from New York State to grant bachelor's degrees. Former fashion executive Elizabeth S. Marcuse assumed the presidency in 2002. In 2009, the school changed its name to LIM College. President Elizabeth S. Marcuse stepped down from her role on Dec. 31, 2023. The role of president at LIM College has been assumed by Ron Marshall. Most recently, President Ron Marshall assumed leadership of LIM College in January 2024, following his tenure on the Board of Directors and as a strategic consultant since 2019. With extensive experience in retail, Marshall previously held executive roles at Nash-Finch Company, Borders Group, Inc., Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, and Claire’s Stores Inc.

Academics

LIM College offers undergraduate majors leading to a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Fashion Media, Fashion Management & Leadership,

Fashion Merchandising Fashion merchandising can be defined as the planning and promotion of sales by presenting a product to the right market at the proper time, by carrying out organized, skillful advertising, using attractive displays, etc. Merchandising, within fashio ...

Visual Studies Visual culture is the aspect of culture expressed in visual images. Many academic fields study this subject, including cultural studies, art history, critical theory, philosophy, media studies, Deaf Studies, and anthropology. The field of visua ...

Marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

and The Business of Cannabis. Minors are available in several fields, including, but not limited to,

Sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, Fashion Design for Business, Digital Design and Photography, Entrepreneurship, and Interior and Residential Concepts. Associate degree programs are also offered. At the graduate level, LIM offers

Master of Professional Studies Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

(MPS) degree programs in Fashion Merchandising & Retail Management, Fashion Marketing, the Business of Fashion, and the Business of Cannabis. As well as Master of Science (MS) degree programs in Consumer Analytics and Global Fashion Supply Chain Management. Many of LIM College's degree programs are also offered in a fully online format. Summer programs for high school students and a summer immersion program for international students are available as well. Experiential education, or "learn by doing", is the foundation of LIM's educational approach. Undergraduate students must complete three

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...

ships, including one in a retail environment, one at the retail managerial level or in a corporate setting, and during senior year, students must complete a nearly full-time internship related to their specific career goals. Many students volunteer at events such as

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning seven to nine days when international Fashion design, fashion collections are shown to buyers, the pres ...

, and participate in industry-sponsored competitions, and fashion professionals regularly visit campus to share their insights with students. There are many clubs that students may join that provide experience to students such as Fashion Production club, styling club and the

school magazine A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of fo ...

The Lexington Line.The Lexington Line
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Accreditation

LIM College is accredited by the

Middle States Commission on Higher Education The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education, is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...

and its BBA, BPS, and associate degree programs are accredited by the

Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs The Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), formerly the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, is a United States–based organization offering accreditation services to business programs focused on te ...

. Also, LIM College is cited as one of ''The Best Fashion Schools in the World 2019'' in the BoF's (The Business of Fashion) global assessment of fashion education. BoF is a leading digital authority on the global fashion industry.

Enrollment

In 2020, LIM College had a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,503, with a gender distribution of 11 percent male students and 89 percent female students. Approximately one quarter of the students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing. The on-campus undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio was 9 to 1 and the average undergraduate class size was 17. There were also 278 students enrolled in the LIM College's graduate programs (170 on-campus/108 online).LIM College on College Navigator
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Campus

The campus consists of two buildings in

, located in walking distance of each other. Student housing is offered at FOUND Study's Midtown East location on Lexington Avenue. * Fifth Avenue building, at 545 Fifth Avenue – * Maxwell Hall, at 216 East 45th Street – * FOUND Study Midtown East, at

569 Lexington Avenue 569 Lexington Avenue (originally the Summit Hotel; formerly the Loews New York Hotel, Metropolitan Hotel, and DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Metropolitan New York City) is a dormitory building and former hotel in the Midtown Manhattan, East Midtown ...

– Until 2024, LIM also had a building at

12 East 53rd Street 12 East 53rd Street, also the Fisk–Harkness House, is a building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, United States. It is along the south side of 53rd Street between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue. The six-story buildin ...

External recognition

In 2019, ''The Business of Fashion'' named LIM College as one of "The Best Fashion Schools in the World". LIM was named to

Phi Theta Kappa Phi Theta Kappa ( or PTK) is an honor society for students of associate degree-granting colleges. Its headquarters are in Jackson, Mississippi and it has more than 4.3 million members in nearly 1,300 chapters in eleven nations. History Phi The ...

's Transfer Honor Roll every year since 2016.

The Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4, ...

included LIM College on its list of "Best Northeastern Colleges" for 2024.

Alumni

Notable LIM College alumni include: *

Zerina Akers Zerina Akers is an American fashion stylist and costume designer. She is best known for her positions as Beyoncé's personal stylist, costume designer for the Emmy-winning 2020 musical film ''Black Is King'', and founder of the e-commerce site "B ...

, stylist for Beyonce * Daniella Vitale, chief executive officer, Salvatore Ferragamo NA

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1939 establishments in New York (state) Universities and colleges established in 1939 Fashion merchandising Fashion schools in the United States Universities and colleges in Manhattan Universities and colleges in New York City