The good news is you can easily make a successful career in fashion without attending a four year university. For a decade, colleges have been offering bachelor’s degrees in fashion design and related design programs. However, the National Council of Teachers of Art declared all fashion design degrees as to be too low a level for students, writing: “With respect to the general curriculum offered in fashion programs, we caution against the idea that one can become a professional fashion designer without a solid academic background. These programs are not meant to serve as vocational training for fashion designers, but rather to teach the fundamentals of the design process.