Admission requirements

The student must meet the requirements for admission to the Toulouse Graduate School. Included in these requirements are:

• a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university;
• an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 for the last 60 semester hours of course work or a 2.8 GPA on all undergraduate work;
• a demonstrated proficiency in oral and written English; and
• a minimum of 24 semester hours of undergraduate work in merchandising, or the equivalent; 12 of the 24 hours must be advanced. Students who do not meet the requirements must complete specified prerequisite courses in merchandising before beginning the graduate program. No single prerequisite course may have a grade lower than a B.

In addition, to be considered for admission into the merchandising program, students need to submit the following to the CMHT graduate coordinator:

• three letters of recommendation from employers or teachers;
• a resume; and
• an essay that provides:
  • an overview of the student’s undergraduate degree, any specializations, minors or certificates earned;
  • prior and/or current work experience; specifically work experience related to retail merchandising or other similar positions, including paid or unpaid internships;
  • professional goals and how the graduate degree will help achieve these goals; and
  • primary career objective for degree.

Students graduating from the Honors College with a 3.5 or higher GPA are entitled to automatic admission to, and are not required to submit standardized test scores for admission to, the Toulouse Graduate School and, with required prerequisites, to the graduate programs in the Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing.

Degree requirements

The Master of Science in merchandising offers two concentrations, Professional and Research. The Master of Science in merchandising with 30 hours, is a professional concentration is targeted toward industry professionals of today and tomorrow. The program prepares global leaders who are competent in industry specific processes, ethics and sustainability, business strategy, technology applications, and data analytics. The Master of Science in merchandising with 33 hours, is a research concentration prepares students for careers in research and teaching. Through independent study and faculty mentorship, student apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to solve industry problems. The program culminates in the preparation of a thesis.