International Studies in Design and Merchandising
OSU is a member of National Retail Federations NRF. The NRF student program and Big Show is attended by over 1000 merchandising students and 45 universities. Students benefit from access to industry professionals and career opportunities outside Oklahoma. This course combines career planning approaches with attendance at a retail trade show to better understand how industry stakeholders inform business decisions, network, and facilitate opportunity recognition to ensure retail competitiveness. Students will apply sociological, anthropological, and psychological research approaches related to consumer acquisition of products, services and related technologies for retail merchandising. After completing the course, students will possess skills to better understand the retail supply chain, career management, and emerging retail opportunities. The course will also strengthen your specialized industry knowledge, problem solving and analytical skills while supporting subsequent courses within DM and the Professional Summer Internship and your professional job search upon graduation. This special section of the course will be conducted through pre-course meetings (2) in DM and during a Winter Break program in New York City, NY in January 2025.