There is limited space for electives in the Fashion & Luxury program so make sure you use it wisely. For some that might look like focusing on a specific specialization like Sustainability or Finance. For others, it might be taking as many different classes as possible to gain a wide net of knowledge. I like to keep my classes organized under three categories, one where I struggle, one where I know I’ll succeed, and one to expand my horizons.
Struggle
Over the summer we took the courses business courses like strategy, communications, accounting, and finance. For me, and I am sure for many, it was very clear which classes I struggled with and which classes came easily to me. It would have been the easy choice to spend the rest of the year picking classes that came easily to me and avoiding the classes I didn’t do well in like the plague. However, I came to business school to learn. Finance was a struggle for me and my lowest grade over the summer. NYU has grade non-disclosure which prevents students from putting their GPA on their resume or companies from asking for it. Grade non-disclosure means I get to learn more and take the classes that I struggle with without worrying about lowering my GPA. I am taking Valuation right now with a beloved finance professor because I know it will be a challenge that pushes me to learn more in an area I struggle with. I encourage you to pick just one elective for a subject matter you find difficult. Challenge yourself to get better, or at the very least to learn. I am not going to leave Valuation ready to go into finance, but I will leave it with a more in-depth understanding of what seemed daunting before.
Succeed
For many people, the classes you do best in are also the classes that feel the easiest to you. This does not mean the course is easy or that you are guaranteed an A, but it does usually mean you will be swimming with the current while doing the homework. For me, Communications and Leadership were my favorite courses over the summer, I loved public speaking and understanding interpersonal interactions in an organization. So this semester I am taking Developing Managerial Skills with Dolly Chugh. This has easily been one of my favorite classes during my time at Stern, Dolly is a phenomenal teacher and the course work is fun and engaging to me. I look forward to doing the reading and am usually a few weeks ahead on work in the syllabus because I love it! Make sure you are taking an elective that you love and plays to your strengths.
Expand
The last category for selecting classes is expanding your knowledge field. Stern offers full semester courses and half-semester courses. I like to expand with half-semester courses. For me this looks like taking classes on topics I don’t know a ton about and may never use but want to learn more about. Right now I am taking Digital Disruption and New Media Marketing, each as half-semester courses to expand my field of understanding. Use these credits to expand on something you have always wanted to learn about but may not be directly relevant to you, maybe it is a class in Business & Law, entrepreneurship, or social issues.