IFM runs two three-year bachelor’s programmes in Paris that select on opposite principles. The Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design asks for a digital portfolio and an imaginary museum (ten credited works that map the applicant’s cultural eye — not a list of favourite brands), then creative tests and an interview. The BSc in Management for Fashion and Creative Industries has no portfolio: an online file, a compulsory English test and a remote faculty interview that opens with image analysis. Both intakes for the next full cycle are September 2027; both confer the French grade de licence (bachelor’s-level recognition from the Ministry of Higher Education).
For most applicants with a school certificate earned outside France who have not already started French higher education, the route is direct Apply on ifmparis.fr (non-refundable €60), not Parcoursup (France’s national undergraduate application platform). French-bac and certain France-based profiles must use Parcoursup — IFM’s guidance chart decides which door. Non-EU applicants should treat the earliest session as the visa calendar, not a style preference.
IFM’s imaginary museum asks what this picture asks: what an eye is made of.
Selection stage × document × timing (2027/28)
Windows below are for Year 1 toward the September 2027 intake, as published on the BA and BSc programme pages on 26 October 2026. You may choose one international session per year (maximum two attempts overall).
Stage
What is required
BA Fashion Design — typical timing
BSc Management — typical timing
Source
Choose door: Parcoursup vs IFM Apply
French diploma / binational / France-based international leaving cert / already in French HE → Parcoursup. International diploma earned outside France (and not started in French HE) → IFM Apply. Confirm with IFM’s guidance chart PDF
Parcoursup: platform opens 17 Dec 2026; registration/wishes from 18 Jan 2027; wishes by 11 Mar; complete/validate by 1 Apr 2027
Same Parcoursup skeleton for those who must use it. International Apply sessions start earlier (see below)
BA & BSc programme pages; Tableau Parcoursup EN
Online application file (+ €60)
CV, ID/passport, transcripts (last two secondary years + current if still at school), diplomas if held, language proof if required; BA also portfolio + imaginary museum; scholarship form only if EEA-eligible and submitted with the file. Translations FR/EN as required
International Session 1 deadline 31 Jan 2027; Session 2 6 May 2027. Programme page: applications for 2027 open in January 2027
International Session 1 file deadline 5 Nov 2026; Session 2 14 Jan 2027; Session 3 23 Feb 2027; Session 4 13 May 2027
BA / BSc “Application sessions and deadlines”
Portfolio / creative brief
BA only: PDF portfolio — official requirements PDF asks 20–25 pages (FAQ on the programme page also mentions 15–20; follow the current Portfolio_BA1 PDF you download). At least four projects show full process (research → sketches → material/volume → finish). Imaginary museum: ten works, artist + title only, no own work, ≤10 pages, ≤2 works/page. Size caps: 2 MB Parcoursup / 5 MB direct
Uploaded with the file; Parcoursup creative day 2 May 2027 (at home); international shortlist creative assignments 6 Mar 2027 (S1) or 12 Jun 2027 (S2)
None — management file + motivation questions only
Portfolio_BA1_EN.pdf; BA FAQ / sessions
Language proof
BA English track: TOEFL iBT 4.5 (90 on prior 0–120 scale), IELTS Academic or General 6.5, Cambridge 176, or PTE Academic 59 — or listed exemptions (IB/A-level/native/3 years English-taught in English-official country). French track: DELF B2 or TCF TP rules as on page. BSc: TOEFL iBT 4.5/90, IELTS Academic 6.5, or Cambridge 176 (online tests not accepted); exemptions listed on page
Must be in the file by the session deadline
Must be in the file by the session deadline
BA & BSc language sections
Eligibility / shortlist
Reading of the file (and BA portfolio/museum)
Parcoursup eligibility by 23 Apr 2027 latest. Intl S1 by 24 Feb; S2 by 31 May
Parcoursup eligibility by 23 Apr 2027 latest. Intl S1 19 Nov 2026; S2 28 Jan; S3 11 Mar; S4 28 May 2027
Session calendars on programme pages
Tests / interview
BA: 2D graphic + 3D creative assignment + interview (online for international Apply; campus interview 4 or 5 May 2027 for Parcoursup, with remote exemptions). Bring / show a fuller physical portfolio at jury. BSc: online interview ~20–30 min in English; opens with 5 minutes to analyse a visual
Parcoursup interviews 4–5 May 2027; intl S1 interview 11 Mar; S2 14 Jun 2027
Intl interviews: 23–24 Nov 2026; 1–4 Feb; 15–18 Mar; 31 May–3 Jun 2027. Parcoursup interview dates “to be announced” on verify day
BA / BSc pages + BSc FAQ
Results → deposit
Offer; confirm place with non-refundable deposit (€4,000 EU/EEA; €6,000 non-EU/EEA), adjustable if an IFM Foundation scholarship leaves a lower balance. Lifetime IFM Alumni Association contribution €470. Visa letter after deposit for non-EEA
Parcoursup results 1 Jun 2027; intl S1 by 22 Mar; S2 by 25 Jun 2027
Parcoursup results 1 Jun 2027; intl S1 30 Nov 2026; S2 12 Feb; S3 26 Mar; S4 11 Jun 2027
Fees / FAQ on both programme pages
Non-EU note: IFM explicitly advises applying in the first international session for visa processing time. For BSc, that is the 5 November 2026 file deadline; for BA, Session 1 closes 31 January 2027.
Fees — academic year 2027/2028 (first year)
Item
BA Fashion Design
BSc Management
Notes
EU/EEA tuition (year 1)
€15,900
€15,900
EEA = EU + Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland
Non-EU/EEA tuition (year 1)
€24,600
€23,300
Published for 2027/2028 on programme pages
Application fee
€60
€60
Non-refundable
Deposit after offer
€4,000 EU/EEA · €6,000 non-EU
Same
Confirms place; required before visa letter
Alumni Association
€470
€470
Lifetime contribution as stated on fees block
IFM Foundation need-based scholarship
EEA citizens only (age rules on page)
EEA only (≤29 on 1 Sept of academic year on BSc FAQ)
Not a non-EU budget assumption
Paris living costs and BA studio supplies (IFM cites a rough €1,800/year minimum for materials on the BA FAQ) sit outside tuition. Re-open the live fees block before you pay — figures can be adjusted year to year.
How BA Fashion Design selection works
Outside Parcoursup, the file is the gate: CV, grades, language evidence, the 20–25 page portfolio PDF and the imaginary museum. IFM states that about 60% of those admitted come from general secondary streams and that drawing and sewing are taught on the course — so prior art school is a plus, not a hard filter. What still cannot wait until the month before the deadline is visible process: at least four projects that show research, early drawing, material or volume experiments and a finish.
Shortlisted international applicants sit an online jury (2D, 3D, interview). Parcoursup shortlists head to campus on 4 or 5 May 2027, with creative work set for 2 May at home (remote exemptions for abroad / medical cases). At interview, the printed application PDF is not enough: IFM wants a fuller physical book with real collages, hand work and material experiments.
Imaginary museum
Ten works in the broad sense — painting, photography, performance, music, literature, architecture — credited with artist and title only. No commentary. No own pieces. Maximum ten pages, two works per page. A museum filled with luxury house logos reads as a brand moodboard, not a map of the eye the school is trying to read.
BSc Management: opposite logic
No portfolio. Eligibility is the online file (CV, two years of transcripts, English test unless exempt) plus programme questions on project and motivation. Admission is an English interview of about 20–30 minutes on Teams: five minutes with a visual, then discussion with faculty. French is not required for entry; the school offers French classes for life in Paris.
Direct Year 2 entry is possible with 60 ECTS (or non-EU equivalent) already earned; Year 3 direct entry is not offered. BA Year 2/3 direct places for 2027/28 were closed on verify day (interest form; contact end of May 2027 if spots open).
Language — do not reuse last year’s thresholds
Live pages previously circulated softer BA English numbers. On 26 October 2026 the BA English track listed IELTS 6.5 (Academic or General), TOEFL iBT 4.5 / 90, Cambridge 176, PTE 59. The BSc lists IELTS Academic 6.5, TOEFL iBT 4.5 / 90, Cambridge 176 — online language tests not accepted. Exemptions differ slightly by programme; check the track you tick before you book a test date.
Common mistakes
01
Treating IFM like a pure art-school “portfolio only” process. The BA still needs museum, language, file hygiene and a jury day; the BSc is file + English interview with no portfolio at all.
02
Missing the track — and the door. BA vs BSc requirements diverge; Parcoursup vs IFM Apply is compulsory for some profiles. Applying on the wrong portal wastes a once-a-year attempt.
03
Underestimating English (or French-track) evidence. Thresholds are programme-specific; late certificates miss the session deadline even if the portfolio is ready.
04
Polishing finished looks while skipping process pages. IFM’s BA criteria reward inventiveness, tool variety and a readable path from theme to outcome — finished hero shots alone are a common shortlist miss.
05
Filling the imaginary museum with fashion houses. Credit works that actually shape the eye; brand logos are not the brief.
06
Leaving a non-EU file to the last session. Later rounds can be more crowded; visa time after the deposit is real. Use Session 1 when the file is honestly ready.
07
Budgeting an IFM Foundation scholarship without EEA nationality. Need-based Foundation awards are described as EEA-only; non-EU families should plan the published non-EU fee and deposit without that line.
Who it suits
An applicant with broad cultural references who can show process (BA) or argue a management project in English from a visual (BSc), and who wants Paris in English (or French on the BA track). If the priority is a set project at the door with a different portfolio weight, compare IFM with ESMOD and the wider Fashion Admissions Matrix 2027.
How this school compares: portfolio, set tasks, interview, language and fees at 13 schools in Italy, the UK, France and the US in the EDMONT Fashion Admissions Matrix.Fashion Admissions Matrix 2027
Primary sources
Checked against IFM programme pages and the BA1 portfolio PDF. Fees and session dates move — re-open the live page before you pay.
Parcoursup (national calendar for those required to use it)
EDMONT / FASHION & CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
An assessment for IFM
Share current education, intended entry year and a link to work. We can say which programme fits, how to shape the portfolio and museum (or the BSc file), and which session matches a visa timeline — without promising admission.
EDMONT / admissions discussion
The applicant’s profile
Tell us which curriculum the applicant follows, the intended year of entry and the discipline under consideration: design, business or communication. That is enough for a first substantive reply.
