Editorial Style Guide

How to Use This Guide

Writers and editors should adhere to Associated Press (AP) Stylebook standards for virtually all writing, except when an FIT style standard differs. FIT style generally supersedes all other style standards.

Use command + F (Mac) or control + F (PC) to enter and find the term or topic you are searching for in the alphabetical list below. Keep in mind, your topic may fall under a broad category. To find how we style the number "nine," you may want to search for "age" or for "numbers."

Updated July 8, 2025

academic degrees

When abbreviating, do not use punctuation: AAS, BS, BFA, MA, MFA, MPS, MBA, PhD

academic departments

Capitalize only when using an official, complete department name or when a proper noun or adjective is used. Prepositions should be lowercase in all instances. For example: Jane Smith is in the Department of Illustration, or The Illustration department teaches digital and traditional techniques.

Note: Department names are not necessarily the same as degree program/major names.

See also the entry for majors and programs.

acronyms

Acronyms may be used on second reference when referring to FIT entities, provided that the formal name is provided on first reference, along with the acronym to be used: June Smith is a student in Spatial Experience Design (SED). She helped create SED’s holiday window displays.

Long acronyms should be avoided. For entities outside FIT, acronyms may be used only in accordance with Associated Press style.

addresses

Write out streets numbered one through nine and use numerals for streets numbered 10 and above. Write out the name of the avenue when referring to a New York City address.
e.g., First Avenue, 10th Avenue, First Street, 21st Street

Capitalize street, avenue, boulevard, etc. except when referring to multiples.
e.g., First Street, First and Second streets
e.g., FIT is between Seventh and Eighth avenues

FIT mailing address

[Name of person]
Office [or, for academic departments, Department] of xxxxx
FIT
227 West 27th Street
Room xxxx (e.g. B905)
New York, NY 10001-5992

FIT numbered addresses

Like the mailing address above, FIT only recognizes three numbered street addresses as campus addresses (besides the residence halls). Internal signage will direct people and parcels to the correct locations. (Do not list building numbers suggested by GPS maps.) The officially recognized addresses are:

- 227 West 27th Street
- 333 Seventh Avenue
- 236 West 27th Street

advisor

Not adviser.

ampersand

Avoid the use of ampersands. Do not use ampersands in the names of FIT schools, departments, or programs. Use an ampersand only when it is part of a company’s formal name, a composition title (book, work of art, musical piece, etc.), or in the term Q&A, for a question-and-answer event or article.
e.g., School of Art and Design, Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing, Barnes & Noble

Board of Trustees

Capitalize Board of Trustees when referring to FIT’s board; however, lowercase board when the word stands alone. The board gathered for its fall meeting.

buildings

Refer to FIT’s academic buildings by their formal names. Short forms, provided below, are acceptable on first reference with use of "Center." Do not use letters (A Building, etc.).

Business and Liberal Arts Center (short form: Business and Liberal Arts)
David Dubinsky Student Center (short form: Dubinsky Student Center or Dubinsky)
Marvin Feldman Center (short form: Feldman Center or Feldman)
Shirley Goodman Resource Center (short form: Goodman Resource Center or Goodman)
North Academic Building (to open fall 2025)
Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center (short form: Pomerantz Center or Pomerantz)

FIT also maintains offices at:

333 Seventh Avenue (spell out Seventh)
236 West 27th Street

See also the residence halls entry and each building listing.

Business and Liberal Arts Center

The Business and Liberal Arts Center houses the offices of the dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the dean of the Jay and Patty Baker School of Business and Technology along with Career and Internship Services and the Cashiering Office of the Bursar.

campuswide

No hyphen.

capitalization

Avoid unnecessary capitalization. Capitalize proper nouns. Common nouns such as “college” and “president” should be capitalized only when used as part of a full name for a person, place, or thing: FIT marks its 75th anniversary in 2020. The college opened with 100 students, and now has nearly 10,000. FIT President Joyce F. Brown has served since 1998. The president earned her doctorate from New York University.

Further capitalization guidance is also provided in entries in this guide where necessary.

catalog

Not catalogue.

cellphone

Not cell phone. Similarly, smartphone.

center

Common names such as “the center” can be used on second reference: FIT’s Center for Continuing and Professional Studies offers evening and weekend classes. The center’s instructors are industry professionals.

chair

Use chair, not chairman, chairperson, or chairwoman.

children’s wear

Not childrenswear.

coed

Not co-ed.

co-founder

Not cofounder.

college

When referring to FIT, the word college is lowercase.
e.g., The college offers nearly 50 degree programs.

college bodies

Capitalize names of formal college bodies.
e.g., the President’s Cabinet; Board of Trustees; the Sustainability Council
On second reference, the cabinet; the board; the council

collegewide

No hyphen.

commencement, convocation

Do not capitalize unless accompanied by a specific year, making the occasion a proper noun.
e.g., Commencement 2024

composition titles

Italicize the titles of compositions such as books, movies, radio and television shows, music albums, exhibitions, computer games, plays, and operas. Works that are organized within these titles—song titles within an album, poems titles within a collection, artworks in an exhibition, chapters in a book, episode titles of a TV show—are enclosed in quotation marks.
Examples:
Books: Of Mice and Men, The Canterbury Tales, "The Wife of Bath's Tale"
Film: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Oppenheimer
Music: 1989 (Taylor's Version), "Shake It Off"
TV: CBS Evening News, The Daily Show, The Sopranos
Art: The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism, Charles Henry Alston's "Girl in a Red Dress"

Conference Center at FIT

You may drop at FIT on second reference. This building, which sits between the Pomerantz Center and the Feldman Center, faces West 28th Street, but is accessed via the Pomerantz Center for security reasons. It houses the John E. Reeves Great Hall on its first floor and seminar rooms (room numbers begin with SR) on its lower level. The Center for Continuing and Professional Studies and Precollege Programs also have offices on the lower level of the Conference Center.

dates and months

When a month is included as part of a specific date, you may use Jan., Feb., March, April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. For example: John Smith’s birthday is Sept. 12, 1985. Jane Smith’s birthday is June 7, 1983. Do not abbreviate the names of any months when only a month and year are given: The research project began in January 2000 and ended in November 2003.

Dates always take cardinal numbers, not ordinal numbers. An exception can be made for the holiday July 4th, but Independence Day or the Fourth of July is preferred.
Correct: May 23, Jan. 1
Incorrect: May 23rd

Use commas to separate the day of the week (e.g. Thursday) from the month and date (e.g., May 23) and the year (2020). If a month/date/year combination appears in a sentence, use a comma after the year.
Correct: Jason was born on Nov. 11, 1993, in New Haven, Connecticut.
Incorrect: The street fair will be held on June 19, 2023 rain or shine.

David Dubinsky Student Center

Dubinsky Student Center is acceptable on first reference for the academic building that houses classrooms, but also many student services, including the Department of Student Life, Health Services, Financial Aid Services, the FIT Dining Hall, and Counseling Services. Named for the labor leader who was a president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and helped to found the American Labor Party.

degrees

Capitalize full names of degrees as follows. With full names, do not use apostrophe s.

Associate in Applied Science
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Science
Master of Arts
Master of Fine Arts
Master of Professional Studies

For partial name of degree, use lowercase as follows:

associate’s degree
bachelor’s degree
master’s degree

For degree abbreviations, capitalize without punctuation. The same applies for GPA .
e.g., AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, MPS

Using a degree and year after a name:

For FIT programs, only AAS, MA, MPS, and MFA degrees need to be noted; baccalaureate-level programs are understood otherwise: Kim Davis, Fashion Design AAS '19, Fashion Design '21, Fashion Design MFA '24
When referring to graduation years, use the last two digits of the year, preceded by an apostrophe; separate name from degree program with a comma: Jamie Smith, Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing ’93
When a graduate has more than one FIT degree, list them in reverse chronological order and separate them by a comma: Jamie Smith, Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management MPS ’00, Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing ’93
In all cases, the degree precedes the year it was awarded.

departments, divisions, and offices

Capitalize the word department or division in the unit’s full name.
e.g., Division of Information Technology; Department of Social Sciences

Capitalize the word office in the name of an FIT office.
e.g., Office of Admissions

When the name of the department or office is not used or when the word department or office follows the name, it is lowercase.
e.g., The department has five faculty members.

dining hall

The only dining hall on campus is located in the Dubinsky Student Center. There are two acceptable names for this location:

Dubinsky Dining Hall
FIT Dining Hall

See also the Faculty and Staff Dining Room entry.

email

As shown above, do not hyphenate. However, a hyphen should be used with e-book, e-business, and e-commerce.

email signature

See more on our email signature guidelines page.

Faculty and Staff Dining Room

This facility, managed by the campus dining vendor, is located on the eighth floor of the Dubinsky Student Center and is open to employees for lunch during the academic terms.

FIT

Write FIT in capital letters without periods. Use an (not a) when it preceeds FIT in a sentence.
e.g., She is an FIT alumna.

The college prefers FIT on second reference to the Fashion Institute of Technology.

FIT DTech Lab

Spell out FIT DTech Lab on first reference; DTech or DTech Lab is acceptable on second reference. DTech is the combination of the words design and technology but this does not need to be explained in copy. It is part of the Innovation Center at FIT.

FIT Foundation

Do not capitalize the as part of the name of the advancement and fundraising arm of the college. Lowercase foundation when it stands alone.
e.g., She gave a little to the FIT Foundation last year. This year the foundation has asked her to increase her donation.

floors

Lowercase floor numbers in copy, and uppercase floor numbers for addresses and listings. Write out floors one through nine. Use numerals for floors 10 and above.
e.g., The classroom is on the eighth floor.
e.g., New Student Orientation: David Dubinsky Student Center, Sixth Floor

Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center

Pomerantz Center is acceptable on first reference. The Art and Design Gallery occupies the Pomerantz Lobby, a back gallery space, and a studio that overlooks the lobby. The Pomerantz Center also houses the Katie Murphy Amphitheatre, the Film and Media Screening Room (Room D207), PrintFX, and the dean's office of the School of Art and Design. Named for the founder of Leslie Fay, Inc., a former board member of FIT's Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries (now the FIT Foundation).

fundraiser

Do not use a hyphen or split fundraiser into two words. Correct: fundraiser, fundraising.

Gladys Marcus Library

The library’s full name is the Gladys Marcus Library. The library is acceptable on second reference. FIT Library is also acceptable.

institutional documents

Capitalize official names of institutional documents, such as reports and plans.
e.g., FIT Strategic Plan; Campus Master Plan; Middle States Self-Study

internet

Do not capitalize: She surfed the internet.

John E. Reeves Great Hall

Spell out the full name in event listings. The Great Hall is acceptable on second reference.

The Great Hall is located in the Conference Center at FIT. Directions for it should list this accordingly. The outside entrance is described as located as being at West 28th Street near Seventh Avenue. There is no separate address for the Great Hall.

Joyce F. Brown

The president of the college should always be referred to as President Joyce F. Brown on first reference and then as Dr. Joyce F. Brown; however, the doctor title is dropped when the title of president precedes her name. Do not use both.
Correct: President Joyce F. Brown, Dr. Joyce F. Brown.
Incorrect: President Dr. Joyce F. Brown.

Katie Murphy Amphitheatre

Spell out the full name in all references. Note the spelling of Amphitheatre. Katie Murphy Amphitheatre is located in the Pomerantz Center.

Kaufman Fitness Center

Acceptable on all references to the fitness center located within the Kaufman Residence Hall. Only FIT students may access the Kaufman Fitness Center.

Lari and Barbara Stanton Fitness Center

Stanton Fitness Center is acceptable on first reference. This student fitness center is located in the sub-basement of the Dubinsky Student Center and has limited employee access. It is managed by the Athletics and Recreation department.

LGBTQ+

This is the preferred acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning, and other self-identifying members of the community.

livestream

Use for both the verb and noun forms.

majors and programs

Capitalize names of FIT majors; do not use abbreviations. Do not capitalize standard majors offered by other colleges and universities.
Correct: Fashion Business Management. Incorrect: FBM. Correct: He has a degree in art history from Harvard University.

Do not capitalize the word “program” following a FIT major name.
The Fashion Design program offers a number of specializations.

Marvin Feldman Center

Feldman Center is acceptable on first reference for the college's oldest academic building and its main entrance, located midway between Seventh and Eighth avenues on West 27th Street at 227 West 27th Street. Named for a former college president, Feldman houses the Lagary Board Room, the Roberts Room, and the FIT DTech Lab.

Menswear

When referring to FIT’s Menswear program, menswear is one word (not men’s wear). Women’s wear, children’s wear, etc., are written as two words with an apostrophe s.

Morris W. and Fannie B. Haft Theater

The Haft Theater is acceptable on first reference.

The Museum at FIT

The museum’s full name is The Museum at FIT. On second reference, the museum is acceptable. The abbreviation MFIT may be used if it has been denoted parenthetically after the first use of the full name, The Museum at FIT (MFIT).

names

Use first and last name on first reference and last name only on second reference. In cases where two people have the same last name, use first and last names on second reference: Jane Smith is a great teacher. Smith has been at FIT since 1984. Her daughter, Jessica Smith, joined FIT one year ago. Jessica Smith is also a talented teacher, though she has less experience than Jane Smith.

In general, do not use courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Miss, etc.). Use middle initials according to a person’s preference and when the initials help identify a specific individual.

New York City

Spell out New York City; avoid using NYC. Lowercase city when the word appears alone, even when it appears near text about New York State.

New York State

Capitalize the S in state, contrary to Associated Press style. Lowercase state when the word appears alone, even when it appears near text about New York City.

noncredit

Not non-credit.

nondegree

Not non-degree.

North Academic Building

Name for the college's newest academic building, located on West 28th Street and connecting to the Feldman Center upon completion. Due to open in the fall of 2025.

numbers

When referring to common objects, spell out one through nine and use figures for 10 and above: Jane Smith has two computers, three pieces of paper, 10 pencils, and 11 pens on her desk. See entries in the Associated Press Stylebook for information on using numbers in circumstances not outlined here. Except when denoting a year, numbers at the start of a sentence should always be spelled out: 2009 has been a great year for Jane Smith. Sixty-six students signed up for a class she created.

age – Use figures when referring to age: Jane Smith, 35, has a 1-year-old daughter. She also has a boy who is 10 years old.
billion and million – Use figures with million or billion: A $1.5 million grant or 1 billion people.
dimensions and weights – Use figures with dimensions and weights: A 4-foot-long fence or a rock that weighs 3 ounces.
percentages – Use figures with percentages: 1 percent or 99 percent. Use figures when referring to ratios: 2-to-1.
telephone numbers – See entry for telephone numbers in the FIT Style section above.
times – See entry for times in this style guide for information on using numbers to refer to times.

patternmaking

One word.

percent

Not per cent. In most contexts, use the word percent rather than the percent symbol (%); however, in contexts where many statistics with percentages are listed, use of the symbol is allowed for easy reading.

phone numbers

Use parentheses and a hyphen. This phone number format complies with web accessibility requirements.
e.g., (212) 217-xxxx

residence halls

Always refer to residence halls as residence halls, not dormitories or dorms. FIT’s residence halls are:

Alumni Hall
Coed Hall
George S. and Mariana Kaufman Residence Hall (short form: Kaufman Hall)
Nagler Hall

Rita and Bruce Roberts Room

The Roberts Room is acceptable on first reference for Room C904 in the Feldman Center. The location has also historically been referred to as the Living Room. Please use Roberts Room and the room number for clarity and consistency with signage.

Robert Lagary Board Room

Lagary Board Room is acceptable on first reference. The board room is located in Room C903 in the Feldman Center. Note: Board Room is two words.

room numbers

Capitalize the word Room and the building letter. Do not use a space or hyphen between the building letter and room number regardless of whether signage above doorways includes the hyphen.
e.g., Room B905

semesters and sessions

Do not capitalize spring, fall, winter, or summer when referring to semesters or sessions, except in display text in course listings. (Note: Summer and winter terms are referred to as sessions, not semesters or summerim/winterim.)
e.g., fall semester; summer session

serial comma

Use the serial comma when listing three or more items in a series. The last comma follows the next-to-last item. (Exception to AP style)
e.g., this, that, and the other

Shirley Goodman Resource Center

Goodman Resource Center or Goodman Center is acceptable on first reference for this academic building that houses the Gladys Marcus Library and the School for Graduate Studies. The Museum at FIT occupies part of the first floor and the basement. The lobby of the building, which is sometimes used as a gallery venue, is considered part of Goodman and should be labeled Goodman Lobby, not the lobby of the museum. The building is named for a former executive director of FIT's Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries (now the FIT Foundation) who led much of the college's expansion.

State University of New York

When referring to the State University of New York system or its central administration, use State University of New York in communications targeted to external audiences and in highly formal communications (such as contracts or policy statements). Use SUNY on second reference. SUNY may be used on first reference in communications targeting internal audiences and in less formal communications where the audience is likely to understand what the acronym represents. For example: FIT is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and offers SUNY’s only MFA in Fashion Design.

street addresses

When giving a numbered address, use the abbreviations Ave., Blvd., and St. and spell out all other similar words such as Drive and Circle. When only a street name is given, spell out all words:
e.g., The Seventh Avenue Deli is at 1234 Seventh Ave., at the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 24th Street.

North, East, South and West should be abbreviated as N., E., S., and W. only when a numbered address is given:
e.g., The registration center for FIT’s Center for Continuing and Professional Studies is located at 236 W. 27th St. OR The registration center for FIT’s Center for Continuing and Professional Studies is located on West 27th Street.

For address numbers, use figures: Kaufman Hall is at 406 W. 31st St. Spell out First through Ninth when used as street names, but use figures for 10th Street, 11th Street and above.

student clubs

Capitalize names of student clubs and organizations.
e.g., Comic Book Club; Merchandising Society

SUNY Distinguished Professor

Within the State University of New York system, the rank of distinguished professor is an order above full professorship and has three co-equal designations: SUNY Distinguished Professor, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor, and SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor. When used with reference to specific faculty members, the titles do not incorporate the name of the department. Incorrect: Arthur Kopelman is a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor of Science. Correct: Arthur Kopelman is a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and professor in the Department of Science and Mathematics.

times

With the exception of noon and midnight , use figures and lowercase letters for “am” and “pm” with a space in between: 11 am, 3:30 pm, 9–11 am, 9 am to 5 pm. The class began at noon and ended at 1:30 pm. He went to bed at midnight.

To denote a span of time, you must either use a dash or words to separate the beginning and end of an event, not a combination.
Correct: Jen Smith skipped the class because she worked from 11 am to 5 pm.
Correct: Jen Smith skipped the class because she worked 11 am–5 pm.
Incorrect: Jen Smith skipped the class because she worked from 11 am–5 pm.

titles

Job titles are lowercase when they appear after the person’s name, separated by a comma: Jamie Jones, assistant vice president for Advanced Studies. If the formal job title appears before the person’s name, it is capitalized (with no comma): Assistant Vice President for Advanced Studies Jamie Jones. Those faculty members who have been named a SUNY Distinguished Professor, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, or SUNY Distinguished Service Professor should always be referred to as such on first reference. For information on nonacademic titles, see the Associated Press Stylebook entry on titles. Commonly used titles that are abbreviated include Gov., Lt. Gov., Rep. and Sen. when they precede a name: Gov. John Smith.

See also the composition titles entry.

web addresses

The domain for FIT’s email and website is fitnyc.edu. When writing web addresses, do not use www. (Very occasionally, some sites cannot be reached without a www. prefix. In this case, you may include it.) Do not include http:// or https://.
e.g., fitnyc.edu , nypl.org, suny.edu, mta.info

To cite a specific web address on the FIT site, always use an alias or shortcut (sometimes known as a vanity URL) rather than a numeric web address.
e.g., fitnyc.edu/visit, NOT fitnyc.edu/3115.asp

If you don’t know the shortcut, email web_editors@fitnyc.edu.

website

One word, not capitalized. However, web page and web design.

women’s wear

Two words, with an apostrophe s. However, menswear is correct.

years

Use the full figure, such as 1984 or 2010, except when referring to the graduation year of alumni. When referring to graduation years, use the last two digits of the year, preceded by an apostrophe: Jamie Smith, Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing ’93, recently published a book.

When a graduate has more than one FIT degree, list them in reverse chronological order: J.P. Smith, Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management MPS ’00, Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing ’93, recently published a book. In all cases, the degree precedes the year it was awarded.