Interior design is a human-centered discipline that requires a contextual approach to the process, one that integrates the practice of space-making into a larger examination of environmental, social, and contemporary thought, while taking into consideration the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Emphasis is placed upon the integration of sustainable and universal design in an experiential setting, beginning with an overview of concepts and culminating in thoughtful application. In the study of interior design, students are fully immersed in the creative process from the beginning of a concept to the realization of a solution. In our program, students solve these increasingly complex design problems in a hands-on and supportive learning environment.
The interior design program is CIDA accredited and offers two BFA degrees, one in Interior Design and the other in Interior Design with a Pre-Architecture concentration, and offers a wide array of additional interdisciplinary opportunities. While pursuing a BFA in Interior Design, students may choose to participate in a variety of support courses and minors, including theater arts, sustainability studies, marketing, psychology, and fine or graphic arts. Upon completion of the program, students will have a professional portfolio and a diverse and competitive technical skill-set in preparation for either professional practice or graduate studies. The curriculum also meets the education requirements to sit for the NCIDQ licensing examination.
The location of our program, halfway between New York City and Boston, provides abundant opportunities for students to visit cutting-edge design centers, historical architectural sites, and landmark museums on departmental day trips. Our location also allows for an exciting assortment of internships and job placements. Our students actively participate in our award-winning student chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers, making connections within the larger design community. Finally, with a campus in Prato, Italy, students may choose to study abroad for a semester, completing their interior design course work while immersing themselves in a new culture and way of life.
Program Outcomes
1. Demonstrate fundamental discipline-specific technological architectural/design skills.
2. Utilize the design process to solve increasingly complex problems in the built environment.
3. Apply research, precedents and contextual analysis to inform evidence-based solutions.
4. Utilize digital technology to represent designs.
5. Specify typology-appropriate furnishings, finishes and equipment.
6. Apply architectural and interior design history and theory to design.
7. Synthesize environmental impact of design and construction on built environments.
8. Design for human factors.
9. Evaluate laws, codes, standards, and guidelines that impact human experience of interior spaces.
10.Develop a professional identity or brand.
The B.F.A. in interior design requires the completion of 121 total credits, including the completion of 40 credits of University Core Curriculum with the following restrictions:
C2T1: COMM 1130 - Principles of Communication
C5T1: UNIV 1141 - Academic Research and Project Management
C7T1: ARHS 2250 - Modern Art, Modernity, and Modernism
C8T1: DSGN 2204 - Human-Centered Design
C9T1: INTD 2209 History of Architecture and Interior Design I
C1T2: ARTS 3301 Writing for Designers
C5T2: GRDE 1110 - Applications of Graphic Design Production
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