The Master of Fine Arts degree is awarded for completion of 60 credits. No credits may be transferred. Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average and fulfill all requirements in timely manner.
First Year / Fall |
|
|---|---|
| PGID 5001 Design Studio 1 | 6 |
| PGID 5015 Interior Design Survey | 3 |
| PGID 5021 Representation and Spatial Analysis | 3 |
| PGID 5122 Materials and Performance | 3 |
| 15 |
First Year / Spring |
|
|---|---|
| PGID 5101 Design Studio 2 | 6 |
| PGID 5111 Theory of the Interior | 3 |
| PGID 5133 Forms of Programming | 3 |
| PGID 5212 Fabrication and Process | 3 |
| 15 |
Second Year / Spring |
|
|---|---|
| PGID 5301 Design Studio 4: Thesis | 9 |
| PGID 5320 Professional Practice | 3 |
| Program Elective 2 |
3 |
| 15 |
| Total Credits | 60 |
The two-year MFA program is a 60-credit-hour, full-time professional graduate degree based on a studio-centered curriculum. Design studios provide the foundation for each semester, complemented by core subjects designed to redefine the field. Additional courses encourage interdisciplinary dialogue with graduate students in Lighting Design and Architecture. Two departmental electives allow for further individual choice of study. The last semester culminates in a thesis project.
Design Studio I introduces fundamental interior design issues including form, space, threshold, light, color, and scale through a series of design and analytical projects that emphasize the inventive and conceptual dimension of design. The course contributes to the formation of a shared project-based vocabulary for interior designers by incorporating the analysis of canonical precedents into the design work.
Interior Design Survey focuses on the development of interior styles as an expression of cultural, material, political, and aesthetic conditions from the 15th century to the present. It explores the evolution of interior design as a discrete field of practice and its recent emergence as an academic discipline and certified profession.
Environmental Technology explores the science and technology for measuring and maintaining comfort conditions and ecological balance within buildings, with emphasis on high-performance sustainable design and systems integration. Supervised construction site visits provide case studies that demonstrate the practical application of theoretical concepts.
Representation and Spatial Reasoning explores techniques of architectural representation that develop the student's ability to think, draw, and analyze interior space. The course is a critical exploration of the conventions of architectural drawing: plans, section, elevation, 1, 2, and 3-point perspective, axonometry, parallel line projection, shadow projection, oblique projection, and descriptive geometry.
Design Studio II builds upon Studio 1, adding the application and integration of materials, building systems and sustainable technologies as design parameters. Equal emphasis is placed on macro- and micro-environments within the interior and on the use of metrics in assessing the performance of projected design proposals.
Theory of the Interior investigates the theoretical foundations of the practice of interior design. Themes include taste, comfort, fashion, lifestyle, and everyday design documents. Sources used include films, television shows, shelter magazines, advertisements, and traditional cultural documents.
Materials and Performance explores materials and their properties, including environmental impact, performance, and structural integrities, as well as color, reflection, finish,. During the course, students craft full-scale detailed mock-ups using non-digital means of production.
Forms of Programming addresses the factors involved in programming spaces. Contemporary models are used to explore client and user relationships, critical and analytical thinking, human behavior, cultural research and methods of communication.
Design Studio III is a comprehensive design studio in which students creatively synthesize site and program analysis, building technologies and systems, as well as aesthetic and material intentions into a detailed design proposal.
Fabrication and Processes develops skills for understanding, forming, and articulating a design problem and its solution specifically in relation to the manufactured components of an architectural interior.
Thesis Preparation is a research seminar in which students develop a written and graphic proposal for a capstone studio project. Each student conducts in-depth, self-guided research and develops a critical and theoretically informed position on a topic within the field of interior design.
Thesis Studio is the capstone studio course. Each student conducts research on a selected aspect of the interior design field. Projects must demonstrate rigorous analytic thinking, coherent development and design resolution. With the consent of the thesis committees, students may collaborate on a project with colleagues in Architecture or Lighting Design.
Professional Practice provides an overview of the legal, ethical, and economic aspects of the practice of interior design and architecture. Students critique contemporary models of practice and study the role of economics, contracts, liability, licensure, and standards of practice in shaping the contemporary professions of interior design and architecture.
Please note: Students are advised to refer to the current applicable program catalog for degree completion requirements and to confirm their progress in satisfying those requirements with their advisors.
