The new MFA program in Interior Design at Parsons is uniquely positioned to lead the discourse and address the practice of interior design in the 21st century. Inaugurated in September 2009, at the very school where formal Interior Design education began in 1906, this graduate program builds 100 years of our history and leadership in the field. The MFA program offers instruction of incomparable depth with links to our other graduate programs in architecture, product design, and lighting design. Our graduates are educated to transform the profession and to teach the next generation of practitioners.
Today's interior designers face unprecedented challenges. It is essential to incorporate sustainable design practices and enhanced building performance into innovative design. A good designer stays abreast of new developments in technology and materials while understanding historical precedents and must remain constantly aware of social change and demographic shifts that reveal new client needs.
The discipline's relevance is growing even as the industry's very foundations are being re-examined. The MFA Interior Design program at Parsons offers a rigorous curriculum fully conscious of sustainability and social demands while firmly based in a scholarly, research-oriented culture.
Distinguished practicing professionals work with students to explore and question: material applications and their environmental impact; craftsmanship and manufacturing processes; building systems and operational energy consumption; digital representation technologies and drawing as means to gain insight; principles of using natural and electric light; fundamentals of color; and the affect of indoor air pollution on human health.
Taking a fundamental role in influencing habitation and social culture, the interior design student is challenged to analyze human behavior, comfort, and the direct relationship of human perception to the built interior. Design as a social practice is the continuous underlying discussion. Graduates are positioned to become exceptional practitioners and knowledgeable educators.
The MFA Interior Design program is accredited by the National Association of
Schools of Art and Design. This program fulfills the education requirement which qualifies graduates to sit for the National Council of Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) professional licensing exam.
The School of Constructed Environments offers students wishing to combine graduate studies in interior design and lighting design a unique double major. In the MFA Interior Design and Lighting Design double major, a three-year, 102-credit-hour curriculum, students develop an in-depth technical and aesthetic understanding of both design fields.
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.
