Interior Architecture and Design

Fast Facts

• 100% of design faculty are practitioners with real-world experience.
• Interior Architecture and Design students enjoy 24/7 exclusive use of the IAD Studio spaces. Studio spaces include a drafting and design studio, student computers with access to the latest technology, materials and resources library, and large format printing.
• Students supported with resources to sit for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) exam.
• Student access to free use of the latest software programs: AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, Lumion, and Adobe Creative Suites (Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator). Students involved in networking with professionals from the tristate design community.
• 100% pass rate of the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam after graduation.
• 98% placement rate in professional jobs or grad school.
• Alums employed by the leading design firms and corporations throughout the nation, including the number one architecture and design firm in the world.
• Internships and in-class projects provide students with real-world experience with real clients.

Mission

The program of Interior Architecture and Design establishes its mission as the promotion of the intellectual, emotional, social, physical, and spiritual growth of the student as an effective citizen through liberal and professional education. Therefore, the programs prepare the student not only for a career, but also for life. Faculty and students are challenged to integrate social responsibility with career competence and a commitment to human values.

The faculty believes that:

• Education is a life-long process of guided and purposeful activity, directed toward the development of the individual according to his/her needs, abilities, interests, and potential.
• Education is not merely a passive acquisition of knowledge, but rather the meaningful interpretation of that knowledge, and an understanding capable of producing intelligent decisions and actions. 
• Learning is a change in behavior brought about through experience.
• The identification of learning outcomes is done cooperatively by the student and teacher. 
• Self-discovery, self-growth, and self-expression are best achieved in a relaxed and open environment which remains sensitive and adaptive to the student’s needs and abilities.
• The teacher is a facilitator of that self-discovery and self-growth.
• They further believe that learning in the professional environment, where students interact with clients and professionals and can apply theoretical principles, is very effective in developing professional proficiency as well as classroom/studio-oriented education.

The meaning of this philosophy for Interior Architecture and Design education is that the curriculum should provide a judicious balance of learning experience with essential knowledge and understanding to be gained in the physical, behavioral and social sciences, humanities, professional sciences and communicative sciences. As potential translators of architectural and interior science, the students need the science (knowledge) and the art (skill) inherent in the interior design profession. Only when they have cultivated moral values can they translate this science and art into action, in a wide variety of settings, with sensitivity, self-reliance, social concern, and genuine compassion for others.

Learning Outcomes

• Have a global view of their responsibility as stewards of natural resources and the impact of design decisions within the parameters of ecological, socio-economic, and cultural contexts
• Understand and address human needs (social, economic, political, psychological, and physiological) in the applied practice of interior design
• Respond with creative problem-solving by exploring complex problems and generating creative solutions that optimize the human experience within the interior environment
• Engage in multi-disciplinary collaboration
• Effectively communicate visually, orally, and in the written word using appropriate techniques and technologies
• Understand and adopt accepted standards of business and organizational practices with commitment to the highest levels of professional standards and ethics, as well as demonstrate a willingness to advance not only themselves but the profession of interior design as a whole
• Develop a strong sense of the theoretical basis of art and design, as well as use historical/cultural context and precedence to enhance design decisions

Career Outcomes 

During your four years of study, you’ll develop a portfolio to demonstrate your talents for prospective employers after graduation. Our students get hands-on design experience working on projects at local retail, restaurant, healthcare and institutional businesses and residences. You’ll also have the opportunity to compete in several different design competitions on the regional, state, and national level. Our mentoring program brings experienced professionals from architecture and design firms, materials manufacturers, and national design organizations into the classroom, so that beginning freshman year, you’ll be engaging with potential employers and networking for your future.

With excellent career and academic advising and an extensive alumni network at top employers around the world, our Interior Architecture and Design graduates pursue a wide range of careers. Our graduates are working in industries including:

• Facilities planning 
• Product design
• Healthcare design 
• Residential design
• Hospitality design 
• Sustainable design
• Kitchen and bath design 
• Visual merchandising