Mar 29, 2024  
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]


Interior Design (B.S.)



Professional interior designers shape interior environments that satisfy the functional, spatial and aesthetic requirements of a wide range of users in all building types. K-State interior design students are taught to use analytical and creative skills in combination with a broad range of technical knowledge in solving environmental challenges to human well-being. Ultimately, professional interior designers identify, research and creatively solve problems related to the function of interior environments in order to enhance quality of life while protecting public health, safety, and welfare.

Interior designers frequently work in teams with other design professionals including architects and engineers.  Interior designers provide pre-design services such as evaluation of prospective tenant lease space, feasibility studies and programming, which is the development of a program of space needs with descriptions of environmental qualities to guide design decisions.

When developing solutions for interior spaces, interior designers consider a variety of factors, including the size and shape of interior spaces and other spatial attributes, construction, codes and regulations, material properties and energy consumption. Interior designers also consider contextual factors such as precedent, building and site location, and behavioral and cultural patterns of use. In addition to determining the size, shape and other qualities of space, interior designers select, specify and determine placement for materials, fixtures, finishes and furnishings. Designs are communicated through physical and digital models and images.

Interior designers produce construction documents to communicate technical considerations to contractors and others engaged in constructing buildings and their components. At the time of construction or installation, designers are involved with project administration as the client’s agent. Interior designers also frequently conduct post-occupancy evaluations.

The interior design program in the College of Health and Human Sciences emphasizes the interaction between humans and the interior environment. Students are encouraged to become professionals who design interior spaces that are sustainable and enhance user satisfaction, productivity and safety at all stages of life. All students are exposed to design problem-solving through a multi-cultural perspective and gain competencies that allow them to enter the global practice of design in the building industry.

Interior design students take courses in human behavior in the designed environment, interior design, visual communications, building construction, building systems, lighting, history of interior design, basic and advanced computer applications, construction documentation, and professional practice. Areas of focused study available to majors are diverse and include design for special needs, historic preservation and sustainable design.

Employment Prospects

K-State interior design graduates are most frequently employed in a variety of multidisciplinary, architectural and interior design firms. Other common career paths include positions with systems dealerships or other product manufacturers to the architectural and interior design community, serving as a specification specialists and project managers. Some graduates take their design careers toward specialized areas such as facilities planning, historic preservation, lighting, custom airplane interiors and residential design.

An indicator of the quality of the interior design undergraduate program at Kansas State University is the employment opportunities available to student interns and graduates. Our students complete interior design internships with top architectural design firms from coast to coast. Recently, our students have interned or gained post-graduation employment with firms such as HOK in Kansas City and Washington, D.C., Perkins+Will in Dallas, Denver, and Washington, D.C., Hirsch Bedner Associates in San Francisco, SOM in Chicago, DLR in Denver, Kansas City, and Dallas, and Gensler in Austin, Dallas, New York and Washington, D.C. Our alumni are also employed by leading design firms in metropolitan areas including Denver, Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, St. Louis and Wichita, Boston, Naples, Seattle, Houston, Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seoul, Korea, and London, UK.

The feedback we receive from employers at the completion of student internships rates the performance of our students very high across all performance factors and indicates that our curriculum is preparing K-State interior design graduates for entry-level positions. Employers frequently note the high level of professionalism and abilities demonstrated by our students and graduates. Interior design program graduates provide feedback that they are well-prepared to start their careers and recognize the strengths and unique contributions that they are able to bring to the multi-disciplinary workplace. Students can be confident in that their education efforts from our program will give them the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in the multi-disciplinary design professions.

  • Four-year professional program accredited by the Council for Interior design Accreditation (CIDA) and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
  • Students are well served by the program’s unique combination of an emphasis in the knowledge of human behavior in the designed environment and professional competencies in interior design.
  • Opportunities in coursework and experience-based learning provide exposure to diverse cultural perspectives. Our program has a ten-year tradition of fourth-year students working with Korean interior architecture students.  Our partner, Inje University, provides our students the opportunity to design for a site in Korea with the assistance of Korean students as interpreters of the location/environment, users, and culture. 
  • Teaching and research facilities include dedicated studios, plotter and printing lab and a comprehensive professional resource library.
  • Student may choose to participate in summer internships, study abroad, and a variety of both domestic and foreign faculty-led study tours. Typically, we provide faculty-led trips to Italy and France, South Korea, and Great Britain on a rotating basis with one trip per academic year.
  • Interior Design students have the opportunity to join professional and student interest groups including the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA).
  • There are multi-disciplinary student organizations of interest to students in interior design including the United States Green Building Council Student Chapter, Women In Design, NEWH Hospitality Network, and Students for Environmental Action.
  • Students are successful in winning regional, national, and international design competitions.

What will I study?

The interior design program is a studio-based curriculum specifically structured to integrate learning with related professional courses taken sequentially and concurrently. Students learn how the interior design body of knowledge is developed through research, and how to create spaces that support how we work and live today and tomorrow.

Eight interior design studios are taken sequentially within the four-year program.  Students begin with design fundamentals and progress through more complex learning. The content in studios includes design thinking, design communications, spatial composition and space planning, design and execution of construction documents, sustainability, building technology, material specification, universal and accessible design, building and life safety codes. Senior level studios provide projects that are research-driven, theory-based and professionally comprehensive. Teamwork is required to prepare students for their future professional lives. The program also includes courses in written and oral communication, social and natural sciences, quantitative studies, history, economics, art, architecture, business, sustainability and textiles.

Specific profession courses also include:

  • Design and Behavior in the Interior Environment
  • History of Interior Design I & II
  • Construction Methods and Materials for Interior Design
  • Computer-Aided Visual Communication in Interior Design
  • Environmental Systems for Interior Design
  • Interior Design Practices and Procedures
  • Design for Supportive Environments
  • Textiles for Interior Design
  • Lighting

Elective professional courses include:

  • Advanced Design & Behavior
  • Design for Aging in the Modern World
  • Interior Design Internship
  • Interior Design Study Tour
  • Topics in Advanced ID Theory

High school preparation

Students who have completed a college preparatory curriculum are best suited for the interior design program.  Preparation or experience in hand drawing, two-dimensional and three-dimensional design, geometry, algebra, physical science, world history, and written and oral communications is strongly recommended. Cultural and creative activities and exposure to a wide range of cultures through travel and study are encouraged.

Notification of Admission to the Interior Design Program
 
Admission to the interior design program is selective and competitive. Applicants are admitted on the basis of academic performance and enrollment capacity and begin the program in the fall semester.  We begin admitting students with outstanding academic performance for the subsequent August in November and December of the prior year.  However, most students are admitted in February of the year they will become an interior design student at Kansas State University. Review of all qualified applicants begins February 1. Applicants who apply after the February 1 date will be considered for admission in the next round of offers after their application is complete. A waitlist is used to offer admission until the enrollment capacity is met each year for the fall semester incoming students.

How to Apply to become an Interior Design Student

Incoming students complete the general university admissions process. Students apply to the university at www.k-state.edu/admissions/apply. Students must indicate that they are interested in being considered for admission to the interior design program in the College of Health and Human Sciences. Only individuals who have completed applications (including an official high school transcript, official ACT or SAT scores, and application fee) submitted to the K-State Office of Admissions are considered for selective admission to the interior design program.

Transfer applicants must submit a complete K-State admissions application, including official transcript(s) for all post-secondary courses completed, and the application fee to the K-State Office of Admissions. Transfer students from other design programs who wish to be considered for advanced placement should contact the Department of Interior Design and Fashion Studies (IDFS) for additional information.

Change of major K-State students must submit an internal application form to the IDFS office by February 1.

Computer access

Interior design students are required to provide their own computer equipment needed for in the program. Please consult the interior design website for minimum computer requirements. As technology changes, so do the computer specifications. Students are encouraged to verify the most current requirements prior to purchase.

Bachelor’s degree requirements

General Requirements (33-35 credit hours)


Quantitative Studies (3 credit hours)


Natural and Physical Sciences (7-8 credit hours)


  • Life Science Elective Credits: 3

Humanities (3 credit hours)


Integrative Health and Human Sciences core course (3 credit hours)


Professional studies (87 credit hours)


Grades of “C” or higher are required.

Professional Electives (22 credit hours)


Select from the following content areas: 

  • Studio Arts Credits: 6
  • Professional Applications Credits: 10
    and
  • Business Credits: 6

Note


For information about the General Education K-State 8 program, check the requirements specified by the College of Health and Human Sciences website.

Total hours required for graduation (120 credit hours)