Department of Interior Design

interior design

About the Department

The Department of Interior Design’s mission is to provide an intellectually rigorous, studio-based experience grounded in the issues of interior architecture.

The department develops in its students an enduring passion and curiosity for their work, a determination to continually seek quality in their endeavors, an ability to reflect constructively upon their actions as individuals and a responsibility for their lifelong education.

The department focuses students’ professional activities while encouraging connections between these activities and the larger forum of ideas that enrich their culture and environment.

One of the oldest programs of its kind in U.S., we offer a curriculum that balances academic study with professional training, helping students gain both conceptual knowledge and technical skill.

Our BFA in Interior Design and MFA in Design (Interior Environments) degree programs are accredited by CIDA, the Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

Our alumni are commercial designers, hospitality designers, residential designers, museum and exhibition designers and lighting designers.

We have over a hundred undergraduate and graduate students from all over the U.S. and abroad.

Your gift to the VCUarts Department of Interior Design helps provide scholarships for our talented students, promote faculty research and host world-class artists.

Faculty Listing

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Degree Programs

This studio-based program focuses on creating conceptually driven, critical holistic three-dimensional spaces, with the principles of space, form, color and light serving as the foundations of your studies.

Interior Design students

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design

The department’s relationships with design firms nationwide offer opportunities and access to professional critiques, visiting designers and site visits. Upon graduation, a majority of students enter the field or pursue graduate programs in architecture, graphic design and industrial design.

Master of Fine Arts in Design with a concentration in interior environments: professional entry-level option

This program is for second-degree seekers who have a proven record of academic excellence and are interested in pursuing a career in interior design.

interior design

Master of Fine Arts in Design with a concentration in interior environments: post-professional option

This program educates designers to enrich the quality of life through the design of the near environment. Students with a bachelor’s degree in interior design are invited to apply.

VCUarts alumna, Jennifer Farris, tells us about the Interior Design program and her experiences in Richmond, VA.

Student Experience

Learn about professional preparation and get the information you need about requirements and policies.

Student Resources and Facilities

Get the information you need on materials, policies and facilities.

IDES

Internships and Careers

Students are required to serve internships in a professional design setting, part of the emphasis on real-world experience, and they receive training in all areas of design, including presentation and communication skills.

Learn more about VCUarts career and internship support.

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