Interior Design
Pratt Institute’s MFA in Interior Design is located within the ultimate learning environment of New York City—the interior design capital of the United States. Consistently identified at the forefront of Interior Design education, our graduate program prepares students to become leaders in the discipline by setting high standards for critical thinking, professional aptitude, social and ethical responsibility, exemplary expression of skills and abilities, enhancing and transforming the human environment.
Interior Design at Pratt is a spatially driven exploration of the discipline. Through an inspiring and challenging course of study, the Interior Design program is a leading innovator in an expanding and dynamic field. The MFA in Interior Design guides students in generating comprehensive creative solutions that integrate an understanding of craft and making, material research, emerging technologies, and sustainable practices, fully cognizant of global cultural histories and diverse contexts. The program prepares students to engage in critical inquiry which establishes them as innovators in the field of interior design, expanding the potential of professional practice, design education, and research affecting our understanding of the interior.
The MFA degree prepares individuals who are interested in contributing to the academic discipline as well as the profession. Our international student body with its varying backgrounds, academic disciplines, and life experiences, creates an intellectually stimulating environment. Our students are a select group who come to Pratt to work hard in order to prepare themselves to enter a profession in which the designer must be nimble, multifaceted, and equipped with the skills necessary to provide innovative design solutions.
Many come to the program for a career change, so classroom and studio interchange is enhanced by the diversity of students—a student who comes from a background in economics has a very different approach from one coming from dance, and each has something to learn from the other. An important part of Pratt’s mission is to challenge graduates to reach their fullest potential and prepare them to become leaders in the profession.
The MFA curriculum brings a focus to the interior by concentrating on many scales, uses, and activities to connect the discipline and practice of interior design to larger issues of habitation, urbanization, and society. Our faculty members are practitioners and academics of the highest caliber - knowledgeable in interior design, architecture, lighting design, graphic design and fine arts. They bring real-world design experience, methodologies, and processes into their creative classroom teaching. The program curriculum instills values in its students, not as mere competencies, but as opportunities for critical engagement in the contemporary world.
Chair
David Foley
Assistant Chair
Tania Sofia Branquinho
Assistant to the Chair
Rachel Raiola
Office
Tel: 718.636.3630
int@pratt.edu
https://www.pratt.edu/programs/mfa-interior-design/
INT-532 Textiles for Interiors - (2 Credits)
The purpose of this course is to provide a thorough study of textiles, wall covering, and carpet as it relates to the aesthetics, application, and function in corporate, healthcare, institutional, and residential interiors. A great portion of this course will be devoted to practical application. These sessions will be held in environments where students would go to obtain products for their \"real\" projects.
INT-560 CADD I: AutoCAD - (2 Credits)
This first course in Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) covers the basic concepts and techniques encountered in today's microcomputer-based CAD systems. Major commands, defining a drawing and editing techniques are mastered. Basic prototype drawings are created and recorded on hard copy.
INT-561 CADD II: 3-D Max - (2 Credits)
Using specialized software, students learn to prepare detailed and rendered perspective drawings for presentation purposes.
INT-562 CADD III: REVIT - (2 Credits)
This course will cover the use of Revit Architecture, a leading Building Information Modeling (BIM) software that is quickly becoming the industry standard for design professionals. The goal of this course is to get students familiar with Revit in particular, and the BIM design process on a more general scale. We will focus on how these tools can enhance student work using design studio/thesis examples, as well as how these tools are used in a professional environment using complex large-scale projects as case-studies.
INT-601 Interior Design Core Studio I - (6 Credits)
These are basic design courses dealing with people's relation to space, architecture and the environment in a broad sense. Emphasis is on human factors, scale, materials and structures. The course progresses from the abstract to problem-solving through analysis and includes consideration of professional design problems of moderate scope.
INT-602 Interior Design Core Studio II - (6 Credits)
These are basic design courses dealing with people's relation to space, architecture and the environment in a broad sense. Emphasis is on human factors, scale, materials and structures. The course progresses from the abstract to problem-solving through analysis and includes consideration of professional design problems of moderate scope.
INT-604 Foundations Construction - (2 Credits)
This is an introduction to structural principles and construction practices in design and architecture. Emphasis is on the relation of basic structures to the needs of interior design. Consideration of problems and solutions of small-scale construction are explored. Construction drawings and details are reviewed together with lecture and discussion.
INT-606 Architectural Drawing - (2 Credits)
Drafting techniques, perspective construction and lettering are taught as well as delineation, media and application. Advanced problems in rendering and presentation techniques are introduced.
INT-613 Constructing Representation - (3 Credits)
Constructing Representation introduces methods of graphic representation as communication tools for expressing ideas on interior space, material and experience. Building introductory drawing competency through a variety of analog, digital, and hybrid techniques, this course focuses on 2d and 3d drawing processes and workflows. Sketching, diagramming, collage, drafting, paraline projection, and perspective are taught as well as scale and composition. Foundational problems in rendering and presentation techniques are introduced.
INT-628 Representing Construction - (3 Credits)
Representing Construction follows Constructing Representation as an introduction to the systems and materials that comprise the constructed interior and the conventions by which these systems are represented in drawing and digital 3D modeling. Lectures, demonstrations, and workshops emphasize developing fluency in the language of professional design drawing to understand and illustrate real world examples of materials and assemblies. Drawing is further investigated as a means to harness familiarity with the concrete to synthesize and render the abstract.
INT-631 Color and Materials - (2 Credits)
This course is an overview of color theory and color phenomenology as it relates to interior design. With a broad introduction to color theory, students manipulate visual phenomenon in two- and three-dimensional exercises. The final project applies these principles to a given interior using color and materials on architectural surfaces, furniture, and furnishings.
INT-635 Assembling Atmospheres - (3 Credits)
Assembling Atmospheres introduces students to concepts of material, color and light, as they are perceived, made and constructed, in the interior through observation and hands-on experimentation. Initial studies of spatial perception through experience and cross-cultural, historical and contemporary lenses establish a foundation for a series of three-dimensional experiments with varied materials and media.
INT-641 Professional Practice - (2 Credits)
The practice of interior design involves both office and project management. This course examines the legal, financial, personnel, marketing and communications responsibilities of a design principal in the field. It introduces the graduate student to the complexities of managing the execution of a contract interior project, including experience at a job site in progress.
INT-643 Neo Con:Chicago - (3 Credits)
An immersion into the field of interiors & Product Design as they relate to the Contract Design industry. Students spend 7 days in Chicago, listening and talking to designers ande manufacturers about their spaces and products. In addition, students will tour Frank Lloyd Wright & Mies van der Rohe designed buildings around Chicago, and will also have the opportunity to see and experience other great architecture and design in Chicago.
INT-656 Special Projects - (3 Credits)
Coursework and/or special projects are assigned on an individual basis.
INT-657 Special Projects - (3 Credits)
Coursework and/or special projects are assigned on an individual basis.
INT-658 Special Projects - (3 Credits)
Coursework and/or special projects are assigned on an individual basis.
INT-700 Thesis In Progress - (0 Credits)
If the thesis course is not completed in the initial semesters, students can continue working in INT-700 for no more than five semesters.
INT-701 Interior Design Advanced Studio - (6 Credits)
This studio will Introduce students to the critical issues in the design of the Interior through a series of projects that conceptually and materially address program, site and cultural context.
INT-702 Interior Design Advanced Options Studio - (6 Credits)
Studio assignments provide opportunities for focused investigations within the interior environment via unique or prototypical projects, of varying scales and typo1ogies, and in response to considerations of social context, site and program. The studio emphasizes a holistic, three-dimensional approach to problem solving including spatial manipulations and integrated investigations of materials, structures, light and color.
INT-703 Interior Design Thesis I - (6 Credits)
Students undertake independent problems based on individual thesis proposals, submitted by the candidate and approved by the thesis advisor. Projects represent design solutions of significant scope and complexity and must show mature correlation between all phases of design and construction based on supportive research. Students may also elect to pursue an academic research-oriented approach to study emerging issues in the interior built environment.
INT-704 Interior Design Thesis II - (6 Credits)
In this second semester of thesis, students continue their investigations of Independent problems based on individual thesis proposals, submitted by the candidate and approved by the thesis advisor. Projects represent design solutions of significant scope and complexity and must show mature correlation between all phases of design and construction based on supportive research. Students may also elect to pursue an academic research-oriented approach to study emerging issues in the interior built environment.
INT-713 Ideation and Representation - (3 Credits)
This class introduces students to the concepts of digital model making, rendering and animation. New workflow options will be explored for enhances design production addressing the seamless transition from 2D to 3D, digital to physical models, conceptual to realistic design options and their visual representations. The course will discuss the software in the context of the design practice as a generative, iterative and production tool.
INT-715 Light Color and Material - (3 Credits)
This course is an exploration of light, color and materials in the design of the interior used as a means of expression through three larger investigative modules: 1) integration of seeing: 2) integration of experience: and 3) integration of application. The course will address sustainable practice, material research, environmental quality, aesthetics, and changing technologies as applied to light color and materials.
INT-717 Interior Design Theory and Criticism - (3 Credits)
This course examines the ways in which interior designers and theorists express and conceptualize the multi-dimensional field of interior Design and will include topics in social sciences, design history, taste, sustainability and ethical design.
INT-724 Construction and Fabrication - (3 Credits)
This course will study the construction documentation process through the production of working drawings, models and schedules. Through a series of iterative steps, the evolution of a design from the concept through the model and drawings to the final fabrication and construction phase will be understood. Students will explore new technologies in design documentation and fabrication, putting together a documentation set using BIM (an acronym that stands for \" Building Information Modeling\") and exploring digital fabrication techniques.
INT-726 Environmental Technology Sustainability Elements - (3 Credits)
Students will learn how the natural and constructed interior environment affects human comfort. Students will explore the science and technology for measuring and maintaining comfort conditions and ecological balance within buildings, with an emphasis on sustainable design and systems integration. Through the use of software and 3-D modeling students will learn develop sustainable design strategies for the ambient environment.
INT-731 Interior Options Lab - (3 Credits)
The interior Options Lab provides the opportunity for further hands on studio exploration in selected areas of interest. Projects will explore detail areas of interior Design rather than full interior Environments. Each options lab section will uniquely address issues and practices relative to the interior Design Graduate concentration areas.
INT-733 Teaching Practicum - (1 Credit)
Intended for those who desire to enter teaching at the college-level, students will explore and observe multiple teaching pedagogies and strategies, design education methodologies, and evaluation techniques in order to develop a knowledge base for curricular and project development, as well as techniques for effective and appropriate course preparation and instruction.
INT-735 Taste - (3 Credits)
The course investigates a series of histories and theories of the domestic interior by looking at it from within and from the outside, its contents and its representations. It engages history and theory by allowing course participants to create their own body of scholarship through a series of focused case study investigations of the changing cultural forces and how they directly affect the form of the interior and its representations of the past and present.
INT-737 Visual Presentation - (1 Credit)
The ability to communicate through visual material is an essential skill for the interior design professional. Using the development of your portfolio as a main theme, this class will serve as a lab to understand general principles of how graphic design helps you successfully present and develop your work-both as a representational and a creative tool.
INT-781 Interior Options Lab - (3 Credits)
Interior Options Labs provide the opportunity to explore focused topics related to the craft, materials and making of Interiors in a studio, lab or workshop environment. Projects will involve specific investigations related to the techniques and principles of constructing an interior environment. While engaging theory, the course will emphasize the fabrication of constructed moments, objects and details that make up the interior experience.
INT-782 Interior Options Theory Electives - (3 Credits)
Interior Options Theory Electives provide the opportunity to further research, develop and position critical theory in relation to specific areas of study that influence and affect Interior Design theory and practice. Interior Options Theory Electives will incorporate verbal and visual representation and communication strategies as tools to express researched and original concepts.
INT-9600 Interior Design Graduate Internship - (0 Credits)
The internship is a learning experience at a discipline-related professional site. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for professional work or graduate school. Students experience the application of coursework lessons into a real-life context, thus enriching their education. They deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of their discipline, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices. Additional faculty-supervised activities provide the opportunity for an in-depth reflection on the internship experience.
INT-9601 Interior Design Graduate Internship - (1 Credit)
The internship is a learning experience at a discipline-related professional site. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for professional work or graduate school. Students experience the application of coursework lessons into a real-life context, thus enriching their education. They deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of their discipline, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices. Additional faculty-supervised activities provide the opportunity for an in-depth reflection on the internship experience.
INT-9602 Interior Design Graduate Internship - (2 Credits)
The internship is a learning experience at a discipline-related professional site. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for professional work or graduate school. Students experience the application of coursework lessons into a real-life context, thus enriching their education. They deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of their discipline, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices. Additional faculty-supervised activities provide the opportunity for an in-depth reflection on the internship experience.
INT-9603 Interior Design Graduate Internship - (3 Credits)
The internship is a learning experience at a discipline-related professional site. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for professional work or graduate school. Students experience the application of coursework lessons into a real-life context, thus enriching their education. They deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of their discipline, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices. Additional faculty-supervised activities provide the opportunity for an in-depth reflection on the internship experience.
- Students are able to identify and explore complex problems in the realm of the interior, and generate creative solutions that integrate an understanding of sustainable practice, material research, environmental quality, aesthetics, and changing technologies.
- Students acquire proficiency in digital and analog technologies as well as oral and written communication necessary to communicate a body of professional level work, clearly delineating design issues and intent.
- Students demonstrate a high level of problem solving in the design of interior environments, cognizant of current issues and developments affecting design study and practice, as well as a critical understanding of the global cultural history and context affecting the interior environment.
- Students develop a significant body of work, culminating in an independent thesis project that is rigorous in both conception and execution, demonstrates a synthetic understanding of the knowledge and skills acquired during the course of study, and connects interior design to larger issues of inhabitation, cities and society.