Interior Architecture + Design (M.A.)

Whether you are just beginning a career as an interior architect or designer or advancing your current professional interior architecture + design knowledge and skills, Marymount University can fit your needs – offering two tracks in its Interior Architecture + Design program.

Marymount’s Master of Arts in Interior Architecture + Design program strives to nurture your intellectual growth, independent learning, and an increased capacity to engage in interior architecture and design practices.

The coursework of the M. Wilhelmina Boldt Interior Design program strengthens and supports the knowledge, skills, and techniques necessary in competent interior design practice while providing the foundation for the exploration of a specific aspect of the profession. Graduates are expected to understand, use, and conduct scholarly research to expand the profession’s body of knowledge and to assume leadership roles in the field.

Your coursework will provide an increased understanding of human needs within the built environment as required for practice or education and research. Coursework also fosters an interdisciplinary approach to design, while supporting independent and lifelong learning. In the classroom, you will focus on design knowledge and skills, as well as a comprehensive design process with emphasis on the development of programming skills. This includes proficiencies that address client or user goals and needs, graphic and written communication, problem solving, critical thinking, ethics, and social responsibility. Scholarly research is promoted through application in coursework and independent learning and the thesis or design research.

Admission Criteria for Nondegree Students: Under certain circumstances, a student admitted on a nondegree basis may be permitted to take Interior Architecture + Design courses with permission of the director of the School of Design + Art. Nondegree students are limited to no more than two IAD courses, up to six (6) credits.

Marymount’s Interior Architecture + Design Programs are STEM

The M.A. in Interior Architecture + Design program at Marymount University is designated as a STEM degree. Beginning in the Fall 2023 semester, international students enrolled in this program can apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion OPT (Optional Practice Training) for a total of 36 months. Please contact the Office of International Students and Scholars Services at isss@marymount.edu for detailed information and assistance on OPT.

Accreditation

The interior architecture + design program leading to the First-Professional M.A. in Interior Architecture + Design is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), www.accredit-id.org, 206 Grandville Avenue, Suite 350, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503. Marymount’s Post-Professional M.A. in Interior Architecture + Design is not accredited because CIDA does not accredit post-professional master’s programs. 

Marymount’s CIDA-accredited program prepares students for entry-level interior design practice, for advanced study, and to apply for membership in professional interior design organizations. ​The First-Professional Master of Arts in Interior Architecture + Design granted by Marymount University meets the educational requirement for eligibility to sit for the National Council for Interior Design Qualification Examination (NCIDQ Exam). For more information about NCIDQ Exam eligibility visit: www.cidq.org/eligibility-requirements

Program Options

For more information please contact:
Office of Graduate Admissions
gadmissi@marymount.edu
703-284-5901