Interior Design

Golden yellow abstract swirls
Interior Design

The Interior Design Program at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture considers the design of interiors as a multi-faceted endeavor with tangible consequences for society and the planet. The program’s offerings—including its curriculum, resources, and opportunities—reflect the balance between theoretical and applied knowledge that is needed for an effective engagement with the world through design.

LEARNING-BY-DOING

At the center of the student experience is a sequence of studio courses that serve as laboratories of innovation, creativity, professionalism, and learning-by-doing. Studio projects provide opportunities for addressing problems through design while also encouraging the synthesis of knowledge that is gained from courses across the curriculum. 

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS

The program is among only a handful of Interior Design faculties in the nation housed within a School of Architecture. In this context, the program strives to build upon and advocate for specific disciplinary knowledge, while also actively engaging in and contributing to interdisciplinary collaborations and the dynamic atmosphere of the school.

INTERIORS WITH IMPACT

With a commitment to global relevance, emerging technologies, social equity, and sustainability, the program acknowledges that its teaching must continue to evolve along with the diverse society that it serves. The aim is not only to follow but to encourage students to be leaders in the profession, their communities, and the world throughout their lives.

Interior Design

DEGREES + PROGRAMS

The Interior Design Program at the University of Texas as Austin offers two graduate-level degree programs, an undergraduate degree, and a minor in interior design at the undergraduate level. 

GRADUATE UNDERGRADUATE

Master of Interior Design, First Professional

Master of Interior Design, Post-Professional

Bachelor of Science in Interior Design

Interior Design Minor

INTERIOR DESIGN NEWS

An anxonometric rendering of the Multispecies Lounge project

Multispecies Lounge 

November 20, 2023
Plume, a metallic and purple obelisk, stands at the Austin airport with a parking garage in the background

Plume

November 20, 2023

INTERIOR DESIGN STUDENT WORK

Click the images below for project details.

HISTORY OF INTERIOR DESIGN AT UT AUSTIN 

UT Austin first offered Interior Design classes in 1912, making it the oldest Interior Design program west of the Mississippi River. The College of Engineering offered a five-year degree in Interior Architecture in 1930, which was discontinued in 1938. A sole curriculum remained in Human Ecology from 1945 onward that provided an emphasis area in Interior Design. In 1973, UT Austin’s program became one of the first accredited Interior Design programs in the country. The Interior Design major was transferred to the School of Architecture in 1997, and it has grown and flourished since then, offering a Master of Interior Design degree in 2010. More than 1,000 Interior Design alumni have left their mark beyond UT’s Forty Acres. 

ACCREDITATION

The interior design program leading to the Bachelor of Science in Interior Design as well as the first-professional Master of Interior Design I are accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation, www.accredit-id.org, 206 Grandville Avenue, Suite 350, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503.

The 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 Bachelor of Science in Interior Design granted by The University of Texas at Austin  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:https://www.cidq.org/eligibility-requirements.

  • Instagram Post
    We’re still buzzing from all the brilliant work and excitement from last week’s final reviews. <br /><br />Congratulations, students, and thank you to all of the faculty, staff, and reviewers who helped make it happen!
    @utsoa

    We’re still buzzing from all the brilliant work and excitement from last week’s final reviews.

    Congratulations, students, and thank you to all of the faculty, staff, and reviewers who helped make it happen!

  • Instagram Post
    Thankful for you, our UTSOA community 🩵 And this courtyard #HappyThanksgiving
    @utsoa

    Thankful for you, our UTSOA community 🩵 And this courtyard #HappyThanksgiving

  • Instagram Post
    Forward Thinking. Collaborative. Driven by Social Responsibility. This is The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture.<br /> <br />Applications are open for undergraduate and graduate programs spanning all scales of the built environment. See the links in our bio.<br />
    @utsoa

    Forward Thinking. Collaborative. Driven by Social Responsibility. This is The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture.
     
    Applications are open for undergraduate and graduate programs spanning all scales of the built environment. See the links in our bio.

  • Instagram Post
    Scenes from Masonry Day 2023 • Each fall, Associate Professor Cisco Gomes’ Construction course introduces students to commonly-used building materials and established construction practices. <br />
    @utsoa

    Scenes from Masonry Day 2023 • Each fall, Associate Professor Cisco Gomes’ Construction course introduces students to commonly-used building materials and established construction practices.

  • Instagram Post
    Tomorrow, Aleida Villasana @aleida.arqui and Simon Butler @simonsks will take over our Instagram to show us what their Advanced Design Studio got up to in Mexico earlier this semester.<br />
    @utsoa

    Tomorrow, Aleida Villasana @aleida.arqui and Simon Butler @simonsks will take over our Instagram to show us what their Advanced Design Studio got up to in Mexico earlier this semester.

  • Instagram Post
    Beautiful Battle Hall • Designed by Cass Gilbert, Battle Hall (aka the Architecture and Planning Library) was the first building on campus to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. <br />
    @utsoa

    Beautiful Battle Hall • Designed by Cass Gilbert, Battle Hall (aka the Architecture and Planning Library) was the first building on campus to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

  • Instagram Post
    On Monday, November 6, Felecia Davis, Associate Professor in the Stuckeman Center for Design and Computation @stuckeman_views, closes out our Fall 2023 lecture series with her lecture “Soft Systems: Crafting an Architecture.”<br />
    @utsoa

    On Monday, November 6, Felecia Davis, Associate Professor in the Stuckeman Center for Design and Computation @stuckeman_views, closes out our Fall 2023 lecture series with her lecture “Soft Systems: Crafting an Architecture.”

  • Instagram Post
    This Halloween, we're throwing it back to two *spooooky* workshops hosted by the @materials_lab: A solar-powered workshop where students got to create a DIY solar-powered jack-o-lantern and a vacuum-formed mask workshop which introduced students to the vacuum former, using a 3D mask form and a sheet
    @utsoa

    This Halloween, we're throwing it back to two *spooooky* workshops hosted by the @materials_lab: A solar-powered workshop where students got to create a DIY solar-powered jack-o-lantern and a vacuum-formed mask workshop which introduced students to the vacuum former, using a 3D mask form and a sheet

  • Instagram Post
    Students in Senior Lecturer @robertstepnoski’s “Reality Capture for Architecture” class documented the entire Zilker Clubhouse site on Barton Springs Road this summer. <br />
    @utsoa

    Students in Senior Lecturer @robertstepnoski’s “Reality Capture for Architecture” class documented the entire Zilker Clubhouse site on Barton Springs Road this summer.