Interior Architecture

Endicott’s interior architecture program is a four-year learning experience for students seeking professional practice in the design of interior architectural environments. The department’s goal is to provide students with problem-solving abilities and creative design skills to achieve success as the next generation of interior architecture professionals. An emphasis is placed throughout the curriculum on sustainable design and the built environment. The baccalaureate degree program is accredited by Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA).

The program employs an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving in the interior architectural environment. The curriculum is comprehensive and includes residential, commercial and institutional design studios; history of art, architecture, and interior architecture; a design sequence that incorporates spatial experience, human factors, sustainable design, universal design, and business principles; with an integral internship component and service learning opportunities. The internship program in interior architecture prepares students to meet the challenges of an emerging field and see firsthand the integrated components that form the interior environment. Use of technology is essential to the program.

Students in the department can join the ECAD (Endicott College Architectural + Design Studies), an active student organization that is affiliated with the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) allowing a direct connection to the professional architectural community.

Graduates of the baccalaureate program are qualified to join the interior design profession and undertake diverse project types. Upon completion of a two-year employment, graduates are eligible to sit for the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam to achieve interior design certification recognized in 28 states in the United States.

Promotion and Graduation

Students must achieve a “C” or better in all interior design courses to remain in the interior design major. To obtain a “C” in an interior design course requires an average of 75 or better. Students must also have a 2.5 GPA each semester in order to progress in the program and be recommended for graduation from the interior architecture program. Interior architecture students may repeat one interior architecture course (once), and remain in the major. The student may not enroll in sequential interior architecture courses requiring the failed course as a prerequisite until earning a “C” or better in the repeated course.

Fifth Year Master of Art in Interior Architecture

Students who are enrolled and in good standing in the undergraduate Bachelor of Fine Arts program in interior architecture can apply for admission into the graduate program. Endicott interior architecture students will be exempt from six credits toward the Master of Arts degree in Interior Architecture. This allows Endicott interior architecture students to obtain a master’s degree by studying for only one additional year after successful completion of the 129-credit undergraduate, CIDA-accredited Bachelor of Fine Arts degree requirements at Endicott.

The Master of Arts in Interior Architecture program builds on the knowledge and skill of Endicott’s baccalaureate interior architecture program. The fifth-year program will provide graduates a unique opportunity to advance their knowledge and skill with an emphasis on a higher level of critical thinking and standards of professional practice, theory, and research in their selected area of concentration. The graduate areas of concentration (sustainability, commercial and institutional, healthcare, and residential) are available and respond to students’ future career paths and the design of complex interior environments.

In order to qualify for this program, a student must apply at the end of the junior year, maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA, and successfully complete Thesis II. After successfully passing Thesis II, students will continue on into the fifth year for the Master of Arts degree in the fall semester following their baccalaureate graduation.

Recent Interior Design Internships include:

Carpenter & MacNeille, Architects and Builders
Currier & Associates
Elkus Manfredi Architects
Gensler
IA - Interior Architects
Olson, Lewis, Dioli and Doktor Architecture
Perkins + Will Architects
Sasaki Associates, Inc.
Stefura Associates
Symmes, Maini & McKee Associates
Siemasko & Verbridge, Inc.
TRO - The Ritchie Organization
Winter Street Architects
Zelloe Weaver Architects