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Interior Design

Master of Interior Design

For More Information

Campus address: Goldsmith Hall (GOL 2.308), phone (512) 471-1922, fax (512) 471-0716; campus mail code: B7500

Mailing address: The University of Texas at Austin, Graduate Program in Interior Design, School of Architecture, 310 Inner Campus Drive, B7500 Austin TX 78712-1009

E-mail: soa_grad@austin.utexas.edu

URL: http://soa.utexas.edu/

Facilities for Graduate Work

Facilities for the study of interior design are centrally located on campus in three adjacent and historically significant buildings: Battle Hall (1911) and Sutton Hall (1918, renovated in 1982), designed by the distinguished American architect Cass Gilbert; and Goldsmith Hall (1933, expanded and renovated in 1988), designed by noted French architect Paul Philippe Cret, one of the planners of the original forty-acre campus.

The Architecture and Planning Library, a branch of the University Libraries, maintains more than 88,000 volumes, as well as the Alexander Architectural Archive with over 90 archival collections. The Architecture and Planning Library is distinguished by its extensive holdings of rare and scarce architecture and interior design collections. Over 17,000 volumes are housed in Special Collections, with special strengths in modernism, the Vienna Secession Movement, the Beaux-Arts, and the Picturesque. Special collections include the libraries of architects Charles W. Moore and Paul P. Cret, architectural historian Colin Rowe, as well as libraries of firms whose records are preserved in the Alexander Architectural Library.

The program is additionally supported by the Materials Labs collection, which is one of the largest and most comprehensive material collections of its kind at any college or university in the country. Currently, the Materials Lab has a growing collection, currently standing at 25,000 material samples and corresponding product literature (manufacturer catalogs, brochures, multimedia, etc.). The collection mainly consists of traditional building construction materials; however, it strives to be reflective of the current building and design market and has a particular focus on smart, innovative, emerging, and sustainable design materials and technologies.

The collections of the nearby Harry Ransom Center include china, clothing, decorative arts, furniture, silver, and textiles that contribute to the study of the interior. Historic rooms and suites on campus include the Willoughby-Blake Room, the John Foster and Janet Dulles Suite, the Republic of Texas Suite, the President’s Office, and the Esther Hoblitzelle Parlor. Other collections on campus include the 15,000 pieces of art, furniture, and accessories in the Elton and Martha Hyder collection and the collection of approximately forty chairs dating from the seventeenth through twentieth century that are housed in the Blanton Museum of Art.

The School of Architecture’s Visual Resources Collection contains audiovisual equipment, technical and design reference material, and more than 240,000 photographic slides and 73,000 digital images of interior design, architecture, and related works.

The Center for American Architecture and Design provides support and resources for the scholarly study of American architecture. Through lectures, exhibitions, seminars, symposia, fellowship support, and the collection of research materials, the center encourages a community of architecture and interior design scholarship.

Computer-aided design and research opportunities are provided by the School of Architecture’s computer laboratory, which maintains microcomputer equipment and terminals interfaced with the extensive computing facilities of Information Technology Services.

Areas of Study

The two master’s degree programs in interior design lead to professional and postprofessional academic degrees. The Master of Interior Design (first professional) degree fulfills the professional degree requirements for registration as an interior designer. The Master of Interior Design (postprofessional) degree offers students advanced studies, theory, and research for those holding a prior professional degree in interior design or architecture.

Graduate Studies Committee

The following faculty members served on the Graduate Studies Committee in the spring semester 2013.

Elizabeth A Danze
Tamie Michele Glass
Nancy P Kwallek
Christopher A Long
Igor P Siddiqui

Admission Requirements

Upon admission to the program, the student must pay a nonrefundable enrollment deposit to indicate that he or she accepts the offer of admission. The deposit is applied to the payment of tuition when the student enrolls.

Master of Interior Design (first professional). This degree program is open to qualified applicants who hold baccalaureate degrees in any discipline without a prior professional degree in interior design or architecture. 

Master of Interior Design (postprofessional). This degree program is open to qualified applicants with a prior professional baccalaureate degree in interior design or architecture.