Interior Design, BFA

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Interior Design, BFA

Become an interior design leader and innovator, setting standards for critical thinking, sustainable practice, ethical and social responsibility, professional aptitude and collaboration as you enhance and transform the built environment.

A computer render of an indoor pool and a children's playground with two levels and a waterfall.

Type: Undergraduate, BFA
Credits: 126
Duration: 4 Years
Courses: Plan of Study
School and Department: School of Design,
Interior Design

An interior design sketch showing a multi-level home with the silhouettes of various people throughout. The space is rendered in grey with orange and yellow wireframes overlaid on top.

Interior Design at Pratt

At Pratt, one of the most prominent programs in the country, you’ll study interior design as an integral element of the built environment, generating creative solutions that combine light and color, craft and making, material research, evolving technologies, sustainable practice, and social responsibility, including global cultural histories and diverse contexts. Our CIDA accredited BFA program prepares you to think critically, innovate, and become an interior design leader, expanding the potential of professional practice, design education, and research that affects the interior environment.

Student Work

Students work in a busy classroom studio. There are large architectural models and expansive sketching stations.

The Experience

The design studio is at the core of your educational experience at Pratt. It is a creative space and a community in microcosm, from which we connect to the larger design community. We believe education takes place in the studio and the classroom and that the work in the studio benefits the student’s growth equally. Working with tools and materials in the studio deepens knowledge of the opportunities inherent in form-making and design exploration.

Maker Spaces and Labs

Sustainability and material exploration drive our passion for making. We are hands-on and immersive; any student of design can discover, iterate and refine their investigations through our many labs. Learn more

A student works on a sculpture in a design studio. The walls behind the student are yellow and have "Tool Library" written on them

Thesis

The Senior year spring semester design studio is devoted entirely to the development of a major design project: the Senior Design Thesis – a full semester of work on a self‐initiated project based on a strong sense of professionalism and design maturity. The thesis project is presented at the annual design show, a public event attended by industry leaders and potential employers. See Pratt Shows 2023.

Study Abroad

Image of a sketchbook with a sketch of a building that lies directly behind the notebook as it being held in the air by a hand that cannot be seen on the pictures.

Immersing yourself in another culture is an incredible experience that can extend the boundaries of creativity. Study abroad programs are an integral part of the college experience, and Pratt has deep connections with university partners around the world. Junior year students have the opportunity to spend the spring semester at DIS in Copenhagen, Denmark. Many exchange and study abroad options, including the Custom Semester program for juniors, are available to Interior Design students. See where you can go.

Learning Resources

We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate. Learn more.

Our Faculty

Our faculty are practitioners of interior design, architecture, industrial design, lighting design, furniture design, and communications design. They run or work for some of the most exciting and successful design firms in the world. All faculty have extensive experience working at the scale of the interior, and their expertise and abiding interests are brought to bear upon the coursework.

See the full list of Interior Design faculty and administrators.

Sameera Chukkapalli Holmes
Visiting Associate Professor
Deborah Schneiderman
Professor
Christian Rietzke
Adjunct Associate Professor – CCE

Our Alumni

A student attentively observes an alumna describe her work in a gallery.

Interior design alumni have risen to the tops of their fields in affordable housing, community economic development, transportation, government, community development and advanced research.

Where They Work

Gensler
Perkins&Will,
The Switzer Group,
Rockwell Group,
Roman and Williams,
Avroko,
Tony Chi Studio
FXCollaborative

Success Stories

Basketball court from the Learning Scapes case study for PS/MS206 by Pratt students Patrick Suh, Gwen Emery, Pan Niruttisard, Ruiyi Zheng, and Zlatan Wang

Reimagining a School Playground as a Learning Landscape

Article

Ready for More?

HERE’S HOW TO APPLY	PORTFOLIO HELP	OUR CAMPUS & BEYOND
Thinking seriously about Pratt? Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.	Building your portfolio can be daunting. We’ll answer your questions and help you feel confident about the portfolio you submit with your application. Start building your portfolio, now.	Find yourself at home at Pratt: our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighbors. Check us out.

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From the Catalog

View all Interior Design courses

BFA students at Pratt study interior design as an integral element of the built environment by generating creative solutions that integrate an understanding of light and color, craft and making, material research, evolving technologies, sustainable practice, and social responsibility, including knowledge about global cultural histories and diverse contexts. The program prepares students to engage in critical inquiry that establishes them as innovators and leaders in the field of interior design, expanding the potential of professional practice, design education, and research affecting the interior environment.
Students begin their study of interior design in the sophomore year upon completion of a required year in Foundation. As the curriculum proceeds, interior design projects become more complex. The structure of the 126-credit program prepares graduates for a leadership role in an established profession.
Interested BFA students may apply to spend the spring term of the junior year at the Danish International School (DIS), studying interior architecture in Copenhagen. The program at DIS includes extensive study tours throughout Scandinavia. Individuals interested in transferring to Pratt from other institutions are also encouraged to apply.
To support our commitment to technological excellence, personal laptop computers are required for all undergraduate students.

Students are able to engage in analysis, research, and application of the fundamentals of human behavior.
Students are able to research, analyze, and integrate light, color, and materiality as essential design elements and principles.
Students are able to visually present and communicate their intentions through appropriate media.
Students are able to present their own work through oral and written formats.
Students are able to analyze and integrate knowledge of historical, cultural, and social contexts.
Students are able to research, identify, and evaluate constraints, rules, codes and conventions that govern the built environment.
Students are able to identify and integrate principles of human and environmental health.
Students will be prepared to work collaboratively and in multidisciplinary environments.