The Interior Design program at Pratt prepares you to become an innovator and leader in the field of Interior Design. Addressing the critical issues of sustainability, social justice and emerging technologies, you are positioned to engage the larger potentials of professional practice and design education.
Your education in interior design will address the full spectrum of forces and scales of the built environment; from larger architectural contexts, to object and material exploration, as well as its historical, social, and cultural implications. As graduate students, you will contribute to how we understand and define interior design. Curating your own academic path that supports your interests in topics ranging from exhibition, lighting, furniture, theory, sustainability, emerging technology, and independent self-directed topics.
Pratt Institute’s MFA in Interior Design is located within the ultimate learning environment of New York City—the interior design capital of the United States. Consistently identified at the forefront of Interior Design education, our graduate program prepares students to become leaders in the discipline by setting high standards for critical thinking, professional aptitude, social and ethical responsibility, exemplary expression of skills and abilities, enhancing and transforming the human environment.
What We Offer
Interior Design at Pratt is a spatially driven exploration of the discipline. Through an inspiring and challenging course of study, the Interior Design program is a leading innovator in an expanding and dynamic field. The MFA in Interior Design guides students in generating comprehensive creative solutions that integrate an understanding of craft and making, material research, emerging technologies, and sustainable practices, fully cognizant of global cultural histories and diverse contexts. The program prepares students to engage in critical inquiry which establishes them as innovators in the field of interior design, expanding the potential of professional practice, design education, and research affecting our understanding of the interior.
What You Should Know
The MFA degree prepares individuals who are interested in contributing to the academic discipline as well as the profession. Our international student body with its varying backgrounds, academic disciplines, and life experiences, creates an intellectually stimulating environment. Our students are a select group who come to Pratt to work hard in order to prepare themselves to enter a profession in which the designer must be nimble, multifaceted, and equipped with the skills necessary to provide innovative design solutions.
Applicants with an undergraduate degree in interior design, architecture, or other closely related design fields may be eligible to complete the M.F.A. in as little as two years, a total of 60 credits; a portfolio of academic and/or professional work is required.
Applicants with undergraduate backgrounds that are unrelated to interior design or architecture are required to take a 24 credit Core Year of preparatory study, prior to continuing the M.F.A degree. These students may complete 84 credits in three years. A portfolio is required and the department recommends that applicants submit material that represents their best skills and knowledge related to their own background, experience, and interests. A required statement of purpose provides the opportunity for applicants to articulate how their background can inform, and has prepared them for the field of study in interior design at Pratt Institute.
Upon completion of their studies, students:
Demonstrate a detailed level of problem identification and solving in the design of interior environments, informed by rigorous research and analysis, culminating in a comprehensive body of work.
Demonstrate proficiency in analog processes and digital technologies to effectively generate and communicate their ideas visually.
Use written and oral communication to effectively develop and convey their ideas.
Demonstrate comprehension of cultural, social, and political issues affecting the design discipline, theory, and practice in order to position the role of interior design within a broader global discourse concerning human behavior and experience.
Develop and integrate an understanding of sustainable design issues, strategies, and qualities in relation to the interior environment and its occupants.
Demonstrate knowledge of emerging technologies within and adjacent to the interior design discipline.
Integrate knowledge of regulations and guidelines related to construction processes, products, and labor practices.
Research, test, and integrate innovative applications of light, color, and materiality as essential design elements and principles.
Recognize and demonstrate awareness of the implications of spatial and material practices and their representations for a diversity of individuals and communities.
Our faculty members include practicing professionals and academics whose experiences are reflected in their teaching. Open, dynamic dialogue between students and faculty focuses on the many scales, uses, and activities that comprise interior design and expands to address the larger issues of habitation, urbanization, and society, thus providing a rich exchange between the world of designers, makers, and users of the built environment.
We believe that design at its best is a force for good: it connects, enables, sustains, empowers, and humanizes. Across our programs, we explore the expansiveness of this idea. As a student here, you’ll design messages, objects, spaces, and systems, and discover the power of your practice—to creatively change the world you’re in and the world around you.
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 community. Our studio culture supports our work to create spaces, environments, and structures that are just, equitable, accessible, and give agency to all.
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. With production labs in the Design Center and the nearby Engineering building you have easy access to the tools and resources you need to build, test, fabricate, and explore your design proposals in analog or digital form, in 2, 3, or 4D.
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. Interior Design students actively participate in study abroad programs, interdisciplinary electives, funded work through the Graduate Student Engagement fund, and have fully engaged all other learning resources.
Pratt is a diverse, international community of students and faculty working together in a very local community, connecting with our immediate and global neighbors, in the hyper international city of New York. Through internships, school and industry events you will build an international network of colleagues and resources that will enhance your experience at Pratt and help propel you in your future endeavors.
Pratt’s distinguished alumni are thriving with successful careers creating and contributing to innovative work that reimagines our world, at diverse companies like Gensler, Perkins&Will, The Switzer Group, Rockwell Group, Snøhetta, Roman and Williams, Avroko, Tony Chi Studio, as well as entrepreneurs, owners and principals leading their own studio practices.
TODAY - Tuesday 12th, 12:30-1:30pm - Steuben 311 + Virtual
RSVP link in Bio
INTtalks: Street Life: An Urban Interiors Workshop in Istanbul
Alper Bensen, Visiting Assistant Professor
Alper Besen is a New York-based designer and educator who teaches thesis studio, critical thinking for interior designers, and history of interior design courses at Pratt Institute, SVA, and RISD. He started practicing interior design in Istanbul, and continued his career at Deborah Berke Partners in New York. His research focuses on the intersections of urbanism, adaptive reuse, and interior design. He founded TDC Istanbul (Design Camaraderie Workshops) in 2023, aiming to build bonds between international interior design students to cultivate theoretical inquiry and social responsibility.
Taksim Square and its surroundings in Istanbul have been reconfigured many times, with differing understandings of what “public” and “public space” means. This presentation will share the results of a series of workshops in Istanbul, which explored the potential role of interior design students in defining the meaning of public spaces.
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TODAY - Thursday, November 7th, 6-7pm - Virtual
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INTtalks Light Pollution in our Interior Environment
Visiting Associate Professor Virna Abraham
Light pollution in our interior environments refers to the excessive or misdirected artificial light that can disrupt natural circadian rhythms, impact mood, and interfere with productivity. This phenomenon often arises from inadequate lighting design, such as overly bright fixtures or poorly placed sources, leading to glare and unwanted reflections. In residential and commercial spaces alike, mitigating light pollution involves employing strategies like using dimmable lights, selecting warmer color temperatures, and optimizing natural light sources. By addressing these issues, we can create healthier, more comfortable environments that promote well-being and enhance overall quality of life.
Virna Abraham is a multidisciplinary designer with over 20 years of experience in the fields of architecture, interiors, and lighting design. In her practice, she focuses on transforming environments into immersive experiences by skillfully integrating lighting, materials, and architectural elements across corporate, residential, and public projects.
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TODAY - Tuesday, Oct 29th, 12:300-1:300pm - Steuben 311 and Virtual
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INTtalks: Public Toilets in NYC
Margot Kleinman
With Jean Juan, MFA ‘25
Public toilet access in New York City is a major issue regarding a lack of restrooms available, poor maintenance and inconsistent access. This presentation will share the research, findings, and design work of the students from INT731, Public Toilets from Summer 2024.
Margot Kleinman is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Interior Design Department. She is the founder of Vagus Workshop Inc, an architect, focusing on research, user engagement, public facing and design of education spaces.
Margot’s passion for studying and making an impact in the realm of public toilets began as a traveler, designer in Los Angeles, and grew as a volunteer and advocate with PHLUSH (Public Hygiene Lets Us Stay Human).
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@24.7toilets
Below are two of the blogs from the series, and her website referencing the research:
https://www.phlush.org/introducing-the-public-toilets-at-pratt-institute-blog-series/
https://www.phlush.org/public-toilets-case-studies-with-pratt-institute-sydney-australia/
https://www.vagusworkshop.com/research
TODAY - Tuesday, Oct 22nd, 12:300-1:300pm - Steuben 311 and Virtual
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INTtalks: FACE-ADE: THE HUMAN LANDSCAPE
Nina Freedman Visiting Associate Professor
An interactive installation, transforms a home facade from an opaque, private threshold into a translucent wall; an intimate vertical ‘skin’. Embedded with diverse hair waste, collected from NYC neighborhood hair salons, the communal collage explores the question, “How do domestic architectural symbols engage dialogue about belonging?”
Born in New York, Nina Freedman is an architect, educator and public interdisciplinary installation artist. Following work in the architectural firms of Shigeru Ban, Renzo Piano and Richard Meier, she founded Dreamland Creative Projects, an creative pivot, reframing her previous architectural discipline. She is an educator at Pratt Institute, the New School, and Cornell University NYC AAP, host of the podcast ‘Whereing’, about Belonging, Home and Space and former co-founder of ArchiteXX. A 2024 New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA) grantee, she is currently exhibiting ‘Face-Ade’ at the European Cultural Center 2024 Art Biennial in Venice, Italy. She holds a Bachelors and Masters of Architecture from the Architectural Association in London and a Bachelors of Landscape Architecture from the City College of New York.
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@dreamland_creative_projects
@whereingpodcast
www.dreamlandcreativeprojects.com
www.thewhereing.com
TODAY - Thursday, Oct 17th, 6:00-7:00pm - Virtual
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INTtalks: Light defines Color, Light defines Time
HBF NYC Showroom: Designed & Illuminated by Alumni
June Park, Visiting Assistant Professor
We believe light is a unique medium which transforms our physical and emotional experience. We’d like to introduce two major feature lighting elements we focused on during the design collaboration of HBF NYC Showroom: central skylight at the atrium and dynamic white LED back-lit ceiling at the textile library.
Back in the 2003 Fall Semester, Tania Chau and June Park first met in the classroom at Pratt Studio. After 20 years, these former classmates became design professionals and reunited at a dusty construction site on a 6th floor in one of the buildings on Fifth Avenue near Flatiron to kick-off a design project together. One as an interior designer, one as a lighting designer.
June Park, Visiting Assistant Professor has been teaching Interior Lighting at Pratt Institute Interior Design since Fall 2017. She is also NYC based full-time architectural lighting designer with 15+ years experience. Her projects range from corporate offices to high-end retails to multi-family residential buildings.
June’s very first interest for lighting design ignited from Lighting Design class she took on her first Graduate Interior Design program at Pratt with Professor Jim Conti. Since then, she has grown passionate about becoming an architectural lighting designer. After a few years of working as an interior designer for a corporate office, she decided to pursue a second Master’s degree in Lighting Design at Parsons’ School of Design.
As a former Interior Designer, her main interests in lighting design is how light, color and surface interact with each other shaping our perception of the built environment.
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@unitednations
@hbftextiles
@hbffurniture
@_ala_studio
www.alastudio.com
Undergraduate Information Session
Tomorrow! October 16th, 8:00PM EST
Please join us to find out more about the the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design at Pratt Institute. The program has consistently ranked as the top interior design program in the United States. It prepares students to engage in critical inquiry through theoretical and applied research, establishing them as innovators and leaders in the field of interior design. The curriculum addresses emerging and innovative technologies, interdisciplinary collaboration, sustainable practices, and issues of ethical and social responsibility pointing to the larger potentials of professional practice, and design education affecting the built environment.
To contact us directly please email int@pratt.edu
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#designschool
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TODAY - Tuesday, Oct 1st, 12:30-1:30pm - Virtual and Steuben 311
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INTtalks: Design for Aging and Beyond
On the UN International Day of Older Persons
Yutaka Takiura AIA - Visiting Associate Professor
Thoughts on "Design for Aging and Beyond"
On this International Day of Older Persons, let's commit to strengthen care and support systems that honour the dignity of older persons and caregivers.
- António Guterres, Secretary-General, the United Nations
October 1st is the United Nations International Day of Older Persons
2024 Theme: Ageing with Dignity: The Importance of Strengthening Care and Support Systems for Older Persons Worldwide
In the "Design for Aging and Beyond" course, Pratt students played a pivotal role, conducting ongoing research, discussions, and innovation to explore the potential of design to assist people in need.
It began with a focus on the aging population, but it quickly and organically expanded into a broader discussion and design proposal.
After all, Design for Humanity is not an option; it's a necessity.
Yutaka is a Visiting Associate Professor in the Creative Enterprise Leadership Department at the School of Art and the Interior Design Department at the School of Design. He is also a respected faculty member at the Osaka Institute of Technology.
Yutaka is an award-winning architect and Design Director at TD+A New York.
With extensive industry experience, Yutaka worked at Beckhard Richlan and Associates, a successor firm to Marcel Breuer Associates, following Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates.
He holds Architectural Degrees from Waseda University in Tokyo, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the University of Pennsylvania.
https://www.un.org/en/observances/older-persons-day
https://www.aiany.org/committees/design-for-aging/
https://communityhub.aia.org/communities/community-home?communitykey=a83686b6-4432-4ac2-a3a1-b91a6808a014
https://network.aia.org/communities/community-home?CommunityKey=f5f03acd-d26c-46ef-a01c-58769916263f
#InternationalDayofOlderPersons24
#InternationalDayofOlderPersons
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@unitednations
Thursday, Sept. 26th, 6-7pm - Virtual and Steuben 311
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INTtalks: Designing Housing for People
Brad Leibin, AIA - Visiting Associate Professor Interior Design
Affordable housing needs to address a lot of problems. Stringent code regulations, NIMBYism, and soaring costs can be primary design drivers instead of the people who live in the buildings. Brad Leibin, AIA, will share design and coursework focused on how designers can transform these constraints into uplifting homes for people.
Brad Leibin, AIA, is Founder and Director of Leibin Architecture in New York City. He is a registered architect in New York and California. Leibin Architecture offers expertise in housing, housing affordability, hospitality, single-family residential, and retail design. With a deep commitment to making a positive impact on the world, Brad has guided the design and construction of thousands of affordable and market-rate homes for a wide range of residents in New York City as well as the West Coast.
While with Marvel, Brad led major, high-rise projects in New York City through all phases of design, permitting, and construction. When he was with David Baker Architects (DBA) in San Francisco, a national leader in housing and hospitality design, Brad co-led the firm's cutting-edge, prefabricated (modular) practice. Brad is active in the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Advisory Services Panels consulting cities across the United States on matters of housing reform. Prior to DBA, he was Design Lead at San Francisco-based national non-profit, Public Architecture, a pioneer of the public interest design movement that is now embraced by mainstream design institutions.
Brad holds a Masters in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania where he was awarded the Arthur Spayd Brooke Memorial Prize for design as well as the Lewis E. Dales Fellowship. As an undergraduate, he studied architecture at Washington University in St. Louis.
leibin-arch.com
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Laila Sacasa, BFA’24
Nautical
Nautical Healing Center provides an escape from the fast-paced and overstimulating lifestyle of NYC by encouraging individuals to slow down through meditative and mindfulness programs. Users can curate their personal healing journeys within hyper-fantastical spaces, inspired by dreamscapes and the fluidity of water connecting to the site's location on the pier.
Thesis advisor: Ashely Kuo
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