Certificate Requirements
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Course requirements: 6-8 online and/or on-campus courses
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Timeline to completion: Most courses last nine weeks or more. Courses meeting for fewer than nine sessions count as half of an elective and need to be combined to fulfill one elective requirement. Most students take two courses per semester. The certificate must be completed in two years.
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Cost: $776 per course ($1,734 for Basic Core).
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This certificate can be completed online, on campus, or a combination of the two. Details below.
This certificate features two tracks that students may choose from, depending on their goals: Space Planning and Decorative Arts.
Space Planning Track
Courses in the Space Planning track develop students’ understanding of spatial and structural design through sketching and drafting, and build foundational skills in interior design.
Start by completing one of the following foundational course options:
OR
After completing your foundational courses, your next step will be to enroll in the following:
- Commercial Interior Design
(On-Campus | Online)
Explore the design process by developing a commercial or residential project in a studio environment. Begin from a concept and develop your idea into a coherent interior space, exploring issues of spatial layout and significance, materials and finishes, lighting, and furniture. Present your final project, complete with rendered drawings and a materials board. Prerequisite: Basic Drafting, Basic Interior Space Planning, or equivalent experience.
- Residential Interior Design
(On-Campus | Online)
Explore the possibilities of architectural design of interior space for the private home and apartment. Participate in exercises geared to finding viable and interesting solutions to design problems such as window, ceiling, doorway, floor, and wall treatments. Review drafting techniques that allow you to present projects in a professional manner. Concentrate on space planning, furniture, color, and lighting. Explore materials, methods, and professional practices. Prerequisite: Basic Drafting, Basic Interior Space Planning, or equivalent experience.
- Two Electives - Choose from our offerings in graphic design, digital design, fashion design, fashion business, interior design, or fine arts.
Decorative Arts Track
The Decorative Arts track offers courses that introduce students to the history of interiors, antiques, furnishings, and connoisseurship. Visits to design showrooms and important architectural sites provide learning opportunities for students taking courses on campus.
Start by completing one of the following foundational course options:
OR
After completing your foundational courses, your next step will be to enroll in the following:
- History of Interiors, 1400 to 1800: From the Medicis to Louis XVI
(Online)
This class offers a critical survey of the decorative arts of Europe and America, with a focus on the key stylistic movements of the Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism. Special topics include the Palace of Versailles and the history of dining culture. Furniture, architecture, textiles, metalwork, glass, and ceramics are examined in relation to style and function, with special consideration given to the social contexts in which they were designed and used. Students acquire the design vocabulary and analytical skills necessary to identify and discuss the many traditional forms, ornamental motifs, and architectural elements that continue to be relevant in contemporary design.
- History of Interiors, 1800 to 2000: From Napoleon to Michael Graves
(Online)
This course provides a foundational understanding of developments in European and American decorative arts from the turn of the 19th century to the end of the 20th. Particular attention is given to the complex design trends and the expressions of the 20th century as the foundation of interior design today.
- Two Electives - Choose from our offerings in graphic design, digital design, fashion design, fashion business, interior design, or fine arts.