Bachelor of Science in Interior Design
The interior design program at Virginia Tech prepares students to create a better world. The program is grounded in experiential learning and Practical Wisdom—learning by doing– and provides students with the knowledge and ability to think critically and design well. Through an emphasis on environmental responsibility, the interior design program at Virginia Tech prepares students to be able to make immediate contributions to the profession and society. We provide connections to industry and the profession with leadership opportunities for the students. The overlap of theory, research, and practical knowledge culminate in a student’s skillful, thoughtful, and creative approach to design. Students support each other and their communities in fulfillment of the University’s pledge of service, Ut Prosim: That I May Serve.
Goals
- Create graduates who are able to elevate the human experience
- Engender human wellbeing through environmental and social responsibility
- Nurture and develop empathy
- Engage professionals and industry to have a relevant and innovative program
- Provide opportunities for students to contribute to the community through interdisciplinary work
- Encourage multiple opportunities for dialogue to engender design excellence
- Incorporate an evidence-based approach to design
The Interior Design curriculum is a balance of Design, History, and Professional Practice. Professional practice courses include Business Procedures, Building Systems, Lighting Design, Construction Documents and Computer Applications. Our program’s courses are all supplemented by the required University Pathways Curriculum.
This balanced curriculum ensures that every graduate has the knowledge and skill needed to successfully contribute to the work of a design firm as an intern and as a graduate. We also place a great deal of emphasis on student service — service to our community of design students and in the larger context of Southwestern Virginia.
The focus of the first year in the Foundation Program is involved with basic elements of design, addressed visually, conceptually, and haptically. Studies are undertaken in two and three dimensions using various materials and tools. Inquiries are focused on the process of design, discovering, through experiment, methods of working that develop aesthetic judgment and means of self-evaluation. All architecture, industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture majors study together for the first year.
year 1: fall semester
ARCH 1015: Foundation Design Laboratory (Area VI) – 6 credits
ITDS 1114: Design Appreciation (Area VI) – 3 credits
MATH 1535: Geometry and Mathematics of Design (Area V) – 3 credits
ENGL 1105: Freshman English (Area I) – 3 credits
15 total credits
year 1: spring semester
ARCH 1016: Foundation Design Laboratory (Area VI) – 6 credits
Curriculum for Liberal Education Requirement (Area VII) – 3 credits
MATH 1536: Geometry and Mathematics of Design (Area V) – 3 credits
ENGL 1106: Freshman English (Area I) – 3 credits
15 total credits
fall semester, year 2
ITDS 2044: Interior Design I – 6 credits
ITDS 3125: History in Interior Design (Area II) – 3 credits
ITDS 3175: Building Systems for Interior Design (Area II) – 3 credits
Curriculum for Liberal Education Requirement (Area IV) – 3 credits
15 total credits
spring semester, year 2
ITDS 2054: Interior Design II – 6 credits
ITDS 3126: History in Interior Design (Area II) – 3 credits
ITDS 2134: Materials and Methods in Interior Design (Area II) – 3 credits
Curriculum for Liberal Education Requirement (Area IV) – 3 credits
15 Total Credits
summer semester, year 2
ITDS 3954: Study Abroad – Interior Design – 3 credits
fall semester, year 3
ITDS 3044: Interior Design III – 6 credits
ITDS 3176: Building Systems for Interior Design – 3 credits
Free Elective – 3 credits
Curriculum for Liberal Education Requirement (Area III) – 3 credits
15 total credits
spring semester, year 3
ITDS 3054: Interior Design IV – 6 credits
ITDS 4554: Contemporary Practice in Interior Design – 3 credits
ITDS 3184: Construction Documents for Interior Design – 3 credits
Curriculum for Liberal Education Requirement (Area III) – 3 credits
15 total credits
fall semester, year 4
ITDS 4044: Interior Design V – 6 credits
Professional Elective – 3 credits
Professional Elective – 3 credits
Free Elective – 3 credits
15 total credits
spring semester, year 4
ITDS 4054: Interior Design VI – 6 credits
Professional Elective – 3 credits
Free Elective – 3 credits
12 total credits
120 total required credits
Council for Interior Design Accreditation
The Interior Design program at Virginia Tech is accredited through 2024 by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. The most recent accreditation site visit took place in 2018.
Our program prepares future designers for licensure and practice. A degree from a CIDA-accredited program is increasingly important as a requirement for professional certification and licensing of Interior Designers in the United States. Graduating from a CIDA-accredited program is the first step in a three-part process in achieving certification or licensing as an interior designer in various states. Candidates must then complete two years of work experience in interior design and pass the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) examination. A CIDA-accredited degree, work experience, and successful completion of the NCIDQ exam satisfy the requirements in Virginia for recognition as a “Certified Interior Designer.”
Each student is assigned a desk in their design studio each semester and has unlimited access to their workspace. Administrative offices, the Art and Architecture Library, and the Foundation Design studios are located in Cowgill Hall. Upper level Interior Design studios, a computer lab, classroom space, and faculty offices are located in Burruss Hall. Wood, metal, plastics, and ceramics shop facilities, a print making studio, faculty offices, and additional computer labs are located in Burchard Hall. These three facilities are all immediately adjacent to each other on campus, and they are all available to Interior Design students.
There are several opportunities for interior design majors to study abroad. Students can participate in European summer traveling programs with credits offered toward the Bachelor of Science in Interior Design degree, and students can apply for acceptance in the residency program at Virginia Tech’s Steger Center for International Scholarship in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland.
Studio Residency students at Riva San Vitale interact with students from other Virginia Tech programs, sharing extensive library resources, well-equipped lecture rooms, studios, room and board accommodations and extensive private surrounding gardens. This centrally-located facility is a valuable resource for short trips into Italy, France, Austria, Germany and the surrounding areas of Switzerland. The studio has access to urban and rural, contemporary and historical built environments.
During the summer between the third and fourth year of the curriculum, interior design majors are highly encouraged to seek out an internship with an interior design or architectural firm. Students are responsible for finding their own internship position, but with the excellent reputation our program enjoys and an extensive network of alumni and professional friends of the school, our students routinely find paid internship opportunities with top firms.
Alumni and industry partners contribute to the Interior Design Program, providing a source of funds for a number of awards and scholarships, normally given at the end of the academic year, including the Jeanette Turner Bowker Scholarship. Virginia Tech Interior Design students often receive honors in national or international design competitions.