BFA in INTERIOR STUDIES: Adaptive Reuse
2023-2024 | Curriculum | 4-year program
In the first year of the program, which begins after students complete RISD's required year of Foundation Studies, sophomores take introductory courses that cover the ideas and vocabulary of Interior Architecture and provide the basis for subsequent studios. Juniors further explore the field through advanced studios, supplemented by a broad range of technical, theoretical and historical courses.
In the Interior Studies: Adaptive Reuse BFA program, majors receive an exceptional education in spatial design as it relates to the built environment. Students complete 126 credit hours of coursework in Interior Architecture, studio electives and Liberal Arts classes across three departments: History, Philosophy and the Social Sciences, Literary Arts and Studies, and Theory and History of Art and Design.
In developing design strategies across a range of work, students learn how to investigate and make interior interventions in various forms, while recognizing the importance of social and environmental responsibility within the discipline. Graduates of the program earn a strong academic foundation that uniquely prepares them for graduate studies and professional design practice.
FOUNDATION YEAR | ||||||||
FALL | WINTERSESSION | SPRING | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
15 | 3 | 15 | ||||||
Transfer Student - Summer Foundation Studies Program [a] | (9) | |||||||
SOPHOMORE | ||||||||
FALL | WINTERSESSION | SPRING | ||||||
Introduction to Interior Studies | 6 | Elective [d] | 3 | Introduction to Interior Studies II | 6 | |||
Drawing for Interior Studies | 3 | Digital Representation and Visual Narrative | 3 | |||||
Building Materials | 3 | History of Interior Architecture II [c] | 3 | |||||
History of Interior Architecture I [b] | 3 | Elective [d] | 3 | |||||
Total credits | 15 | Total credits | 3 | Total credits | 15 | |||
JUNIOR | ||||||||
FALL | WINTERSESSION | SPRING | ||||||
Introduction to Interior Studies III | 6 | Elective [d] | 3 | Spatial Perception: Light and Color | 3 | |||
Building Structures and Systems for Adaptive Reuse | 3 | Advanced Design Studio | 6 | |||||
Human Factors | 3 | Elective(s) [d] | 6 | |||||
Elective [d] | 3 | |||||||
Total credits | 15 | Total credits | 3 | Total credits | 15 | |||
SENIOR | ||||||||
FALL | WINTERSESSION | SPRING | ||||||
Advanced Design Studio | 6 | Elective [d] | 3 | Advanced Design Studio | 6 | |||
Scheme Detailing | 3 | Final Studio Project Seminar | 3 | |||||
Elective(s) [d] | 3 or 6 | Elective(s) [d] | 3 or 6 | |||||
total credits | 12 or 15 | total credits | 3 | total credits | 12 or 15 | |||
Total Credits: 126 | ||||||||
Notes:
[a] Summer Foundation Studies Program may be waived at the discretion of the department head. Transfer credit plus Summer Foundation credit should equal the 33 credits earned by RISD first-years. If less than that, the total of 126 required credits must still be earned for the BFA degree.
[b] Interior Architecture majors receive art history credit for course: History of Interior Architecture I
[c] Students receive liberal arts elective credit for course: History of Interior Architecture II
[d] Students majoring in Interior Architecture must complete 60 major credits rather than the standard 54 required in other BFA programs. As a result, Interior Architecture students are required to fulfill 6 credits of non-major studio electives rather than 12 credits.
The 42 credit Liberal Arts degree requirement must be satisfied to earn the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Students entering the Department of Interior Architecture must participate in its required laptop program, purchasing hardware, software, upgrades and insurance, as specified in the Academic Laptop Program.