MFA Interior Design

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.

Overview
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.