• Interior Design AAS

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    What our students, alumni, and faculty are doing in NYC and worldwide

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    Program Contact
    Adegboyega Adefope, Program Director

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  • In 1906, Frank Alvah Parsons established the first academic interior design program in the United States. Parsons continues to lead this evolving field with the AAS in Interior Design. Begin your interior design career with accomplished professionals who help you explore design’s potential to improve lives. You develop an awareness of the social, environmental, and cultural dimensions of interiors and investigate global concerns such as sustainability and social justice. Graduates gain the knowledge, skills, and networks needed to succeed in a growing field. 

    Program Highlights

    • Designing Interiors

      Learn the theory and practice of interior design through investigations of space, sustainability, healthy materials, and analog and digital drawing and rendering techniques.

    • Hands-On Studios

      Take design studios focusing on residential, retail, workplace, and hospitality interiors, which explore the relationship between interior architecture and decorative arts.

    • Industry Access

      Apply your learning to professional practice through internships at firms like Victoria Hagan Interiors, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, AvroKO, and Yabu Pushelberg.

    • New York City Resources

      Access the city’s showrooms, archives, and museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

    • Professional Perspectives

      Engage with leaders shaping the contemporary design landscape at AfterTaste, Parsons’ international design symposium, and WORK, the program’s annual publication.

    • Applicant Profile

      The program is most suitable for mature students with some college experience, an academic or professional background in a field other than design, and a desire to start a new career in interior design.

    • Degree Associate of Applied Science (AAS)
    • Format Full-time or part-time, on campus
    • Start term Fall, Spring
    • Credits 65
    • Duration 2 years or less (depending on transfer credits)

  • Curriculum

    In addition to core design studios, electives enable you to deepen your understanding of and experience in designing with soft and hard materials, lighting systems, and sustainable materials and practices. You explore graphic design and illustration techniques applicable to interior design and study a range of historical and theoretical topics.

    Explore the curriculum

  • Career Paths

    Graduates of the program are creative professionals who share a passion for beautiful, sustainable, and relevant interior design. They have joined major design firms around the world and some start their own independent practice right out of the gate.

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    Explore Our Community

    Discover what our students, alumni, and faculty are doing in NYC and worldwide.

    sce.parsons.edu

  • Parsons faculty represent a broad range of expertise and are acknowledged as leading practitioners and scholars in their fields.

  • Student Work

      See Our Work

    • Beyond the Classroom

      Our extensive resources prepare you for professional success. Coursework and career services staff give you access to a network of industry partners, and the university’s libraries, computer centers, and the cutting-edge tools of the Making Center support your creative work.
      • Internships

        Internships

        New York City’s thriving creative industry and cultural institutions are part of your Parsons education. Our Career Services Office is enmeshed in the art and design industry and can help you advance your career with industry-relevant internships.

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        Industry Engagement

        Connect to the organizations, businesses, and entrepreneurs driving global creativity and commerce. In classes, internships, and extracurricular projects, you gain marketable problem solving skills in sectors ranging from government and nonprofits to tech and creative industries.

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        Making & Academic Resources

        As a Parsons student, you enjoy access to extensive resources including New School libraries, computer labs, archives, and studios, along with Parsons’ state-of-the-art Making Center, facilities offering a broad array of tools to support your creative and academic growth.

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    • Certification and Licensure

      The AAS Interior Design program provides up to 44 credits of coursework toward the educational requirements of the Council for Interior Design Qualifications (CIDQ) Examination and those for New York State Certified Interior Designer licensure. Although licensure is not required in order to practice interior design, some graduates choose to obtain a license. If you wish to pursue licensure, refer to the CIDQ website and the requirements for your jurisdiction.

    • Related Programs

      • Interior Design (BFA)

        Full-time undergraduate major (four years, 120 credits); best suited to first-time college students. Culminates in a thesis and qualifies alumni for further graduate study.

      • Interior Design (MFA)

        Full-time graduate program (two years, 60 credits); applicants must have a bachelor’s degree; experience in interior design or a related field is preferred but not required.

    • Program News

      • Take The Next Step

      Submit your application

      Undergraduates

      To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

      Undergraduate Adult Learners

      To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

      Graduates

      To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.