Major code BF5198

All Interior Architecture students enter the School of Art as Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) majors and must complete specified requirements in studio foundations before applying for admission into the B.F.A. degree at the end of the first year of study. This application also requires a portfolio review, a minimum GPA of 2.75 and an in-major GPA of 3.0.

The Interior Architecture program is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA). This program, like the interior design profession, addresses the interior spaces and physical components of buildings. Students learn about design requirements and how to successfully address them through studio projects that cover commercial, institutional, hospitality, and residential settings. The academic foundation needed to undertake these projects is achieved through repeated engagement with basic problem solving, formal design skills, historical precedents, and technical knowledge. The curriculum of the program emphasizes design process, 3-D modeling, critical and creative thinking, and professional practice experience. The design studio is the core of the program and is where students and faculty share dialog and regular interaction. In studio issues of design process, design theory, pragmatics and aesthetics, material applications, and technology are all brought together. Courses addressing design theory, history, materials and methods, color, lighting, professional practice, and graphic communication enhance the students’ abilities to create innovative and environmentally friendly spaces.

Admission and Program Standards

To be admitted into the B.F.A. in Interior Architecture program you must submit and pass a portfolio review that includes all the art studio foundations courses. Portfolio review takes place once each academic year, currently at the end of first summer session. The faculty may, in exceptional cases, grant early admission into the Interior Architecture program at the time a student is evaluating University entrance options. Such a decision will only be made for a clearly capable, qualified and academically distinguished student.

To remain active as an Interior Architecture major you must earn at least a C (2.0) in each studio course as indicated in the course title. Students who receive a grade lower than C (2.0) in these courses will be required to retake the course.

Transfer and Regional Students

It is imperative for students who transfer or relocate to Ohio University, Athens campus, who want to declare Interior Architecture as their major, to speak with a faculty member prior to, or at the time of, transfer or relocation. It is critical that a discussion regarding course selection occur between the student and faculty member prior to registering for courses.

Students who wish to transfer into the Interior Architecture major from another institution or regional campus students who are relocating to the Athens campus must submit a portfolio of work for review by the faculty. Students with design work determined by the faculty to be equivalent to that of some or all of the portfolio review required coursework (see below) will be reviewed at the same time as all other portfolio review submissions for the purpose of determining admission into the major. Transfer students admitted into the major must complete all major requirements determined to be missing from the student’s academic design experience.

Note: students admitted to the major through the portfolio review are required to provide and maintain a personal computer in the design studio for use in all studio courses. The minimum requirements for the computer will be outlined by the faculty at the time of the portfolio review each year.