Interior Design 1

Tel: 718.636.3630 INTERIOR DESIGN Fax: 718.399.4440 [email protected] The MFA in Interior Design at Pratt Institute is located within the ultimate www.pratt.edu/interior-design-grad (http://www.pratt.edu/interior-design- learning environment of New York City—the interior design capital of the grad/) United States. Over the last decade, DesignIntelligence has consistently ranked our undergraduate and graduate programs in the top three in Faculty Bios the country. This year, the MFA ranked, once again, number one, and www.pratt.edu/grad-interior design/faculty (https://www.pratt.edu/ the BFA ranked number two. As one of the most prominent graduate academics/school-of-design/graduate-school-of-design/interior-design- programs, we inspire our students to become leaders by setting high grad/faculty-and-staff/) standards for critical thinking, exemplary expression, professional • Interior Design, MFA (https://catalog.pratt.edu/graduate/design/ aptitude, and responsible action in enhancing and transforming interior-design/interior-design-mfa/) the human environment. We present an inspiring and challenging course of study in an expanding and dynamic discipline. The MFA in • Students are able to identify and explore complex problems in the Interior Design guides students in generating creative solutions that realm of the interior, and generate creative solutions that integrate integrate an understanding of craft and making, material research, an understanding of sustainable practice, material research, changing technologies, sustainable practices, and current issues, environmental quality, aesthetics, and changing technologies. including knowledge about global cultural history and diverse contexts. The program prepares students to engage in critical inquiry and at an • Students acquire proficiency in digital and analog technologies as explorative capacity which will establish them as innovators in the field well as oral and written communication necessary to communicate a of interior design pointing to the larger potentials of professional practice, body of professional level work, clearly delineating design issues and design education, and research affecting the interior environment. intent. • Students demonstrate a high level of problem solving in the The MFA degree concentrates on the preparation of individuals who design of interior environments, cognizant of current issues and are ready to contribute to the academic discipline as well as the developments affecting design study and practice, as well as a profession. Our students are drawn from all parts of the world, with critical understanding of the global cultural history and context varying backgrounds, and from a variety of disciplines, which creates affecting the interior environment. an intellectually stimulating environment. They are a select group who • Students develop a significant body of work, culminating in an come to Pratt to work hard and prepare to enter a profession in which independent thesis project that is rigorous in both conception and the designer must be multifaceted and able to provide innovative design execution, demonstrates a synthetic understanding of the knowledge solutions. Many come to the program for a career change, so classroom and skills acquired during the course of study, and connects interior and studio interchange is enhanced by the diversity of students—a design to larger issues of inhabitation, cities and society. student who comes from a background in economics has a very different approach from one coming from dance, and each has something to learn from the other. An important part of Pratt’s mission is to challenge graduates to reach their fullest potential and prepare them to become leaders in the profession.

The MFA curriculum brings a focus to the interior by concentrating on many scales, uses, and activities to connect the discipline and practice of interior design to larger issues of habitation, urbanization, and society. Our faculty members are a mixture of practicing professionals and academics with many kinds of expertise. They bring real-world design experience and several types of methods and processes into their creative classroom teaching. The program curriculum instills values in its students, not as mere competencies, but as opportunities for critical engagement in the contemporary world. In support of these transformative responsibilities, the program fosters an inquisitive dialogue amongst its faculty and students, thus providing an open exchange between the world of designers, producers, and users of the built environment.

Chair David Foley

Assistant Chair Tania Sofia Branquinho

Assistant to the Chair Aston Gibson

Office