Interior Architecture & Design
The graduate Interior Architecture & Design program at Drexel Westphal is recognized as one of the top interiors programs in the world by Design Intelligence and Architectural Digest. Our students win major national and international honors, and take positions at many leading firms. The program is uniquely situated within a top R1 research university with a distinctive vision, and a city that fosters a vibrant design community.
Get to know the program through the GRADUATE THESIS PROJECTS or check out what is going on via INSTAGRAM.
Program Mission
The mission of Drexel Westphal's Interior Architecture & Design graduate program is to train skilled designers, creative thinkers, professional leaders, and responsible citizens in the fields of interior design and architecture. We cultivate students who acknowledge their responsibilities to the safety and well-being of the public and the stewardship of the environment, and we inspire graduates to lead a multifaceted profession in an ever-changing world. The CIDA-acreditated Interior Architecture & Design curriculum is structured to teach the fundamentals of interior design, to anticipate and reflect change in a continually evolving profession, and to encourage the kind of exploration and experimentation that fosters life-long learners who will contribute to the profession and the discipline’s body of knowledge.
The graduate Interior Architecture & Design program at Drexel Westphal emphasizes sustainability, diversity, and equity in designing the built environment. Students collaborate across disciplines and engage in hands-on research and studio learning. The graduate interiors program offers an immersive studio experience, producing well-rounded, ethical, innovative interior design professionals.
Find your path to a MS in Interior Architecture & Design
Professional (IAD-36): Have a degree outside of interior design or architecture? Start with the fundamentals and complete 75 credits in three years.
Accelerated Professional (IAD-24): Already have a degree in interior design or architecture? Enter at the second-year level and complete 43 credits in two years.
Post-Professional (IAD-18): Have a CIDA-accredited interior design degree and professional experience? Enter in the spring and complete 33 credits in just 16 months.
For more information, please visit the Curriculum page.
Studio Culture
The graduate degrees in interior architecture and design thrive on the diverse graduate students’ educational and life experiences as they engage in a vigorous learning environment through exploration, self-learning and creativity. Classes are structured around processes of drawing and designing with close feedback from instructors and peers. The conceptualization and implementation of ideas involves aesthetics, function, ethics, technology, and the realities of the marketplace. The program balances visual acuity with grounded research, promoting work that is rigorous and comprehensive.
Diversity and Equity
The graduate interiors program embraces diversity and aims to increase equity, both for interior design practitioners and for the people served by interiors projects. Interior design is uniquely equipped to advocate and promote diversity and equity in the profession and the built environment.
Sustainability
Sustainable thinking is a fundamental responsibility of contemporary design practice. The graduate program promotes and emphasizes sustainable practices as the inherent responsibility of designers and exposes students to a diverse array of sustainable approaches and techniques. These include new and future technologies, material innovations, green building techniques, historic and vernacular strategies, biomimicry, and larger scale approaches including urban and social sustainability. Projects also consider how sustainability is intricately tied to health and well-being, as well as social and economic sustainability. There is a Concentration in Sustainability in the Built Environment for students who wish to focus their studies in this area.
Learn More About Graduate Interior Architecture & Design
For more information on the Interior Architecture & Design graduate program at Drexel Westphal, to schedule a tour of our facilities, or for guidance in deciding which of our master’s degree tracks best suits your interests and experience, contact the Westphal admissions team at westphaladm@drexel.edu or 215.895.1738.
Please direct inquiries regarding the portfolio to:
Frances Temple-West
Associate Teaching Professor
Director, MS Interior Architecture & Design
fpt23@drexel.edu