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Earn a BA or BFA in Interior Architecture at Columbia College Chicago, one of the greatest architecture cities in the world! You will gain real-world interior design experience by working on a diverse range of projects and learn transferable business skills to help you launch your career. Our CIDA accredited program integrates manual and digital work, and the conceptual with the practical. You'll learn how to design spaces for safety, functionality, and aesthetics. You'll develop a deep working knowledge of human needs, materials, structures, planning, building systems, and building codes. After you graduate, you'll qualify to take the required National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam for licensure.
Scholarships available!
Explore the foundations of visual culture: In addition to shared art and design foundation courses, you will spend your first year exploring the practice of interior architecture. Introductory courses on the industry, design thinking, and human-centered design will help you understand the role of interior architecture in society through case studies, guest speakers, and interactive exercises.
Take specialized courses: Our classes will give you hands-on experience with research, materials, construction, lighting, building codes, drafting, and documentation.
Learn by doing: Our studio design courses are the heart of the program. These hands-on experiences are designed to reflect a professional interior architecture/design studio, in which you will research, plan, and prototype projects in a variety of contexts.
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Our faculty and alumni shape and reshape the interiors industry. They are architects, interior designers, landscape architects, and other creative professionals working for an extensive list of companies in the Chicago area and beyond.
Chris Bennett ’09: Working on urban design practice, Bennett is a design team member at Studio Gang Architects, legendary architect Jeanne Gang’s studio.
Jordyn Hunter ’16: Integrating his marketing skills at a creative company, Alvarez-Smikle is now Executive Vice President, Head of Digital Marketing, at Interscope Records, which is a major record label.
Kelai Diebel ’12: Diebel is a design manager at MOSS, an Amsterdam-based sustainable design firm specializing in rooftop landscapes, greenhouses, and urban farming concepts.