June 2, 2015
Interior architecture & product design to offer postbaccalaureate degree
The interior architecture & product design department is preparing to open its doors to a new generation of students seeking a master's degree in interior architecture & product design — those who already possess a bachelor's degree in another field.
The degree track was approved through Kansas State University and by the two accrediting bodies for the degree, the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and the Council for Interior Design Accreditation.
This approval has allowed the department to add a three-year postbaccalaureate degree track to its current five-year non-baccalaureate degree track. This degree track expands the opportunity for interested students who have already attained a bachelor's degree to earn their Master of Interior Architecture & Product Design in a condensed period of time — recognizing that many of the general university requirements have already been met by the previous degree.
Currently, the interior architecture & product design department offers a non-baccalaureate master's degree program to incoming students that requires five years plus summers. The students study one year in the environmental design studies program, apply for acceptance into the department and subsequently follow a rigorous and comprehensive four-year program. The coursework includes all aspects of the design of interiors, support courses in architecture, furniture design and product design before graduating with a professionally accredited degree, Master of Interior Architecture & Product Design.
Katherine Ankerson, professor and department head for interior architecture & product design, said, "We are so pleased to offer this Master of Interior Architecture & Product Design postbaccalaureate track as an opportunity for those who may be career-changers or who may have realized late in their academic career that have a desire to pursue design with the sort of comprehensiveness and versatility that our program offers. We feel that the postbac students bring experiences and backgrounds that will enrich not only their own education, but that of all interior architecture & product design students."