Interior Design (AAS)
What our students, alumni, and faculty are doing in NYC and worldwide
thinkparsonsaas@newschool.edu
212.229.5150
Program Contact
Adegboyega Adefope, Program Director
In 1906, Frank Alvah Parsons founded the country's first academic interior design program, which continues to set the standard for education in this evolving field. The AAS in Interior Design provides a strong foundation in spatial design, emphasizing the social, environmental, and cultural impact of interiors. Through a curriculum that integrates sustainability, material innovation, and current design discourse, you explore the ways design shapes the experience of space and addresses global challenges involving environmental responsibility and social equity. A faculty of industry professionals guides you to develop the creative and technical skills, portfolio, and network you need to thrive professionally and make a difference in the world through design.
In addition to core design studios, electives enable you to deepen your understanding of and experience in designing with soft and hard materials, lighting systems, and sustainable materials and practices. You explore graphic design and illustration techniques applicable to interior design and study a range of historical and theoretical topics.
The Making Center, a spacious studio bringing together creative tools from around the university, offers students unprecedented opportunities to acquire industry-ready skills, transform how products are made, and upend conventional notions of supply chains, local production, mass customization, and craft.
Graduates of the program are creative professionals who share a passion for beautiful, sustainable, and relevant interior design. They have joined major design firms around the world and some start their own independent practice right out of the gate.
Discover what our students, alumni, and faculty are doing in NYC and worldwide.
New York City’s thriving creative industry and cultural institutions are part of your Parsons education. Our Career Services Office is enmeshed in the art and design industry and can help you advance your career with industry-relevant internships.
Connect to the organizations, businesses, and entrepreneurs driving global creativity and commerce. In classes, internships, and extracurricular projects, you gain marketable problem solving skills in sectors ranging from government and nonprofits to tech and creative industries.
As a Parsons student, you enjoy access to extensive resources including New School libraries, computer labs, archives, and studios, along with Parsons’ state-of-the-art Making Center, facilities offering a broad array of tools to support your creative and academic growth.
The AAS Interior Design program provides up to 44 credits of coursework toward the educational requirements of the Council for Interior Design Qualifications (CIDQ) Examination and those for New York State Certified Interior Designer licensure. Although licensure is not required in order to practice interior design, some graduates choose to obtain a license. If you wish to pursue licensure, refer to the CIDQ website and the requirements for your jurisdiction.
Full-time undergraduate major (four years, 120 credits); best suited to first-time college students. Culminates in a thesis and qualifies alumni for further graduate study.
Full-time graduate program (two years, 60 credits); applicants must have a bachelor’s degree; experience in interior design or a related field is preferred but not required.
The New School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
