This is an ARCHIVED version of the Kwantlen University College Calendar for
2003-2004 and is provided for historical reference only. See the current version of the
Calendar for updated information.
The on-line version of the University College Calendar is the Official version. In the event of conflict between the printed version and the online version, the on-line version will prevail.
Effective date of this program calendar information, unless otherwise indicated, is Sept. 1, 2003 to Aug. 31, 2004.
Note: All course changes and updates are shown in blue.
Interior Design
Offered at Richmond Campus
Start date: September
Full-time
Bachelor of Applied Design in
Interior Design
Description
The Interior Design Program provides four years of full-time study (September - April), to students wishing to pursue a professional career related to built environments.
The Program is FIDER accredited at the first professional degree level. The Foundation for Interior Design Education Research (FIDER) is an international agency whose mission is to “lead the interior design profession to excellence by setting standards and accrediting academic programs”.
The program works closely with the professional design community and responds to the needs and advice of that community through the following aims:
Provide an education that includes all facets of interior
design with emphasis on experience and skills in theory,
research, critical analysis, problem-solving, design concepts,
working drawings and specifications, technology,
presentation media techniques, professional business
practices and procedures, and awareness of human needs in
built environments.
Prepare students for work in interior design and/or
architectural offices.
Provide a practical and theoretical knowledge base that
conforms to the definition and practice of interior design as
described by the National Council for Interior Design
Qualification (NCIDQ) and as endorsed in the North
American definition of an Interior Designer.
Provide design education, using specific reference to interior
design, which will allow students to develop career readiness
for an interdisciplinary design environment.
The mission of the program is “educating leaders for the profession of interior design”.
Career Opportunities
The professional interior designer is qualified by education, experience, and examination to enhance the function and quality of interior spaces. For the purposes of improving the quality of life, increasing productivity, and protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public, the professional interior designer:
analyses client's and user's life needs, objectives, and safety
requirements;
integrates findings with knowledge of interior design;
formulates preliminary design concepts which are
appropriate, functional, and aesthetic;
develops and presents final design recommendations
through appropriate presentation media;
prepares working drawings and specifications for non-load
bearing interior construction, space planning, materials,
finishes, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment;
collaborates with licensed practitioners who offer
professional services in technical areas of mechanical,
electrical and load-bearing design as required for regulatory
approval;
prepares and administers bids and contract documents as the
client's agent;
supervises, reviews and evaluates design solutions during
implementation and upon completion.
The above definition is endorsed by the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research (FIDER), the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ), major interior design associations of North America, and unaffiliated professional interior designers.
Graduates have the potential to work in commercial, residential, and architectural firms as designers where they may gain experience to work toward registration as professionals With suitable experience, graduates may eventually develop their own firms. Other work is available in wholesale resource firms, with manufacturers' agents, or in other design-related fields.
Student Profile
Many applicants are mature students who are making a career change while others are recent high school graduates. The most suitable candidates are those who have an awareness of three-dimensional design application and who are familiar with interior design as a professional practice. Accepted students will have high levels of social skill, such as teamwork and communication. They will have attended an information session at Kwantlen University College and will have demonstrated a clear enthusiasm for study in this field. Interior Design is a demanding profession and we work hard to simulate that environment in the classroom. By placing high expectations on the students in regard to the quantity and quality of assignments, we hope to prepare them for the challenges of the design profession. To be successful in the Interior Design Program, students must be committed to developing working skills and knowledge through self-motivated hard work. Interior designers often work under pressure to meet deadlines; students will find that multi-tasking and organizational skills are vital for keeping up with class work. Students need to be prepared to spend at least as much time (if not more) outside class as time spent in class.
Admission Requirements
A Language Proficiency Index (LPI) essay score of 30 (level 5) result must be submitted with your application (current grade 12 students must submit their LPI results on or before March 31). Students transferring from other applied design programs, and/or other institutions, must also comply with LPI requirements and submit results to the Admissions office.
Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible because admission is based on date of application once the applicant has met the entrance requirements.
Applicants should contact Admissions for a detailed Interior Design Information Package in addition to available calendar information. This information will assist applicants in their preparation. You may also visit our web page on the Kwantlen website at http://plaza.kwantlen.bc.ca/idsn.
Interview and Portfolio Review
Faculty interviewers will determine acceptance of candidates based on the contents of the portfolio the results of the interview*, (including prior learning assessments). Faculty will make this determination at the conclusion of all interviews. Qualified applicants are admitted based on the date they apply.
Students must ensure that admissions has their current address, as it is the candidates' responsibility to contact Admissions if mailed communications are not received.
Students require the following:
Interior Design questionnaire must be submitted by the
deadline (applicants will receive the questionnaire once they
have applied to the program).
Personal attendance at an Orientation*. Interview sign up
will occur at the orientation and will be limited to those
applicants who have complied with the requirements above.
Attendance at an orientation is essential in order to sign up
for an interview. Coaching* sessions sign-up will be available
at the orientation.
The Portfolio reviews and personal interview, are conducted in small groups.
*Definitions:
Interview - a small group of applicants and two or more interior design faculty meet for a group interview during which the applicants will display and discuss their portfolio. The faculty will make notes and assess the work of the applicant including course work from previous schools or work experiences.
Orientation - a comprehensive information session to explain the program, curriculum content, expectations of the students, and to answer questions. Applicants and interested potential applicants are welcome to attend.
Coaching - a group meeting (several applicants) with one or more Interior Design Faculty to further explore what the Interior Design Program is about, and strategies to assist the candidate in preparing for an interview and portfolio review for entry to the program. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Orientation for Fall 2004 intake:
April 23
Portfolio Review and Personal Interviews for Fall 2004 intake:
April 23 - applicants from outside Greater Vancouver
April 26 to April 30 - all other applicants
Alternative interview arrangements may be possible for students who live outside the Greater Vancouver Region and who cannot attend an interview in person. It is, however, in the best interest of applicants to make every effort to attend the interview in person.
Content
The interior design program simulates a professional design environment. This “virtual design studio” offers integrated courses and curriculum, and emphasizes learning outcomes and employability skills throughout. These include: leadership skills, entrepreneurial skills, problem solving and creative thinking skills, teamwork, personal management, writing/oral/visual and interpersonal skills, reading and research skills, visual literacy, mathematical and technological skills, citizenship, and an ability to see a global perspective.
The interior design curriculum is organized into streams, which are integrated both horizontally within each year and vertically over the four years of the program. Although the program is comprised of individual courses, the effect is more aptly described as a studio project, supported and surrounded by the necessary theory, practical experience and skills development.
The following are streams which all courses are organized:
Interior Design Studio
This is the heart of the curriculum. The studio is a place to define, search for and produce solutions to the problems of interior design and becomes a basic method for critical thinking. The studio is not so much a place for receiving instruction - although there is instruction given in a studio, but more like a laboratory, it is the place where experimentation - search and discovery - takes place. In the studio the learning process is learning by doing. The studio projects form a foundation of building blocks, which are expanded, elaborated upon, and reinforced throughout the four years of curriculum.
Technical Information
This stream enables the students to acquire technical skills, vocabulary, and a body of technical knowledge specific to the profession of Interior Design and built environments, which enables students to formulate, validate, and communicate design intentions. Ultimately the design is intended to give or make form and become part of a built environment.
Design Theory/History
In this stream students will explore, discuss, and acquire a critical awareness and understanding of the theoretical body of knowledge (old theories, new theories, and yet to be discovered theories, methodologies, etc.…) specific to the profession of Interior Design and the built environment. They will study and analyze the evolution of design (applied history). The stream will also provide opportunities for the students to discover and test their own design processes.
Ultimately this creates the nature of design - the search for what was what is, and what could be.
Representation
Seeing, thinking and drawing are intimately interrelated. In the study of making both large and small-scale interiors, students should understand that the drawing process is inextricably connected with the design process.
Design ideas that are not externalized remain thoughts only. Design is a visual and physical activity; design ideas must be made visible - understandably visible.
Students are individuals with unique learning, thinking, and doing styles, and will develop this aspect of their design process naturally from their own personalities.
Site Tutorial
This stream provides for students' “in situ” observation and presentations by non-faculty, the profession, projects in process and completed, and resources pertaining to the profession of interior design.
Work Experience
In a variety of work experiences, over several semesters, students have the opportunity to experience first-hand the working environments of the interior design and other built-environment professions.
These provide opportunities for observation and application of previously studied theories and methodologies, and assist with the transition of the graduated student from school to workplace.
Business/General Education
Interior design projects are commercial ventures requiring the knowledge and application of office procedures and financial management, client and public relations applied to the organization of a design.
Liberal Education
This component of the degree entails the following learning outcomes.
students become culturally literate.
students be prepared to make better informed and more
carefully considered decisions in their future lives.
students acquire the ability to see things in context.
Applicants who have completed courses or hold a bachelor and/ or masters degree from a recognized post-secondary institution and wish to use those courses to satisfy the Liberal Education requirements, must submit a sealed official transcript and a Request for Advanced Standing form (available at all Admissions offices) to ensure that the transcript is evaluated.
Advancement from one year to a subsequent year of this program is dependant on passing grades in all courses of that year, including Studio (the pass rate for all studio courses is 68% or B-).
Graduation
Upon successful completion of this program, students are awarded a Bachelor of Applied Design in Interior Design.
This Bachelor degree, followed by two cumulative years of work experience in the profession, qualifies the graduate to write the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) examination. This in turn, allows professional membership in the Interior Designers' Institute of British Columbia (IDIBC), the Interior Designers of Canada (IDC), and International Interior Design Association (IIDA).
Additional Information
The final year of the program includes a major Site Tutorial as part of curriculum requirements, the cost of which is borne by the student (approximately $1800). This provides students with an opportunity to assimilate design theory and knowledge with respect to the context of site, culture, climate and geography.
Interior Design information sessions are scheduled to answer questions from prospective students and to allow applicants to review portfolios of current students. These sessions have been of great benefit to those people interested in entering the program. Please call the Richmond admissions office at 604.599.2512 to confirm dates, times and location.
