This is an ARCHIVED version of the Kwantlen University College Calendar for
2004-2005 and is provided for historical reference only.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 course calendar information, unless otherwise indicated, is Sept. 1, 2004 to Aug. 31, 2005.
Interior Design
Offered at Richmond Campus
Full-time
Start date: September
Limited Enrolment
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”. For more information you may view our
department web site at: http://plaza.kwantlen.ca/sites/idsn.nsf
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 (i.e. have done research about
Interior Design). 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 applicants have
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.
Interview and Portfolio Review
Faculty interviewers will determine acceptance of candidates based
on the contents of the portfolio and 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.
Applicants must ensure 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.
Portfolio reviews and personal interviews, 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 must attend 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.
Orientation for Fall 2005 intake:
April 29 - all applicants attend
Portfolio Review and Personal Interviews for Fall 2004
intake:
April 29 - applicants from outside Greater Vancouver
May 2 to 6 (as required) - 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 orientation and
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 into 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. 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 a 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 environments. They will study and analyze the
evolution of design (applied history). This stream will provide
opportunities for 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 these aspects 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 opportunities to experience first-hand working environments
of 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 graduated students from school to workplace.
Business/General Education
Interior design projects are commercial ventures requiring
knowledge and application of office procedures and financial
management, and 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 Transfer Credit 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 graduates 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.
An initiative integrating Kwantlen's Academic Online Resources
(AOR) with laptop computers is planned for Fall 2004. Students
will need to include "fee for service" costs of the laptop and
requisite course software for the duration of the 4 year degree
program (approximately $1,200 each year). Students are advised not
to purchase a laptop computer as all required equipment, software
and services will be supplied by Kwantlen on the "fee for service"
basis.
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.
