Offered at Richmond Campus-Centre for Applied Design Studies and Communications.

Start date: September (Selective entry)

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 the built environment.

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 the built environment.

Prepare the student 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 the 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 the 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.

This 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 and some 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) 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 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.

For detailed admission policies on assessment or student eligibility see any Kwantlen library or our web site at
http://www.kwantlen.bc.ca/about_kwantlen.html

Interview and Portfolio Review

Faculty interviewers will determine acceptance of candidates based on the contents of the portfolio and the result 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.

Please ensure Admissions has your current address, as it is the candidates' responsibility to contact Admissions if information is not received.

You will 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 review and personal interview (conducted in small groups).

Admissions application forms are available from any Kwantlen University College Admissions Office or available from apply from our web site at http://www.kwantlen.ca.

Important Dates

First day to apply: November 1, 2001

Last day to apply: March 31, 2002

Note: Only complete applications including level 5 LPI results will be accepted.

Orientation for fall 2002 intake:

April 26, 2002

Portfolio Review and Personal Interviews for fall 2002 intake:

April 26, 2002 - applicants from outside Greater Vancouver

April 29, 30; May 1 and 2, 2002 (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 interview in person.

*Definitions:

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.

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.

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.

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.

Here is an overview of the 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. 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 the built environment, which enables students to formulate, validate, and communicate design intentions. Ultimately the design is intended to give or make form and become part of the 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 responds to Kwantlen's intended 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.

Year 1 - Interior Design

Semester - fall

IDSN 1111 Studio I

IDSN 1121 Materials

IDSN 1135 Design Awareness I

IDSN 1141 Technical Representation I

IDSN 1145 Drawing for Interior Design

Semester - spring

IDSN 1201 Studio II

IDSN 1221 Components

IDSN 1235 Design Awareness II

IDSN 1241 Technical Representation II

CMNS 1140 Business & Technical Communication

Approved Liberal Education Elective (recommended English 1st year level)

Year 2 - Interior Design

Semester - fall

IDSN 2300 Studio III

IDSN 2325 Systems I

IDSN 2331 Design Theories I

IDSN 2345 Representation I

IDSN 2361 Work Experience I (10 weeks)

IDSN 2370 Environmental Human Factors

Semester - spring

IDSN 2400 Studio IV

IDSN 2425 Systems II

IDSN 2431 Design Theories II

IDSN 2445 Representation II

IDSN 2451 Site Tutorial I

IDSN 2461 Work Experience II (10 weeks)

Year 3 - Interior Design

Semester - fall

IDSN 3500 Studio V

IDSN 3521 Detailing

IDSN 3531 Design Theories III

IDSN 3545 Representation

IDSN 3551 Site Tutorial II

IDSN 3561 Work Experience III (10 weeks)

IDSN 3580 Interior Design Business I

Semester - spring

IDSN 3600 Studio VI

IDSN 3621 Documentation

IDSN 3631 Design Theories IV

IDSN 3651 Site Tutorial III

IDSN 3661 Work Experience IV (10 weeks)

IDSN 3680 Interior Design Business II

IDSN 3641 Digital Representation (optional)

Year 4 - Interior Design

Semester - fall

IDSN 4700 Thesis Programming

IDSN 4790 Major Site Tutorial (70 hours in total)

IDSN 4780 Interior Design Business III

Approved Liberal Education Elective

Semester - spring

IDSN 4800 Thesis Synthesis

IDSN 4861 Mentorship

2 approved Liberal Education Electives

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).

More 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 604.599.2510 to confirm dates, times and location.

Advisory Committee

Evans, Martin: President, M.R. Evans Trading Co. Ltd.

Friesen, Doug: President, Douglas W. Friesen Inc

Gladwin, Aliki: Principal, Aliki Gladwin & Associates Inc

Jones, Carol: Principal, City Interiors Ltd

Mitschke, Geralynne: Graduate 2000, Bachelor of Applied Design in Interior Design

Moir, Kelly: Graduate 2001, Bachelor of Applied Design in Interior Design

Nelles, Sarah: MCM Interiors Ltd.

O'Leary, Shellee, 2nd year student, Bachelor of Applied Design in Interior Design

Parry, Scott: Concept Business Furnishings Ltd.

Pitre, Céline: Senior Designer/Partner, IDEAS Design & Construction Management Inc.

Robinson, Wade

Spitzner, Jan: Jan Spitzner Agencies

Viegener, Liz: 3rd year Student, Bachelor of Applied Design in Interior Design

Youngren, Catherine: Principal, Catherine Youngren Interior Designers Inc.