Interior Architecture

Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Surveying

Future Students

Welcome to ETSU!

We are excited that you are considering studying Interior Architecture at ETSU. To help you plan a smooth transition to ETSU directly from; a high school, a community college, transferring from other 4-yr institutions, or a returning student, we want you to be aware of a few important issues and suggest several graduation paths so that you can make the decision that best fits your situation. You can familiar yourself with the current curriculum at this website.

  • Graduation Pathways

    What is the fastest way to earn an interior architecture degree?

    START AND COMPLETE ALL 4 YEARS AT ETSU

    This is the quickest and simplest path to graduation. You start on your interior classes your first semester and can graduate in 4 years. Our small class sizes allows for extended interactions with interior architecture faculty where you build professional design skills from day one. Being a full-time ETSU student means you graduate with the fewest hours, do not have transfer headaches, or missing graduation requirements. You get to experience all the diverse benefits the university has to offer as you work towards an ETSU Bachelors of Science Degree in Interior Architecture. The ETSU Interior Architecture program at Johnson City is CIDA accredited and NASAD accredited. If you are considering any of these pathways careful planning with ETSU interior faculty and advisors can ease your transition into ETSU. See contact info below for more answers to your questions.

    How can the Tennessee Promise be leveraged to earn an interior architecture degree?

    Option 1

    Pellissippi State Community College (PSCC):

    PSCC is the only community college in the state of Tennessee where you can earn an associate’s degree in interior design. During the first two years the program at PSCC concentrates on residential design and the skills needed to enter the workforce in that capacity.

    After you first earn your AA degree at Pellissippi State you have of two pathways to continue your education and earn an ETSU Bachelor of Science Degree in Interior Architecture.

    1. 1. ETSU – Johnson City Campus:
      You can directly transfer to the ETSU campus in Johnson City to complete your last two years of study. This option allows you to graduate from a CIDA and NASAD accredited program.

    2. 2. Stay at PSCC:
      You can continue at Pellissippi State to complete your last two years of study. During the last two years you will take ETSU courses taught by faculty at the Pellissippi State. In this option you are attending a program not seeking CIDA and NASAD accreditation.  Contact Dr. Margaret Ann Jeffries for details.

    Option 2

    All other community colleges:

    If you plan to take advantage of the Tennessee Promise to complete all your general education requirements and then transfer to ETSU for an interior architecture degree you need to be aware of the following so that you can plan accordingly:

    1. If you plan to complete all of your general study requirements at the community college level you will need to decide on a minor course of study (i.e. entrepreneurial studies, business, fine arts, etc.) after transferring to ETSU. You must maintain a full course load each semester (12 credit hours) so that your repayments on any student loans will not start while you are in school. This simply means you will graduate with more than the required 120 hours and it will take you 6 years to complete the ETSU Bachelor of Science Degree in Interior Architecture. We suggest that you start at ETSU or transfer to ETSU after your first year of community college to lessen the chance of this happening.

    2. Due to accreditation requirements it will take you 4+ years from your start date at ETSU to complete your interior architecture degree. To fully cover those requirements it requires four complete years of study at ETSU no matter how many credits you transfer have completed at a community college. ETSU teaches each interior architecture course only one time a year and you must take all the courses in order, therefore the semester you decide to transfer to ETSU can make a big difference in how fast you get to start on your interior architecture classes.

    To help in your transition to ETSU we suggest you take the following courses bedsides general study courses if they are available at your selected institution; drafting/CAD, REVIT, color theory, art history, Photoshop/Illustrator, construction fundamentals, or other construction related courses. Taking these courses will not shorten your time at ETSU. This knowledge will only give you an advantage going forward.

    Careful planning with ETSU interior faculty and advisors can ease your transition into ETSU. See contact info below for more answers to your questions.

    If you are already enrolled in a 4 -year institution what are my options?

    Interior architecture/design majors from other 4-yr. institutions:

    ETSU and the interior architecture faculty will evaluate your transcripts and a required portfolio to determine the best place to start in the curriculum. Please note that we only teach each interior architecture course once a year. This fact might impact the best timing for your transition into the program (spring or fall). If you are all considering transferring to ETSU please start your process early so you know exactly your path for graduation. Careful planning with ETSU interior faculty and advisors can ease your transition into ETSU. See contact info below for more answers to your questions.

    If you have not majored in interior design at your present institution:

    Due to accreditation requirements it will take you an additional 4 years from your start date at ETSU to complete your interior design degree. To fully cover those requirements it requires four complete years of study.

    If you complete all of your general study requirements at the community college level you will need to decide on a minor course of study (i.e. entrepreneurial studies, business, fine arts, etc.) while at ETSU. You must maintain a full course load each semester so that your repayments on any student loans will not start while you are in school. This simply means you will graduate with more than the required 120 hours and it will take you six years to complete the ETSU Bachelor of Science Degree in Interior Architecture. Careful planning with ETSU interior faculty and advisors can ease your transition into ETSU. See contact info below for more answers to your questions.

    Who can I talk with to find you more information about the program, visit the ETSU campus, or transferring into the ETSU Interior Architecture Program?

    Careful planning with ETSU interior faculty and advisor can ease your transition into ETSU. They will help in answering your questions about the program and help you decide on your best pathway to graduation.

    Dean Isham, Interior Architecture Program Coordinator

  • Computer Recommendations

    Computer Recommendations for 2019-20 school year
    Computers are dramatically affecting the way designers see and think about design. To address these issues studio courses will address how technology impacts the design process.
    The required design related software places very large demands on the hardware. Design illustrations can take many hours to completely render on the best computers. As students' progress through the program their resulting design illustrations become more complex and place further strains on aging hardware. Thus, the minimum requirements are based on recommendations of the most computer intensive software and looking to the future when students will be required to do more complex presentations when their computers are 3 years old.

    MINIMUM System Recommendations

    MacBook Pros or Windows laptops are acceptable.

    15" screen
    "i7" series  or better processors*
    500 GB hard drives**
    16 GB RAM***
    Dedicated separate video cards
    3-button mouse
    3 yr extended warranty highly recommended

    MacBooks must additionally be able to run Windows so a student can run REVIT.  Parallels software is the recommended method

    * 2.2 GHz. Minimum: Upgrade to best processor with the highest clock speed as you can afford
    ** solid state preferred: Upgrade to largest hard drive as you can afford
    *** buy as much as you can afford

    Typical software:
    CAD software
     AutoCAD & REVIT     – free download to students.  IT MUST MATCH VERSION FOUND IN STUDIOS. 

    SketchUp Pro Version for students

    Podium V2 - make sure you buy the highest version

    Word processing*
    Microsoft Office free download
    * the only file types accepted for grading are doc/docx or pdf. You must learn to convert to those files types if you select one of the non-preferred packages

    Adobe Creative Suite Creative Cloud Student Version - monthly subscription

    Misc
    Cloud storage: backup purposes comes with Onedrive cloud storage from ETSU.

    Appropriate backpack or sleeve

    Estimated approximate total cost: $2500 plus tax - all computer prices are estimated and vary greatly from place to place and time to time

  • Cost Information and Scholarships

    Click here for ETSU Cost Estimates 

    Creative Arts Scholarship

    New Interior Architecture out-of-state students (freshmen, transfers, and international students) will be eligible for the ETSU Creative Arts Scholarship. This scholarship allows out-of-state students the opportunity to attend ETSU at in-state rates. The scholarship award may vary from term to term depending on the number of credit hours for which a student is registered and is renewable for eight (8) semesters. Students must apply for this scholarship before starting their first semester.

    Requirements:

    • ETSU acceptance
    • Cumulative high school GPA of 2.0 or 2.5 for transfer students
    • Must live on campus and buy a meal plan for the entire year
    • Enroll in the full cohort of interior architecture courses each semester to guarantee graduation in four years minimum once a student have started their studies at ETSU. For a list of cohort courses required each semester, please click here.

    Note: Students can only receive one scholarship from ETSU that helps with out-of-state tuition (i.e. Academic Common Market, Fine and Performing Arts Scholarship, Global Citizen Scholars Program, Honors-in-Discipline Scholarship, Midway Scholarship, Public Service Corps Scholarship, and Graduate Assistantships or Tuition Scholarships for Graduate Students).

    Renewal Criteria:

    • Maintain an overall GPA of 2.5 each term. GPA will be reviewed at the end of each term (fall, spring, and summer)
    • Pass all of the cohort courses for that term
    • Earn a minimum grade of "C" in required interior architecture studio courses
    • Register for all of the cohort courses for the next term
    • As juniors/seniors participate in the tutoring program for interior architecture freshmen and sophomores

    Contact the program coordinator Dean Isham (ishamd@etsu.edu) for more information.

    Start application here

    Start
    Fine & Performing Arts Scholars Program

    The Fine & Performing Arts Scholars program at ETSU provides special educational opportunities for artistically and academically talented students.

     The program focuses on recruiting exceptional students, nurturing their artistic and intellectual growth through challenging curricula, promoting their commitment to life-long learning and service, and instilling in them a desire to advance creativity and knowledge in their field.

    The Arts Scholars program at ETSU is limited in class size. Up to 25 students accepted to the program each year. A special application is required that is in addition to applying to ETSU. The deadline for applications is March 1st but you should apply early.

    Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for the program and for a scholarship:

    High School GPA = 2.75 on a 4.0 scale
    Scholastic exam scores, ACT = 22 (composite total without writing) or SAT = 1050 (include total of math and reading scores only).

    Scholarship award information

    Basler Scholarship

    The Wayne G. Basler Incentive Scholarship was established in 1992 by a long-time friend of the university, Mr. Wayne G. Basler.  The major intent of the scholarship is to reward an entering freshman of any age who can (1) demonstrate the desire, determination, and motivation to set and complete personal goals, and (2) who have a defined need for the scholarship. In addition, students must meet the following criteria:

    • Be an incoming freshman or student who has completed 19 or fewer hours in a degree program as of December 2009.
    • Be enrolled full-time (12 or more semester hours) or be accepted for full-time enrollment in the Bachelor of Science degree program in the Department of Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Surveying at East Tennessee State University.
    • Be a U.S. citizen or have permanent resident status.
    • Submit a written application by the deadline and be available if called for an interview.

    The scholarship amounts are as follows:

    • First year: $2000 ($1000 per semester)
    • Second year: $2500 ($1250 per semester)
    • Third year: $3500 ($1750 per semester)
    • Fourth year: $5000 ($2500 per semester)

    Basler Scholarship FAQs

    Basler Scholarship Application

    Other Scholarship Opportunities

    University-level scholarships (www.etsu.edu/scholarships)

    College of Business and Technology and departmental scholarships (www.etsu.edu/cbatscholarships)

  • Admissions

    • For entering freshman, start with this checklist on the Admissions page: Checklist
    • For transfer students, start with this checklist on the Admissions page: Checklist

  • Location

    Wilson Wallis Hall
    Box 70552
    Johnson City, TN

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