Design and Merchandising Interior Design Specialization Design and Merchandising Master's Program

The Interior Design specialization of the M.S. in Design and Merchandising offers the opportunity for you to explore creativity, sustainability, emerging technologies, spatial perception, and human health and wellness within the context of Interior Design.

Common contexts for graduate research include workplace, education, healthcare facilities, commercial/institutional spaces, hospitality, etc. 

Major areas of specialization for graduate study and research in Interior Design include:

• Creativity and cognition
• Sense of place
• Sustainable design studies
• Inclusive design and design justice (DEIJ)
• Health, wellbeing, and resilience
• Theory, sociocultural, and global approaches
• Design pedagogy
• Digital fabrication
• Emerging technologies for design

This degree prepares you with the research skills to follow career paths in both academia and practice. You will finish the program with strong abilities to engage in evidence-based design, utilize new areas of specialization in practice, or leverage the terminal degree with credentials to teach.

• Browse research topics from our recent graduates
• Explore research labs where faculty and students work collaboratively
• Investigate faculty research interests

Our graduate students come from diverse backgrounds including:

• Design practitioners who wish to specialize beyond their undergraduate design credentials
• Designers and architects who wish to become research practitioners
• Designers and architects who desire to teach in higher education

Opportunities, after you complete your master’s degree, include:

• Teaching in higher education
• Practicing as a research practitioner
• Practicing in a specialty market segment such as commercial, residential, healthcare, lighting, graphic, and/or industrial design
• Pursuing a doctoral degree: Although the master’s degree is and remains the terminal degree for the interior design profession, the doctoral degree is now required by over 30 percent of interior design programs in institutions of higher education. Colorado State University’s School of Education is supportive of interior design graduate students pursuing their doctorate and works collaboratively with Interior Design faculty to create a smooth transition into a doctoral program.