Master’s programs at the Department of Interior Architecture

At the intersection of architecture, conservation and design, Interior Architecture at RISD takes an innovative approach to the reuse and transformation of existing buildings. Interior Architecture at RISD is about how the existing built environment can be transformed and how new experiences can be introduced to the spaces we inhabit. 

RISD offers three advanced degrees in Interior Architecture: a one-year+ Master of Arts (MA) and a 2-year+ Master of Design (MDes) in adaptive reuse, and a two-year+ MDes in exhibition and narrative environments.

The Adaptive Reuse programs focus on imagining new futures and new possibilities for existing buildings. Structural knowledge, social inquisitiveness, and a great deal of attention enable unpacking and highlighting the existing values and introducing new layers to the built environment.

The Exhibition and Narrative Environments program focuses on the experiential dimension, telling stories and conveying ideas through space. Deploying a much more sensory, atmospheric, and at times dramatic take on design, often resulting in temporary yet meaningful spaces.

Find out more about the programs on our website and apply here until January 6, 2025. Learn about the upcoming online and in-person Open House events.

Graduate Interior Architecture virtual open house Wednesday November 20 10am EDT.

One-year+ MA program in Adaptive Reuse
As a post-professional program culminating in a student's first academic degree in architecture, the 45-credit Master of Arts in Adaptive Reuse offers a specialist design education. The program establishes a clear formal, theoretical, and technological framework for the study of adaptive reuse, properly equipping graduating students to engage in architectural practice within the existing built environment.

The curriculum supports developing strategies that account for the importance of social and environmental responsibility, while expanding upon the architect’s understanding of reuse as a process and product involving both practice and theory.

Two-year+ MDes program in Adaptive Reuse
The 75-credit Master of Design (MDes) in Interior Studies: Adaptive Reuse program offers a unique design education in altering existing structures through interior interventions and the practice of adaptive reuse. This course of study focuses specifically on designing interventions for existing structures at many scales—from single rooms to entire buildings as well as the larger urban fabric.

While operating outside the confines of professional architectural licensure, graduates of the program qualify to sit for the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam.

Two-year+ MDes program in Exhibition and Narrative Environments
In the 75-credit Master of Design (MDes) in Interior Studies: Exhibition and Narrative Environments program, you engage in a dynamic course of study focused on making interior interventions within the context of narrative environments—spaces that encompass or communicate a form of storytelling. Alongside exhibitions and environments of cultural exchange, scenographic work such as stage design, brand spaces, and fashion runways are all examples of narrative environments. 

In providing a clear aesthetic, theoretical, and technological framework for the study of exhibition design, the program equips graduating students to create narrative experiences within museum settings and beyond. Access to exhibition-related coursework through electives in other departments at RISD, such as Graphic Design, Digital + Media, and Theory and History of Art and Design, or through Brown University, provide an expanded curriculum along with resources and opportunities offered by the RISD Museum.

Key dates
Graduate application deadline: ​January 6, 2025
Graduate financial aid deadline: February 1, 2025

Apply.