Growing a Discipline

A variety of competing pedagogical orientations have accompanied the evolution of university-based Interior Design teaching. A review of relevant literature indicates that a range of pedagogical models are available, each rooted in a distinct design discipline such as architecture and industrial design. A new undergraduate Interior Design program is described, in order to demonstrate an approach to integrating theory and practice. Diverse teaching influences on the development of a course of study in Interior Design in the context of an established multi-disciplinary design faculty are illustrated. The new program’s pedagogical approach is demonstrated through an examination of the first and second year studio subjects. The paper concludes with a summary of the program’s strengths and weaknesses, and suggestions are made to promote ways to integrate theory and practice through broadening the theoretical discourse that could allow Interior Design to be explored through other relevant and critical social disciplines.