Mississippi State interior design program earns reaccreditation

Interior design major Hayden Hunt working in the design lab at Etheredge Hall — Mississippi State’s interior design program has received accreditation for another six-year term from the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. Housed in the university’s College of Architecture, Art and Design, the program prepares students like May 2020 graduate Hayden S. Hunt of Macon, Georgia, for professional careers in interior design and related fields. (Photo by Beth Wynn)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—�̾��Ƶ’s interior design program has received accreditation for another six-year term from the Council for Interior Design Accreditation.

“Program accreditation demonstrates our commitment—to our students and to the profession—that we constantly seek to hold ourselves to the highest standards of design education,” said �̾��ƵCollege of Architecture, Art and Design Dean Angi Elsea Bourgeois. “I am extremely proud of our interior design program’s achievements that are being recognized by CIDA. Their on-site team specifically noted the extreme dedication of the faculty, led by Director Beth Miller, and they are to be congratulated for their accomplishments.”

Miller echoed the strength of the program’s faculty.

“The interior design faculty do a remarkable job teaching,” she said. “Our program has met every one of the 118 indicators and all of CIDA’s 16 accreditation standards, an achievement that very few interior design programs in the nation accomplish. We have exceptional faculty and talented students, and they represented �̾��Ƶ very well during the process.”

The site visitors’ report also notes the program’s sense of community and collegiality.

“Students speak of their faculty with great respect but also in a comfortable, colloquial manner, and this feeling is reciprocated by the faculty,” the report said. “During interviews, students reveal that meeting the interior design faculty and experiencing their welcoming nature cemented the decision to attend Mississippi State. Students and faculty alike describe members of the program as ‘family.’”

Another strength noted in the report is the program’s internship requirement and the fact that students are nationally recruited from highly respected design firms.

MSU’s interior design program also is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The program teaches the skills necessary to create functional, efficient and aesthetically pleasing residential and commercial interior environments. Students learn to take issues of health, safety and welfare into consideration and are exposed to current industry in technology, practices and resources. For more, visit and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @CAADatMSU.

�̾��Ƶis Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.

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