Students

Our students come from many different age groups, backgrounds, and specific interests within design. While most hail from cities throughout Florida, others from many U.S. states as well as across the globe including Europe, the Middle East, the Far East and Australia build a community of varied voices and perspectives. All points of view are welcome, and the School of Design is committed to a learning environment characterized by equal opportunity, respect for all persons and providing a community of care that celebrates difference—because it makes everyone stronger. Our mission of engaging in human-centered design means that needs of people, including the acknowledgment and support of their dignity and self-worth are vital to understanding and necessarily shape one’s actions. A Student Advisory Council meets twice each year so that student voice on department matters can be heard. Additionally, students are present on the School of Design’s Advisory Council.  

Our rigorous curriculum prepares students for careers in design in a variety of sectors. Some students create workplace designs, while others secure employment in hotel or education design. Opportunities in lighting have attracted some students to specialize in this much-needed area, while others conduct programming research for projects within firms, or continue on to graduate study or elsewhere to become interior design educators. Learn more about the universities and colleges and firms our alumni are working for. 

Design students benefits from the interaction of undergraduate and graduate students, in both formal and informal settings. Students at both levels study in facilities located in the William Johnston Building, located directly on Landis Green, in the heart of the FSU campus. Six studios, a CAD lab, two lecture rooms, a seminar room, a gallery, and a large resource room support the student experience. Our students often present their work in the soaring 5-story atrium of the Johnston Building.  

The Carnaghi Arts Building hosts the School of Design’s Studio D: Design and Fabrications Lab, where students can access traditional woodworking equipment as well as CNC routers, 3D printers and similar current technologies for exploring design process through furniture making. The Materials and Objects Testing Laboratory (MOTL) provides students experiential learning opportunities with interior products, exploring their suitability for specification within hotel, workspace, restaurant, residential and other project types.  

The School also has an excellent internship placement program which helps prepare students for job placement in all areas of design. Internships are available in Tallahassee and in many locations around the country.  Out-of-town internships are best done in the summer semester when students are not in regular classes.

For more information on internships, contact Jim Dawkins.

Student Organization

Apart from the many functions sponsored by the School, students are encouraged to participate in the activities of student organizations such as the Interior Design Student Organization, a combined entity of the student chapters of the American Society of Interior Designer (ASID) and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA). Competitions, conferences and career day events are part of the calendar.

Find more information on our Interior Design Student Organizations.

Past, present and future students are all extremely important to the continuity of a vital design program. Our programs receive much support from alumni. While most students in the School of Design come from Florida, alumni are far-flung and represent the program in all avenues of design practice. Each year the School celebrates the notable achievements of select alumni in its Alumni Awards Program. The successes of these individuals both demonstrate the ability of the Department to help reveal future leaders in the design fields, and also model processes that inspire current students to their own success.