Interior Architecture Academic Progression

How many years of study must I undertake?

The Bachelor of Interior Architecture program at Monash University is a four year full time course, involving approximately 16 contact hours per week and an additional 32 hours of non-contact study.

What kind of subjects will I study?

Year 1 
The first semester of first year is a common semester with all Faculty of Art & Design disciplines. That is, you study the same units with industrial design, visual communication and multimedia students. The units include design, design history, digital processes, drawing and an online occupational health and safety unit. In second semester you begin to specialise in interior architecture through studio design, communication methods, virtual space and building construction. First principles of design as an exploratory process are introduced.

Year 2 
Design Studio is the primary unit supported by theory, virtual space, structures & services, building construction, furniture and the Production of Space & Place. Building on first principles in first year, students engage in a process of 'play', culminating in the exploration of possibilities and consequences, set in the context of realistic projects and sites. Students are introduced to the significance of understanding human behaviour through environmental psychology and design.

Year 3 
Design studio is supported by advanced units in theory, structures & services, professional practice, and building construction. The first of three electives can be taken in second semester. Studio focuses on integrating the development of conceptual ideas with complex space planning, along with further exploration of human behaviour and proxemics.

Year 4 
The complex, critical thinking students have developed in their first three years of study result in their development of an independent, year-long design project, often responding to issues of social significance. Students engage in an advanced design discourse to explore in depth possibilities around a specific field of interest, supported by theory and elective units. The year culminates with a public exhibition of final year projects.