Students Gain Real World Experience Through Design Externships
Off-campus internships (“externships”) are a significant component to the interior design curriculum, in which undergraduate students can experience the pace of working at design firms in their chosen fields. In the fall 2019 semester 17 interior design juniors are completing semester-long internships in Louisiana and Texas. Firms include: Eskew Dumez Ripple, Frost-Barber, Studio by Day, AOS, Grace Hebert Curtis, Tiek & Co., Sizeler Thompson Brown Architects, Manning Architects, Triple Heart Design, Logan Killen Interiors, By Day, Lucinda Loya Interiors, Signature Southern Accents, Monochrome, The Design Studio, Texture, and Workplace Solutions.
Additionally, students are studying off campus at a variety of locations across the U.S. Seniors Taylor Ferris and Kim Nguyen are studying in California this semester at California State University North Ridge through the National Student Exchange.
Interior design students are pursuing studies internationally as well: seniors Laura Casanova and Marianne Newall are studying during their fall 2019 semester abroad in the interdisciplinary Design Paris program. While in Paris the students had the opportunity to tour historic architecture and design sites, and explored other European cities as well.
This semester students also had opportunities to get off campus on a range of local and regional field trips. 39 third-year students traveled to Chicago to explore design in the “Windy City.” They visited firms including Stantec and CannonDesign, DIRTT, OFS, and had Steelcase and Herman Miller showroom tours at The Mart.
“Getting off campus and seeing different types of design in person is so meaningful,” one student said.