Plan Description
The Healthcare Interior Design professional program leads to the Master of Healthcare Interior Design degree. The program provides an interdisciplinary and research/innovation-driven educational experience that is responsive to current and projected modes of professional practice in the design of healthcare facilities and health promoting environments. The professional development of the students is further enhanced by the program’s unique collaborative relationship with the Cleveland Clinic Ruvo Center for Brain Health that provides opportunities to relate the needs of real-life patients, who are most directly affected by the designed environment, to the development of neuroscience-informed environmental design strategies. Project presentations and structured meetings with the Center’s prominent specialists in neurology, psychiatry, Parkinson’s/movement disorders, and neuropsychology are integral to the students’ educational experience. Graduates are well prepared to make a seamless transition into the profession and to advance onto positions of increased responsibilities and achievement of professional licensure. Their educational experience enables them to effectively participate in the integrated design and project delivery processes of environments that are increasingly being considered as one of at least three modalities - pharmacologic, behavioral, and environmental - for improving the quality of human life and health. They are also prepared to practice in a variety of related positions within the broad healthcare industry.
The 4+2 Year Program of study consists of 48 credit hours of graduate course work for holders of Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), or Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB) accredited degrees. At least 27 credits must be earned from 700-level courses. The first year of studies is organized around a neuroscience-informed evidence-based design methodological paradigm complemented by courses in the health and behavioral sciences. The second year of studies is focused on the development of creative and innovative design strategies that can support the transformation of healthcare from reactive and hospital-centered to preventive, proactive, person-centered and focused on well-being rather than disease. In the final semester students are required to complete an independently researched and developed design thesis project as a condition for graduation.
The 4+3 Year Program of study consists of 72 credit hours of graduate course work for applicants of varied backgrounds holding other than Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), or Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB) accredited degrees recognized by UNLV. At least 39 credits must be earned from 700-level courses.
For more information about your program, including your graduate program handbook and learning outcomes, please visit the Degree Directory.
Plan Admission Requirements
Application deadlines
Applications available on the UNLV Graduate College website.
Applicants to the Master of Healthcare Interior Design program must meet the following admission requirements:
- Overall minimum GPA of 3.0/4.0 (B average) in undergraduate work. Applicants with a GPA below 3.0 but not less than 2.75 may be admitted as provisional students.
- A Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), or Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB) accredited degree if applying into the 4 + 2 Year Program. Applicants holding other accredited degrees recognized by UNLV may be admitted into the 4+3 Year Program.
- Submission of a portfolio of design work if applying into the 4 + 2 Year Program.
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores.
- Three letters of recommendation from former instructors and/or employers that speak to the applicant’s potential as a graduate student. The individual writing the letter may use the form available from the UNLV Graduate College, which includes a release form for the student to sign.
- A statement of the student’s professional goals and reasons for seeking admission into the program (200 words maximum).
- International applicants whose native language is not English must show competency in the English language. A satisfactory score (minimum 550 on the written version or 213 on the computerized version) on the “Test of English as a Foreign Language” (TOEFL) or comparable evidence of competency in English must be submitted as part of their application.
- All domestic and international applicants must review and follow the Graduate College Admission and Registration Requirements.
Students are accepted into a degree program as described in the Graduate Catalog. The faculty and corresponding sub-disciplines and sub-plans within the described programs are subject to change at any time.
Subplan 1 Requirements: 4 + 2 Year Track
Total Credits Required: 48
Course Requirements
Required Courses – Credits: 30
AAI 650 - Designed Environment and Human Behavior
AAI 723 - Interior Construction Documents and Specifications
EOH 747 - Transmission of Infectious Disease
HID 773 - Healthcare Design I.
HID 774 - Healthcare Design II.
HID 775 - Healthcare Design III.
HID 776 - Design Thesis Research
Directed Elective Courses – Credits: 12
Complete 1 credits of advisor-approved 9 course work.
Thesis – Credits: 6
HID 777 - Design Thesis
Degree Requirements
- Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0/4.0 or above each semester enrolled.
- Receive a grade of B (3.0) or above (or satisfactory, where applicable) in all courses. If less than a B (or unsatisfactory) is earned, the course may be repeated. The student must be in good standing to repeat a course, and any course may be repeated only once.
- Complete a minimum of six semester hours in each calendar year. The total number of credits required for graduation may vary as transfer credits may be applied towards graduation.
Graduation Requirements
- The student must submit all required forms to the Graduate College and then apply for graduation up to two semesters prior to completing degree requirements.
- The student must submit and successfully present and defend an evidence-based and research-informed thesis design project by the posted deadline. The presentation must be advertised and is open to the public.
- Unanimous approval by the thesis examination committee of the defense is required for graduation.
- The student must submit a bound copy of his/her thesis to the student’s Thesis Advisory Committee chair and to the Architecture Studies Library. The school reserves the right to retain any or all student projects for the program’s future use and exhibition.
- The student must submit his/her approved, properly formatted thesis to the Graduate College, and submit the approved electronic version to ProQuest by the posted deadline.