Areas of concentration for MS and MA degrees include human behavior in the near environment, cultural and historic aspects of the near environment, design in the near environment, and merchandising management. Areas of concentration for the PhD degree include human behavior in the near environment and cultural and historic aspects of the near environment. Courses in the curriculum include research methods and application, interior design, architecture, and art. A Master s thesis is required for this program. The doctor's degree requires a minimum of 75 semester hours of graduate work beyond the bachelor's degree, exclusive of credit for the dissertation.
Students develop their courses of study in consultation with a graduate advisory committee.
The programs are designed for students who already have an undergraduate degree in one of the professional options or a related field. The mission of the University of Kansas Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellowship is to identify and recruit exceptional domestic Ph.D. students who demonstrate the promise to make significant contributions to their fields of study and society as a whole. The Self Graduate Fellowship is a four-year award open to U.S. citizens. In addition, Self Fellows have the unique opportunity to participate in an interdisciplinary development program designed to sharpen skills in communication, management, leadership, and innovation and to increase their abilities as opinion leaders. The Interior Design program prepares graduates to pursue careers as interior design educators, researchers, and practitioners, and offers a quality graduate program which incorporates both strong studio design and qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.