Art Institute of Portland Interior Design Program Earns Specialized Academic Accreditation
The Art Institute of Portland's Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Interior Design has been awarded a six-year term of accreditation by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA).
Online, August 25, 2009 (Newswire.com) - [PORTLAND, OR - Aug 25, 2009] The Art Institute of Portland's Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Interior Design has been awarded a six-year term of accreditation by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA). Success in accreditation is dependent on the program's ability to demonstrate achievement of Council standards and ensures programs are meeting the high-quality education defined by Council.
The receipt of CIDA accreditation is the culmination of a tremendous amount of work, effort and preparation on the part of The Art Institute of Portland, and Academic Department Director, Molly Deas. Deas hosted members of the CIDA council for an on-site review of student-work, facilities, and program curriculum in Spring 2009, to determine The Art Institute of Portland's program met the professional requirements defined by CIDA.
"CIDA accreditation for our program brings an exciting new level of professionalism to the Portland design community and means even better outcomes for our students," says Molly Deas, Academic Department Director for Interior Design. "We are looking forward to the new wave of designers our interior design program will foster with the added recognition of the CIDA."
In addition to spearheading CIDA accreditation, Deas is also responsible for developing the Interior Design program's minor in sustainability, which educates students on the design of physical objects and the built environment to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. The needed aim of sustainable design is to produce places, products and services in a way that reduces use of non-renewable resources, minimizes environmental impact, and relates people with the natural environment. In classes such as, Environmental Ethics and History of Environmental Movement, students are exposed to the history and current trends of the "green" movement and how they can positively impact our world, through design.
About The Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA)
The Council for Interior Design Accreditation is an independent, nonâ€profit accrediting organization for interior design education programs at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
For more than 35 years, this knowledgeâ€driven organization has been passionately committed to the ongoing enrichment of the interior design profession through identifying, developing and promoting quality standards for the education of entry level interior designers, and then encouraging, accrediting and supporting educational programs to aspire to those standards.
About The Art Institute of Portland
The Art Institute of Portland is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of over 40 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals. The Art Institute of Portland is located in Portland's Pearl District, provides undergraduate design education and is regionally accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, an institutional accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Art Institute of Portland offers bachelor's degree programs in Advertising, Apparel Accessory Design, Apparel Design, Culinary Management, Digital Film & Video, Design Management, Design Studies, Design Visualization, Fashion Marketing, Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Media Arts & Animation, Photography & Design, Visual Effects & Motion Graphics, Visual & Game Programming and Web Design & Interactive Media. The college offers a minor in sustainability and associate's degrees for select degree programs.