Undergraduate Program: Majors

Textile and Apparel Design

The Textile and Apparel Design (TAD) major includes aspects of art, design and technology within a curriculum intended to develop creativity and problem solving skills. Additional academic courses in humanities, science and social studies provide students with the knowledge base and experience necessary to succeed in a variety of careers in textile and apparel design.

Within the major, students choose to focus in either textile or apparel design. A textile focus trains students to design woven or printed fabrics for the apparel, home furnishing, or contract textile industries. The apparel design focus prepares students for careers in all phases of the ready-to-wear fashion industry with an emphasis on women's wear. Within either focus students may spend their final year of study at UW-Madison or at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, where they can earn an Associate of Arts degree in addition to the Bachelor of Science degree they will receive from the University of Wisconsin.

Freshmen should declare their intention to pursue the textile and apparel design major when they apply for admission to UW-Madison. Transfer students should be aware that in most cases, four years are required to fulfill the major requirements following admission to the program.

All students must complete a one-year Pre-TAD curriculum, which begins in the fall. Continuation into the textile and apparel design professional course sequence involves an application process during which a focus area (apparel or textiles) is declared. Admission to the upper-level TAD courses is based upon evaluation of the student's performance in the Pre-TAD phase of the program. Students have the option to apply to both focus areas with the understanding that pursuing both textile and apparel design foci will add a minimum of one year to their studies.

Many courses in the major are sequential and courses may be offered only once per year with the sequence beginning in the Fall semester. Students who desire to attend F.I.T. and participate in study abroad programs should plan to take their abroad experience during a summer term or should plan on a five-year program.

Textile and apparel design majors submit a portfolio in the fall of the year preceding the final year of study. Recommendation to F.I.T. is based on an evaluation of these portfolios and a minimum 2.5 grade point average. For those students who choose to spend their senior year in Madison, portfolio review forms the basis for determining an appropriate senior thesis project.

Interior Design

The interior design major is a four-year professional program accredited by the Foundation of Interior Design Education and Research (FIDER). The program develops student creativity in the design and planning of interior spaces by emphasizing the process and communication of design as well as the product of design. Students learn to integrate the art of design with the social sciences concerning the interaction of people and their environment, the history of design, and the physical sciences relating to the effects of materials on the physical health and comfort of inhabitants. Insight into professional practice is enhanced through internship experiences.

Course content includes developing design communication skills such as sketching, rendering, computer-aided drafting and design, and three-dimensional modeling with exposure to both residential and commercial interiors. In addition, courses in art history, history of interiors, business, engineering, and art are required. A final portfolio is required before graduation.

Students who wish to pursue the interior design major begin in Pre-Professional Course Sequence segment of the program. Continuation into the ID professional courses sequence involves an application process at the end of each fall semester. Admission is based upon evaluation of a student's performance in the Pre-Professional phase of the curriculum. This includes a minimum of 18 credits from selected university general studies courses (i.e., arts and humanities, science, and social studies), and 15 credits of designated design-related courses.
After completion of the first phase of the program, and upon acceptance into the professional course sequence of the ID major, all interior design students must purchase a laptop computer with a minimum hardware specification and software licenses. Financial aid packages are adjusted for the purchase. Mininum specifications for the laptop computers can be found below.

Students interested in interior design may enroll in the School of Human Ecology during their freshman year. Transfer students may take longer to complete their degree than students entering the program, as they must complete the Pre-Professional Course requirements and the four sequential interior design studios. Transfer students will need to have their records reviewed to determine if transferred courses work fulfill program requirements.

Other UW-Madison Design Programs

In additional to the programs in DS, there are a number of other departments that offer majors or coursework in design or design-related areas.

• The Art Department offers a broad range of studio applications, including Graphic Design and Furniture Design.

• The Landscape Architecture Department offers courses of study that look at the landscape as both a physical entity and a cultural entity.

• A variety of engineering programs offer courses of study that include design applications from the micro to the macro.