Master of Arts in Interior Architecture - Health Care Design Track

1 Years On Campus Masters Program

Florida International University

Program Overview

The Master of Arts in Interior Architecture – Health Care Design Track at Florida International University is a post-professional, interdisciplinary program focused on developing specialized expertise in healthcare environments through evidence-based design, research, and collaboration with healthcare and related disciplines. The program suits students with a professional background in interior design or architecture who want to explore patient-centered design, universal design, aging in place, wellness, sustainable communities, and healthcare environments while working with fields such as nursing, medicine, public health, occupational therapy, computer science, and biomedical engineering.

Curriculum Structure

First Year: Students begin by developing advanced research and design-thinking skills through Design Thinking and Creative Process, Design Research Methods, and Environmental & Behavioral Theory. They then apply these methods to healthcare-specific challenges through Health Care Studio I, Environmental Systems in Health Care, and Healthcare Theory, building an evidence-based approach to the design of healthcare environments.

Final Semester : The advanced stage centers on Health Care Studio II, where students further develop specialized healthcare-design solutions while completing directed electives tailored to their professional and research interests. The studio-based work continues the program's interdisciplinary approach, connecting design with healthcare stakeholders, professional practice, and research.

Focus areas: Healthcare design, evidence-based design, patient-centered design, universal design, aging in place, healthcare environments, environmental systems, wellness, active living, sustainable communities, research methods, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Learning outcomes: Students develop specialized healthcare-design expertise, research and problem-solving capabilities, evidence-based design skills, and the ability to collaborate with healthcare professionals and related academic disciplines to address complex healthcare-environment challenges.

Professional alignment (accreditation): The program is a post-professional degree designed to enhance the credentials of students who already hold an accredited professional degree in interior design or architecture; the official FIU material describes the program as a specialized healthcare-design qualification rather than a separate professional licensure degree.

Reputation (employability rankings): Not stated specifically for this Health Care Design track in the official FIU sources reviewed.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

The Master of Arts in Interior Architecture – Health Care Design Track at Florida International University is built around evidence-based and interdisciplinary design, allowing students to work with healthcare-related challenges rather than studying interior architecture only in a conventional studio setting. Students collaborate with disciplines including nursing, medicine, public health, occupational therapy, computer science, and biomedical engineering, while FIU’s Interior Architecture facilities support physical prototyping, digital fabrication, immersive visualization, and research into healthcare environments.

Healthcare Design Studios: Students undertake Health Care Studio I and Health Care Studio II, applying research and design methods to healthcare environments and developing solutions around patient-centered design, universal design, aging in place, wellness, and related healthcare issues.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: The program specifically brings students into interaction with nursing, medicine, public health, occupational therapy, computer science, and biomedical engineering, as well as healthcare design professionals and healthcare facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes.
Evidence-Based Design: Students develop research and problem-solving skills through an evidence-based design model, connecting design decisions with healthcare and human-environment research.
FIU L-Cube / Living Lab: FIU’s Interior Architecture research materials describe the FIU L-Cube (Learning through Living Labs) as an experiential environment using mobile technology, sensors, trackers, environmental controls, and physical mock-ups. The proposed healthcare applications include creating physical patient-room mock-ups for interdisciplinary observation and evaluation.
Robotics & Digital Fabrication Lab: Interior Architecture students have opportunities to work in FIU’s Robotics & Digital Fabrication (RDF) Lab, using advanced fabrication and digital technologies for physical and digital prototyping of spatial configurations.
FIU ICAVE: The Integrated Computer Augmented Virtual Environment (FIU-ICAVE) provides immersive visualization capabilities and is identified by the department as a resource for exploring new approaches to visualizing and making spatial designs.
Physical Prototyping: Students can explore design ideas through physical mock-ups and prototypes, particularly relevant to healthcare environments where spatial configurations can be evaluated before implementation.
Digital Fabrication: FIU's design facilities support digital fabrication and visualization, providing opportunities to move from virtual design concepts toward physical prototypes and experimental spatial configurations.
Team-Based Design: FIU Interior Architecture studios use both individual projects and team projects, with students developing and repeatedly refining design proposals through conceptual, developmental, verbal, graphic, and modeling processes.
Healthcare Research: The department has identified an upcoming Human Factors Lab for Healthcare Design and Hospitality Design, intended to support value-added education in evidence-based design.
Healthcare Design Colloquium: FIU’s Interior Architecture materials highlight a biannual Healthcare Design Colloquium on Digital Futures, bringing industry leaders together to discuss emerging directions in healthcare design.
Internship Opportunities: FIU’s Interior Architecture program identifies internships among its professional and experiential opportunities, alongside its emphasis on strengthening connections with design firms and industry practice.
Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture Building: The Department of Interior Architecture is based in the Paul L. Cejas School of Architecture Building at FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus, providing the primary academic environment for the program.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The Master of Arts in Interior Architecture – Health Care Design Track prepares graduates to apply specialized, evidence-based design knowledge to healthcare environments and collaborate with professionals across nursing, medicine, public health, occupational therapy, computer science, and biomedical engineering. The program can support progression into specialist interior architecture and healthcare-design roles, as well as research, consulting, and interdisciplinary design careers. FIU’s own alumni examples also demonstrate progression into roles at major design firms, including Gensler and HOK.

Career pathways:

Healthcare Interior Designer
Interior Architect / Interior Designer
Healthcare Design Researcher
Design Consultant

Career and Talent Development: FIU’s Career and Talent Development provides career resources for Architecture & Construction students, including employment-data tools covering job titles, employers, technical skills, employment trends, education levels, and annual earnings. The university also hosts the School of Architecture Career Fair, connecting students and alumni with industry leaders and internship opportunities.

Employment & salary information: FIU provides access to current labor-market information through its Lightcast partnership, including employment trends and annual earnings for relevant occupations. A specific graduate employment rate or salary figure for the Health Care Design track is not stated on the official FIU sources reviewed, so no unsupported salary figure is provided.

Industry connections: FIU Interior Architecture maintains strong connections with the professional design community. The department’s Festival of the Trees brings together South Florida’s architecture and design community, while external design professionals participate in project reviews and award-related juries; FIU alumni have also progressed into firms such as Gensler and HOK.

Interdisciplinary healthcare network: The Health Care Design track is specifically structured around collaboration with healthcare-related disciplines, including nursing, medicine, public health, occupational therapy, computer science, and biomedical engineering, together with healthcare design professionals and healthcare facilities. This gives graduates a foundation for working across the design and healthcare sectors.

Professional value: FIU’s Interior Architecture program is CIDA-accredited, providing professional recognition for the discipline. The Health Care Design track is a post-professional degree designed to add specialized healthcare-design expertise to an existing professional interior design or architecture background.

Graduate outcomes: FIU’s published alumni profiles show graduates moving into professional design positions and leadership roles. For example, Interior Architecture alumna Marlene Liriano became Managing Director of IA Interior Architects’ Miami office and previously held senior roles at HOK, while another FIU Interior Architecture graduate worked as a technical designer at Gensler.

Further Academic Progression: After completing the master's degree, graduates can pursue doctoral-level research, advanced interdisciplinary research, teaching, or further specialized study in interior architecture, architecture, healthcare design, environmental design, or related fields. FIU describes its post-professional Interior Architecture master's education as preparing students for research, teaching, and advanced studies, providing a pathway toward longer-term academic and research careers.