Interior Merchandising

What's different about Mount Mary's Interior Merchandising Major?

Mount Mary University’s interior merchandising program provides real-work experience, professional networking opportunities and service learning activities so you are prepared to achieve personal and professional success.

The Interior Merchandising program will give you professional interior merchandising, marketing and sales skills. Through this major, you'll gain knowledge of industry trends such as color marketing, textiles/material advancements, and technology needs. 

Merchandising professionals can be responsible for the many aspects within the field including collaboration with production, design, and marketing professionals. With a degree in Interior Merchandising, you'll be prepared to work in a specialized management sector within the industry of interiors.

Learn more about Mount Mary's Interior Merchandising Degree

This program requires a minimum of 75 credits of interior design courses and completion of the university’s core curriculum requirements.  Complete degree requirements and a listing of courses are available in the Undergraduate Bulletin and Curriculum Guide list.

Some academic programs require a GPA higher than what is required for general admission to Mount Mary University. Contact your admission counselor for more information.

The entrepreneurship minor is designed for non-business majors who wish to learn how to start a business in their chosen field. The minor requires a minimum of 21 credits and can be earned in the traditional daytime or accelerated formats. Consult the Undergraduate Bulletin and Curriculum Guide list for more details on requirements and courses for this minor.

The interior design and merchandising programs offer many opportunities to get involved in professional organizations, service learning activities and networking opportunities.

Professional Organization Student Chapters & Affiliations

Professional networking is key to creating success. You can participate in networking opportunities through the following organizations:

Service Learning in Interior Design

Service learning opportunities that use your interior design knowledge and skills are provided through your courses at Mount Mary and through the Interior Design Student Chapter. Projects include remodeling rooms in homeless shelters, remodeling offices for nonprofit organizations and remodeling educational facilities. Mount Mary interior design students even designed the student lounges on several Caroline Hall residence hall floors.

CREO

Latin for "to make, create, produce," CREO is an annual celebration of creativity that showcases student work from Mount Mary fine art, fashion, graphic design and interior design programs. CREO is forward-thinking and ever-developing. It's an opportunity for a cross-generational audience to experience a cross-disciplinary slice of Milwaukee's creative talent.

Interior design students participate at the event by featuring the sustainTABLE CHAIRity Silent Auction which showcases refurbished furniture and upcycled items.  All proceeds from the auction are used to complete the community service projects mentioned above in Service Learning in Interior Design.

Interior designers and merchandisers create aesthetic and functional living environments for human needs in residential and commercial buildings. Designers work to meet human needs and well-being, as well as safety and building codes. Through their work, they also create healthy and healing environments, consider sustainability and environmental issues, and understand basic construction and mechanical systems.

Design Your Own Path to Career Success

As an interior design major, you can pursue careers in technical and artistic fields. Opportunities are available for full-time or part-time employment, at corporate or nonprofit organizations, in residential or commercial industries, in small towns or large cities and for specialized or general design.

Salaries vary greatly depending on your experience, firm size and focus, location, firm clients/projects and opportunities for promotion. Here are some annual salary ranges you can expect:

  • Entry-level designers and merchandisers: $25,000 to $40,000
  • Junior designer: $35,000 to $55,000
  • Senior designer: $45,000 to $70,000
  • Design director: $65,000 to $100,000
  • Firm officer/executive: $100,000+

Get Real-World Interior Design Experience in College

An internship is required for all interior design students, and this usually occurs during junior year. The interior design chairperson will help you find an internship that is the best fit for your career goals and your site supervisor.

Students often participate in internships at architectural firms, design firms, office furniture dealerships and in sales positions. During an internship, you might work on a residential, corporate, healthcare, eldercare, hospitality or sustainable design project.

Faculty

The School of Arts and Sciences at Mount Mary is rich with talented faculty who care about their students.

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