Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2010-04-06

Samford University’s interior design department has received full six-year re-accreditation from the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), the international accrediting organization for postsecondary interior design education programs in the U.S. and Canada.

 

Fewer than 200 schools in the U.S. and Canada carry CIDA accreditation.

The Samford department first received accreditation in 2000, when the accrediting organization was known as Foundation for Interior Design Education and Research (FIDER).

Steps in the accreditation process include a self-study to determine program readiness, program analysis, and a four-day site review by a visiting team.

A significant component in the site visit involves evaluating student work as an indicator of the adequacy of the required curriculum based on the CIDA 2009 Professional Standards. Student learning is evaluated for demonstration of knowledge, understanding, ability, skills, appropriate application and competency.

Department chair Jeannie Krumdieck, IIDA, attributes the success of the program not only to her faculty and the high caliber of her students, but to the Birmingham architectural and interior design community who have contributed much time and energy to the Samford program.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.