Moore College of Art & Design

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Moore Graduate Student Joins Metropolis Magazine First Person Blog

  • Tuesday, 28 September 2010
  • Posted By: Communications
    • Metropolis Magazine

 

For Immediate Release
September 28, 2010

(Philadelphia, PA) On September 28, Bethany Seawright, a second year graduate student in Moore's MFA in Interior Design program, posted her first blog to Metropolis magazine's online point of view (POV). The blog, The Road to Conversion, chronicles a growing interest in green design emerging from her first year at Moore.

Click here to view the first posting

Moore's master's degree in Interior Design prepares individuals with undergraduate degrees in other fields to become professional interior designers. It is the first professional masters degree of its kind. The program's schedule allows working professionals the flexibility to meet curricular demands while employed.

Seawright is originally from Southern California. She grew up just north of LA in Ventura County, but was living in LA proper prior to moving to Philadelphia (7 years ago). She received a BS in Psychology from Arizona State University and an AA from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. She then pursued a career in the fashion industry - first in the stores as a manager, and then later in corporate, as a visual merchandiser and a buyer. 

Since moving to Philadelphia, she worked for both Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters, as a buyer and a copywriter.  Just prior to entering the graduate program at Moore, she worked as a web merchandiser and finally as the Manger of Leased Departments for Destination Maternity.

    • Bethany Seawrights Student Project

 

Seawright's interest in Interior Design, started to grow after she took a continuing education class in Interior Design at Moore about six years ago. Last year, she decided to pursue the interest in a career in Interior Design full time and enrolled in the MFA in Interior Design.  
 
Says Seawright, "For years, I had worked on interior projects for family and friends, and more and more my interest was moving in this direction (and away from fashion). However, I felt that if I was going to pursue interior design as a career, I would like to have a formal education and a more technical foundation to build upon."
 
Before deciding on Moore, Seawright researched several programs, both in NY and Philly. Several factors contributed to her decision to attend Moore.
 
"I appreciated that Moore was local," she says. "I wasn't going to be able to move to NY, and was concerned about a commute on top of a time-intensive program." Another benefit according to Seawright was that Moore offers an MFA rather than a MS degree designation.
 
She explains, "I needed a first professional program (since I did not major in interior design as an undergraduate), and felt that Moore really valued the diverse backgrounds of its graduate candidates. In addition, I was going to need to work while in school, so it was important that the program I chose supported my schedule. A full-time program was out of the question."
 
For Seawright, the program has been a good fit. Since starting graduate school, she has worked part-time as a merchandiser, design consultant and social media manager at a vintage furniture boutique in Center City. The Metropolis blog is not her first. She is also a freelance contributing blogger on Apartment Therapy.
 
The MFA in Interior Design is designed for career changers like Seawright. With weekend and summer intensive classes, the schedule is designed to attract working professionals. The students in Seawright's class come from a wide range of backgrounds.
 
The MFA in Interior Design program at Moore focuses on creativity, sustainability and socially responsible design and can be completed in 10 semesters. Building on Moore's mission to educate students for careers in art and design, the program includes a required internship in a professional setting. The deadline for those interested in starting the program in Summer 2011 is February 1, 2011. For more information visit www.moore.edu or call 215.965.4016.

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Moore College of Art & Design educates students for inspiring careers in art and design. Founded in 1848, Moore is the nation's first and only women's art college. Moore's career-focused environment and professionally active faculty form a dynamic community in the heart of Philadelphia's cultural district. The College offers nine Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees for women. A coeducational Graduate Studies program was launched in summer, 2009. In addition, Moore provides many valuable opportunities in the arts through The Galleries at Moore, a Continuing Education Certificate program for adults, the 91-year-old acclaimed Youth Art Program for girls and boys grades 1-12, The Art Shop and the Sculpture Park. For more information about Moore, visit www.moore.edu.

Tags: graduate programs, interior design
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