Help Interior Design Attract & Retain Talented Students

Every year NYSID awards over $1 million in scholarships to 20 to 25% of our student body. For many students, this support makes an education in interior design possible.  For others, it means that they can enter the field without substantial debt. In all cases, scholarships reduce the need for paid employment during school years and allow students to focus on their studies, which, at NYSID, are rigorous. Your help enables us to attract and retain talented students from diverse backgrounds and prepare them for careers in interior design and adjacent professions. You can designate how you would like your donation applied through the options that follow. Donations at all levels make a difference.

The NYSID Scholarship Funds

  • Diversity Scholarship Fund

    Established in June 2020, with seed money from the Board of Trustees, this fund reflects NYSID’s goal to help build a more diverse, equitable and inclusive interior design industry. The fund supports talented students who are traditionally and historically underrepresented in interior design programs and the profession at large. The scholarships from this fund are awarded to students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs. Here’s more on the first diversity scholarship NYSID awarded, thanks to this fund’s inaugural corporate sponsor, Holland & Sherry.

  • PreCollege Scholarship Fund

    Young people from underrepresented communities rarely hear of interior design as a career for themselves and have few role models of designers in their childhoods. This fund is designed to help a more diverse population of young people to see themselves in design from an early age through NYSID’s Pre-College program, a summer immersion into the basic how-to's of interior design taught by NYSID’s faculty of practicing designers. The scholarship is awarded to high-school students with financial need who are traditionally and historically underrepresented in interior design and is applied toward one or two sessions of summer Pre-College for these promising high school students.  Major funding to seed the scholarship fund has been provided by the ASID South Florida Chapter, Brian McCarthy, Bunny Williams, Charlotte Moss, Cullman & Kravis, Decorator’s Club Education Fund, Angelo Donghia Foundation, Jamie Drake, James Druckman/New York Design Center, John Roselli & Associates, Kaleidoscope Project, Kravet Inc., and Studio Designer. Here’s more on the impact of PreCollege scholarships.

  • The Emergency Fund

    When an emergency threatens a student’s ability to continue their studies at NYSID, this fund helps students persevere and finish their degrees. The global pandemic and resulting loss of employment was one such crisis. The scholarship is awarded to students enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs. It’s key to retaining talent.

  • The General Scholarship Fund

    A donation to the general scholarship fund gives NYSID the flexibility to award a scholarship to any deserving student.

  • The MPS in Sustainable Interior Environments Fund

    The building sector contributes 40% of worldwide carbon emissions. Interior designers have the potential to mitigate this harm and do great good by specifying materials that have a lower carbon footprint and no toxicity. But they have to be educated in sustainable design first. This scholarship is awarded to a student applying to or enrolled in NYSID’s Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments program.

  • The MPS in Lighting Design Fund

    This fund is for an innovative student enrolled in or entering NYSID’s Master of Professional Studies in Lighting Design program.

  • The MPS in Design of Healthcare Environments Fund

    Well-designed interiors of hospitals and healthcare facilities can prevent the spread of disease, increase efficiency in emergencies, alleviate the stress of patients and providers, and ultimately, save lives and impact healing outcomes. This fund is for an innovative student enrolled in or entering NYSID’s Master of Professional Studies in Healthcare Environments.

  • The MPS in Digital Practice Management Fund

    Digital technologies, tools, and software have changed the way the built environment is designed, documented, constructed, and operated post-construction. These technologies are driving the industry to use the most efficient techniques to coordinate between design and construction processes. This fund is for students entering or enrolled in NYSID’s post-professional MPSM, which will be the first program of its kind and will prepare candidates to lead digital project management for design firms. The program is coming in Fall 2024.

  • The Alumni Scholarship Fund

    In 2023, for the first time ever, NYSID’s Alumni Council banded together to raise funds for the Alumni Scholarship. The Council raised more than $20,000 from NYSID graduates, making it possible for Marie Aiello, NYSID’s Alumni Council president, to present Ashley Abaunza, a MFA1 student with an outstanding GPA, with the Alumni Scholarship at the gala. Now this has become a tradition. Every year, the AC will call on graduates of the college to give to this fund, and a scholarship will be given at the gala. Through their gifts large and small these generous alumni will make it possible for more aspiring designers to pursue their studies at NYSID, and forge rewarding careers. 

  • Study Abroad Grants

    NYSID offers BFA students one semester or an entire academic year abroad – in Florence, Italy, in partnership with SRISA, the Santa Reparata International School of Art. There’s just one challenge: the out-of-pocket costs associated with travel to Italy are a barrier to entry for many of our students, especially those on scholarship. The costs beyond tuition for NYSID’s study abroad program are estimated at $12,000 and include airfare, room & board, the cost of a visa, in-country travel expenses, and a minimum bank account for daily living expenses. For many NYSID students, this is a heavy lift. You can make the life changing experience of study abroad possible for a new designer through a partial or complete travel grant. These grants can also be applied to NYSID’s Travel Study courses to everywhere from India to France. See this article about Study Abroad in Florence.       

Establish an Endowed/Named Scholarship

An endowed scholarship is a great option for someone who wants to honor a loved one, create a lasting legacy, and/or impact interior design in a specific, powerful way. Endowed scholarships start at $60,000 and can be paid over a multi-year period. Please refer to the Endowments page for details.

Donate to an Existing Endowed Scholarship         

You can give at any level and use existing scholarship funds to express your vision of how you want your investment to do good and change lives. Please refer to the Endowments page for details.

Here are complete lists of undergraduate scholarships and graduate scholarships. 
You can read about Lives changed by NYSID scholarships.

More Information

To learn more about giving to the scholarship funds, please contact:

Joy Cooper
Director of Development
212-472-1500, ext. 430
giving@nysid.edu