Program Overview

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Furniture Design Option - Studio Arts BFA

Overview

The furniture design degree engages students in pursuit of their creative interests while providing a comprehensive technical background in contemporary woodworking. It focuses on technical expertise, freeing students to investigate a full range of creative expression and professional interests. This option is part of the Studio Arts BFA program.

The furniture design degree has long upheld a high standard of craftsmanship, creative design, and art-making. Combining these three areas is the foundation of all projects. Whether it’s making furniture or sculpture, students will be guided by the principles of creative problem-solving.

Inspiration is around every corner for furniture design students. A well-maintained studio with personal workspaces and state-of-the-art machines and tools is only enhanced by the opportunity to learn from faculty who are internationally recognized in the field.

Positioned at a university known for pioneering efforts in technology, the arts, and design, RIT’s furniture design option empowers collaboration and exploration in related disciplines, including:

• Engineering
• Ceramics
• Glass
• Industrial design
• Metals and jewelry design

The furniture design option is rooted in the traditions and legacy of RIT’s School for American Crafts. Alumni have crafted extraordinary careers, greatly contributing to the advancement of the field. Graduates operate their own successful studios around the country, work as product designers, craftspeople, and furniture makers at top woodworking studios, and go into adjacent industries such as manufacturing and shipbuilding.

Careers and Experiential Learning

Industries

• Design
• Performing and Fine Arts
• Higher Education

Cooperative Education and Internships

What makes an RIT education exceptional? It’s the ability to complete relevant, hands-on career experience. At the graduate level, and paired with an advanced degree, cooperative education and internships give students the unparalleled credentials that truly set them apart.

Co-ops and internships take students' knowledge and turn it into know-how. Their art and design co-ops will provide hands-on experience that enables them to apply their artistic capabilities in dynamic professional settings while making valuable connections between classwork and real-world applications.

Students in the furniture design option are strongly encouraged to complete a cooperative education or internship experience.

Creative Industry Days

Connect with Design Industry Leaders

RIT’s Office of Career Services and Cooperative Education hosts Creative Industry Days, which connects students majoring in art, design, film and animation, photography, and select computing majors with companies, organizations, creative agencies, design firms, and more. Creative Industry Days are a series of events that allow students to network with company representatives and interview directly for open co-op and full-time employment positions.

Featured Work and Profiles

• Building a Pipe Organ

A skilled designer and musician, Kelly Cleveland '21 (Furniture Design) constructed an awe-inspiring handmade pipe organ for his capstone project.

• Pre-College Portfolio Prep Workshop

RIT's annual Pre-College Portfolio Preparation Workshop offers students an engaging and rewarding experience. The course, taught by the School of Art's drawing and painting faculty, is a visual arts...

• School of Art Reel

No matter the medium, a world of possibility awaits in RIT's School of Art.

• Sculpture and Furniture Design

A sample of furniture and sculpture designed by Jared Abner ’21 (Furniture Design). In his artist statement, Abner describes his work as both subtraction and addition.

• Senior Exhibition

RIT Furniture Design students conclude their studies by showcasing their final body of work in a group capstone exhibition in one of the College of Art and Design’s gallery spaces.

• Best of Both Worlds: Design and Craft

Domenic Fiorello '11 (Furniture Design) owns and operates a custom furniture design studio in Cleveland, Ohio, where each piece is designed with the same attention to detail he learned at RIT.

Admissions and Financial Aid

This option is part of the Studio Arts BFA. Please visit the degree program page for admission requirements.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

100% of all incoming first-year and transfer students receive aid.

RIT’s personalized and comprehensive financial aid program includes scholarships, grants, loans, and campus employment programs. When all these are put to work, the actual cost may be much lower than the published estimated cost of attendance.

Faculty

• Andy Buck
• Professor
• Rolf Hoeg
• Lecturer
• All Program Faculty

Facilities

• Furniture Design Tool Room
• Furniture Design Machine Room
• Furniture Design CNC Room
• View Program Facilities

Related News

• May 2, 2025

RIT casts a bright light at national iron arts conference

Between a moving performance, building an award-winning iron-melting device, and featured exhibitions, RIT students, faculty, staff, and alumni were present in every corner of the National Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art and Practices.

• March 21, 2024

Innovation unleashed: students forge transdisciplinary projects at RIT's a2ru summit

Students leveraged the variety of makerspaces in RIT's brand-new SHED facility to create arts-integrative work responding to a theme of "Play."

• January 18, 2024

Your New $3,000 Couch Might Be Garbage in Three Years. This Is Why.

The Wall Street Journal talks to Andy Buck, professor in the School for American Crafts, about reupholstering old furniture. (This content requires a subscription to view.)

More Program News