Mississippi State University was created by the Mississippi Legislature in 1878 to serve as the state’s land-grant college after Congress passed the Morrill Act in 1862. The University is a public, land-grant, doctoral, Research University classified as Doctoral/Research-Extensive by the Carnegie Foundation.

The Interior Design Program had its beginning in the Home Economics Unit as part of the College of Agriculture. Although Home Economics had its beginning as a research unit in 1924, the teaching of undergraduate courses did not begin until 1969 when the unit was changed to the Department of Home Economics. The first Interior Design graduate was in 1971.

In 1996 the Department of Home Economics became the School of Human Sciences. Interior Design was one of four concentrations available to undergraduate students. With the inception and growth of the Interior Design Program in the context of a college focused on human sciences, the program has remained focused on human-environment relationships.

In 2004 the Interior Design Program was moved into a newly formed college (College of Architecture, Art and Design) with the Department of Art and School of Architecture. Transition to the new college allowed the program to make enhancements to the curriculum resulting in a degree granting status in 2006 of a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. The Program has been accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (formerly FIDER) since 1993.