Light and Health Research Center

Online Professional Certificate Course in Lighting Design

Next course session September 12, 2024 - November 14, 2024

Introduction

The Light and Health Research Center (LHRC) at Mount Sinai is offering a 10-week, online professional certificate course in lighting design. The course is designed to provide the knowledge and skills needed to help those in professions related to lighting to begin or improve their practice in lighting design.

Who Should Take the Course

The certificate course in lighting design is applicable to professionals from practices related to lighting design, or those who wish to add lighting design to their current work. This includes professionals from the fields of:

  • Interior design
  • Lighting sales
  • Application engineering
  • Architecture
  • Architectural engineering
  • Energy or environmental services
  • Building and construction

Course Objectives

People who complete the 10-week course will be able to:

  • Understand the lighting design process and be able to apply it to a variety of residential and commercial applications
  • Establish lighting objectives based upon client needs
  • Evaluate the lighting requirements of interior and exterior spaces, including the appropriate siting of lighting equipment; as well as lighting-related occupant/task needs
  • Identify, critically analyze, and apply appropriate lighting guidelines and recommended practices
  • Establish appropriate lighting criteria for efficient space utilization, task performance, and energy utilization
  • Consider multiple lighting techniques and technology to support client needs and design objectives
  • Create renderings, detail drawings, and technical documentation necessary to support the lighting design concept
  • Present appropriate verbal, written, and visual presentations required to convey the lighting design concept
  • Verify if objectives and metrics established for the lighting design are met.

Course Description

The course will consist of live, remote instruction hosted by both course faculty and invited lecturers, via an online conferencing system, as well as supplemental activities, readings, as well as group and individual assignments, to be completed by course participants throughout the 10-week course period. The course will culminate with a final design project assignment in which each participant will present their own graphically compelling lighting designs to course instructors and other participants.

As part of the course, participants will be able to interact with a range of Light and Health Research Center experts to ask questions and discuss important topics in lighting.

The course will meet weekly for two-hour online sessions that will be held each Thursday from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM US Eastern Time over the 10-week course period.

Course Certificate

Participants who successfully complete the course will be awarded a certificate in lighting design from the Light and Health Research Center.

Cost and Registration

The cost of this 10-week professional certificate course in lighting design is $1,400. A 20 percent discount is available to employees of Light and Health Research Center partner organizations. Registration in this course is limited to 15 people.

A deposit of 50 percent of this registration fee is required at the time of registration. The remainder of the fee is due two weeks prior to the start date

Faculty

The course will be led by Jennifer Brons, MS, LC, a lighting designer and researcher at the Light and Health Research Center, and the Center’s lead instructor in lighting design. Ms. Brons will be joined by other LHRC faculty and guest lecturers from the practice of lighting design throughout the course.

Jennifer Brons, MS, LC, Educator IALD 
Jennifer Brons earned her bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of California- Berkeley (cum laude) and her MS in Lighting from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Since 1997, her work has focused on lighting design applications and human factor studies for new lighting technologies. Over her more than 20-year career, Ms. Brons has developed lighting designs and specifications for a wide variety of commercial and residential clients. After practicing lighting design on sabbatical in London, she taught lighting design as part of the MS in Lighting degree program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for more than 10 years. In addition to her design and research activities, she develops educational material about the more effective use of light.

Guest Lecturers

Lisa Wong, MS, LC, Associate IALD, IES
Associate Lighting Designer at Lam Partners, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Lisa Wong, MS, LC, has more than 10 years of experience in the field of architectural lighting and is Lighting Certified. She believes that creating beautifully illuminated environments requires understanding the users’ perspectives, thoughtful coordination among all trades, and attention to lighting details. Ms. Wong regularly serves as a guest lecturer and offers critiques at the Boston Architectural College. In 2020, Ms. Wong was selected for Lighting Magazine’s “40 Under 40” Award. She has two half marathons under her belt and is the proud mama of two rambunctious boys. Ms. Wong can be caught at the latest art and lighting installations around the world.

Angie Ohman, MS, LC, LEED Green Associate
Lighting Designer at Renfro Design Group, New York, NY, USA
Angie Ohman, MS, LC, joined Renfro Design Group in 2017 and was previously a lighting designer at Domingo Gonzalez Associates where she worked on projects including the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s New Lab and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s Miami Central High Speed Rail Station. Her work is guided by an interest in the intersection of science and art within lighting, and especially driven by the discipline’s ability to impact the way people experience or move through a space. Ms. Ohman holds a MS in Lighting as well as a Bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 2018, she led her colleagues in authoring and illustrating the publication “Lighting Intuition for Architects” to commemorate her firm’s 20th anniversary.

Matthew Caraway, MS
Lighting Designer at Renfro Design Group, New York, NY, USA
Matthew Caraway, MS, joined Renfro Design Group in 2016, bringing a dynamic approach to architectural lighting design and creating a balance between the technical and aesthetic considerations of any project. Previously, he held a research specialist position at the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where his work dealt with the physiological and emotional response to lighting technologies.

In recent years, Mr. Caraway has focused more on control systems and UV applications, tacking onto his more than 10 years of experience in theatrical lighting design. He has been a part of the design team on projects such as the Maritime Aquarium, New York Public Library, and the American Museum of Natural History.

Request more information

If you have any questions, or would like to receive additional information about the Light and Health Research Center’s Online Professional Certificate Course in Lighting Design, please contact Dan Frering.