If you consider yourself creative, detail oriented, and just love getting to the bottom of things, it may be time to start considering a full time career in interior design. An interior designer will work with various clients to help rooms and spaces look aesthetically pleasing. Interior designers will use furniture placements, color palettes, decorations, and more to create spaces that are beautiful yet functional.
Different areas of interior design include:
- Corporate Design: Corporate designers work with practical and professional workplaces to incorporate elements that represent a company’s brand through design.
- Healthcare Design: Healthcare designers renovate physician's offices, hospitals, clinics, etc. Healthcare design revolves primarily around evidence-based design.
- Kitchen and Bath Design: Kitchen and bath designers work to create, remodel, or update the kitchen and bathroom area of a home.
- Sustainable Design: Sustainable designers show expertise in designing buildings and spaces utilizing sustainable practices. Most sustainable designers will obtain certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) from the U.S. Green Building Council.
- Universal Design: Universal Designers will work to renovate certain spaces and make them more accessible.
Many interior designers rent or own their office space, with meeting rooms for client and design team interaction. Other than the standard interior designer, other common career paths of those who major in interior design throughout college can include:
- Retail sales associate
- Retail merchandiser
- Production designer
- Floral designer
- Graphic designer
- Fashion designer
- Lighting consultant
- Kitchen and bath designer
- Design consultant
- Art director
Top Colleges for Interior Design
There are many great programs at schools all across the nation for interior design. Check out some that are at the top!
Baylor University
The Interior Design program at Baylor University works to prepare students for successful careers across the sectors that define the architecture and design professions. Baylor’s program has produced critical thinkers and problem solvers who have been able to apply design solutions that aim to address certain challenges of individuals and communities. Required courses throughout this studio based major include:
- Survey of Western Art
- Textile Science
- Design Presentation Techniques
- Sustainable Design
- Space Planning
- Interior Design Graphics
Interior design students at Baylor are required to complete an internship with a qualified interior designer/architect. This experience will allow you to gain some real world experience in the field, and catch a glimpse into the day in the life of a professional. Another major perk offered by the program is the opportunity to travel all across the world! The program offers students an opportunity to study architectural history and the decorative arts in a summer study abroad program. The program has taken students to destinations in the past that have included Great Britain, France, Italy, and the Netherlands.
This experience is a valuable and exciting way to learn about architecture and design, while also getting to experience some of the most iconic examples of architecture, design, art, and culture in the entire world.
Drexel University
At Drexel University, interior design students will benefit from gifted peers, renowned faculty, world class facilities, and a depth of resources that are not easy to come by. The program is CIDA-accredited, and Drexel University as a whole maintains a principal position within the academic and professional world. Per Drexel’s school website, the mission of the interior design program is “to prepare students to enter the field of interior design as skilled designers, creative thinkers, professional leaders and responsible citizens.” The curriculum will combine a studio-based design sequence along with a broad liberal study and the opportunity for experiential learning.
Similar to Baylor University, Drexel University offers its interior design students with the opportunity to travel the world. The faculty of the Department of Architecture, Design & Urbanism at Drexel have developed study tours that are affordable, extensive, and intensive for many years. Past destinations have included:
- Korea, including Seoul
- Florence, Italy
- Berlin and Dessau, Germany
- Japan, with stops in Kyoto and Tokyo
- Rome, Italy
- Barcelona and Valencia, Spain
- Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Rotterdam in the Netherlands
- Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra, Australia
If interested, check out Drexel’s Study Abroad Office Scholarship List for opportunities that are going on currently!
Fashion Institute of Technology
Any schools that have the words “design” or “fashion” in the name typically are a good sign when it comes to programs such as interior design! In the interior design programs at the Fashion Institute of Technology, or the FIT, you’ll be able to gain theoretical knowledge to use space in a variety of creative ways, and work to achieve a desired experience. Students will gain a solid grasp on the practical skills to have your designs built, and the right communication skills to deliver presentations to show off some of your work. Students will also be prepared to respect occupants among any social, cultural, physical, and environmental context.
The interior design programs at FIT work to teach evidence-based interior design that foster both sustainability and ethical practices. The programs at FIT consist of the interior design AAS and the interior design BFA:
- Interior design AAS: In the AAS program for interior design, students will learn the design methodologies and practical skills that will prepare them for an entry-level position or to apply for a BFA in Interior Design. AAS graduates can also change their major and apply to the BFA in Spatial Experience Design.
- Interior design BFA: the BFA curriculum of interior design emphasizes human-centered and evidence-based design that addresses current social concerns, ergonomics, and sustainability. A two-semester capstone, senior thesis programming, and a design project will all become an important part of your professional portfolio.
Syracuse University
Through the program of environmental and interior design at Syracuse University, students will work to challenge and rethink the way the environment works around us. This is done by promoting changes in design through a global context that is continuously evolving. The environmental and interior design program at Syracuse University is known to develop curious and critical thinkers, even being ranked among the “Most Admired Interior Design Schools.” The program at Syracuse has also been recognized as one of “16 Interior Design Schools Worth Applying to” by Architectural Digest.
According to the school website, the curriculum and projects throughout the environmental and interior design program at Syracuse support “The professional/multidisciplinary philosophy, and foster the creation of sustainable environments for people.” As with some of the other schools already mentioned, Syracuse has a limited enrollment semester travel abroad program called the Design in London program. The program gives all participants the opportunity to take courses in collaborative design and contemporary design history, along with studio and academic electives. London is a capital known all over the world for its cutting-edge design.
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University, or VCU, has one of the oldest interior design programs in the entire country. VCU is known for offering a very balanced curriculum for its students within the program, including both academic study and professional training. The department of interior design at VCU pushes students to continuously seek improvement in their work, as well as engage in activities that enrich their culture and environment. Common career paths of alumni from VCU have included commercial designers, hospitality designers, residential designers, museum and exhibition designers, and lighting designers.
Check out the degree programs offered at VCU:
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design: Standard interior design program at VCU. Upon graduation, many students will either enter the field or pursue graduate programs in architecture, graphic design and industrial design.
- Master of Fine Arts in Design with a concentration in interior environments, professional entry-level option: This program is for those seeking to attain a second degree after a bachelor’s in interior design already. Requirements to be accepted into the program include a proven record of academic excellence and an interest in pursuing a career in interior design.
- Master of Fine Arts in Design with a concentration in interior environments, post-professional option: Students will learn to enrich the quality of life around them within this program through design. A bachelor’s degree in interior design is also a requirement for this program.
When it comes to choosing a career path within interior design, there’s a good variety in potential options to say the least! One of these schools that have been listed could just be your future home.
