Choosing the right interior design course

Choosing the right Interior Design course

It’s very difficult to choose the correct course when you don't yet know what area of design you are more interested in or which area of design you will enjoy most. Interior design requires an enormous amount of numeral and admin skills, you will also need to be diplomatic when consulting with clients. It is sensible to list your natural skills along with those for a specialism area of design that you might be interested to work in. Be aware of the built environment issues in the area you are interested in working in and do research on the work currently being generated by sector specialists. For professional design you will not find this information in consumer magazines. Review every sector, you will be working for many years so you need to be able to switch easily if later you find that the course you are studying is not right for you.

Review the drop-out statistics of a course. Visit the end-of-year shows and review the standard of the work produced. Research the details covered on courses that appeal to your own interests. This will provide a ‘unique to you’ assessment rather than a generic league table statistic which has no or little influence over your ability to learn. Statistics measure the response to the same question asked to each university but that will not accurately describe artistic or creative outcomes which are much more difficult to box into an accurate response. So do visit as many course and universities as possible and you will begin to vere towards  the most appropriate course for you. As soon as you are enrolled on a course, SBID also pioneered free membership for students on a government accredited Batchelor of Arts or  Masters Interior Design course.

Review the typical students and inclusiveness the university attracts, ensure the calibre of teaching and links to industry outside of education are strong. Speak to students currently on the course personally or via social media. Review on-line forums. Review the employment rate, this is a true measure of success. Check the facilities for accommodation, the local environment and the size of the course (how many people per tutor) and you will have generated a clear short list matrix that will define the best course for you.

Not everyone can be the best, you must achieve a personal best, not a National best which will apply to just a few. Choose a course that fits your personal skills, courses specialise in areas of interest where industry is growing so jobs will become available across the UK to reflect the diversity of the industry for Graduates with the skills you have acquired.

SBID pioneered engagement between universities and industry in the UK in its founding year, until that time education and employment had not overlapped or engaged and so SBID was appointed to assess national interior design course content for suitability to the corporate environment. It remains the unique design body with this credential. Ten years on, the ten SBID regions covering the nation each have direct university connections to SBID amounting to 97 universities engaged with SBID by 2018. By 2019 each regional location was recognised with a centre of excellence and collectively these locations represent a diverse offer of courses at varying levels of expertise to provide education and training for everyone regardless of personal limitations.

SBID recommend an internship to help you understand how a practice operates and what would be expected of you as an employed designer, this will help you to define the areas of design that appeal to you and therein assist you in making the correct choice for you.