Interior Design, BA (Hons), with industry placement

Course summary

Our interior design course focuses on how design responds to the surrounding environment. We explore design interventions in existing buildings and neglected spaces with a hands-on approach to crafting their interiors. We study the space between object and architecture and promote an adaptive re-use approach to shaping the world around us with human, social, economic and environmental sustainability embedded in our process.Our course is professionally accredited by the Chartered Society of Designers.

• User-centred. Our approach puts people – and sometimes cats – at the centre of the design process. You will develop an inclusive and diverse approach and build awareness of the psychological impact of space on the health, wellbeing, productivity, and happiness of individuals and communities.

• Sensory and immersive. We craft interiors that explore the sensory and immersive impact of space, materials and systems and how they contribute to the user experience.

• Future-focused. We encourage you to take today’s issues and develop new ways of living. We utilise technology in content, delivery, presentation and documentation and explore the digital frontier of space with virtual and augmented reality.

• Expert-led. Our lecturers run their own businesses or have professional experience working for clients like Lego, British Airways, LG, Sony, major museums and architects.

• Making at the core. From model making to 1:1 prototyping, you’ll explore materials to understand their application and performance and how to utilise their sensory characteristics with access to a range of traditional and high-tech digital fabrication workshops.

• Innovation in delivery. You’ll work in an interdisciplinary design studio learning with and from other three-dimensional design specialisms and benefit from a blended learning environment, which includes team teaching and podcast delivery of content.

• Diverse. You’ll work on a broad range of interior design projects across a range of scales from strategic planning down to fine detailing and across sectors including residential, workplace, hospitality, branded and thematic spaces, as well as exhibitions and the public realm.

In your first year, you create innovative, practical, and future-focused spaces. You gain a hands-on understanding of processes, materials and construction using traditional and digital fabrication methods at a range of scales from model making to 1:2:1 prototyping. We introduce a range of software packages and interact with other design disciplines. In your second year, you begin to shape your career path by working on design projects to establish your skills as a designer. We explore methods, ideas and themes, and gain a deeper understanding of the design industry with live projects. You set up your own exhibitions and build a portfolio, becoming proficient in design processes, computer-aided design, digital and traditional fabrication and communication methods. An optional sandwich year between Stages 2 and 3 enables you to join a work placement or exchange programme. In your final year, you work on your major project and dissertation to take your specialism deeper and develop an individual philosophy. You develop your network to deepen your understanding of the industry and visit design practices like Mystery, Pearson Lloyd, and Foster Associates. You also exhibit your projects at our Degree Show and national events such as New Designers.