Study Interior Design

Study Interior Design Abroad

The cozy café on the corner, the stylish designer apartment or Aunt Hilda’s stuffy living room. Rooms have a unique effect on us when we first enter them. If the colors don’t harmonize or if the furniture is too dark, we don’t feel well. We would like to move into other rooms straight away, for example because the light falls so nicely or the furnishings are stylish.

Designing a room in such a way that we feel comfortable in it is often not an easy task. For this reason there are professionals who make this their profession: the interior designer .

Interiors in focus: tasks of interior designers

According to Collegetoppicks.com, interior designers set up private rooms as well as medical practices, restaurants, offices, schools, town halls and passageways such as train station halls. They make the whole room : from the wallpaper to the chairs to lamps and pictures.

In some cases, interior designers are involved in the gutting, renovation or renovation of entire buildings. The study of interior design is correspondingly complex.

Bachelor’s degree: the first semesters

In the first semesters of the bachelor’s degree , the same courses are on the curriculum as in a classic architecture degree . In subjects such as structural design, structural engineering or physics students learn the engineering fundamentals of architecture know.

In addition, they have from the beginning instruction in the areas of design and style . You will get to know different painting and drawing techniques, work with different materials and attend courses on color or light design.

In addition, they set up rooms with the help of special computer software and deal with the theoretical foundations of the subject in subjects such as design or art history .

At the advanced stage of the bachelor’s degree

In the higher semesters, the focus is more and more on practical work. The students design their own interior concepts , but also furniture, which they put into practice in the context of trade fairs and exhibitions.

Most universities offer the option of choosing a focus . You can choose from subject areas such as

  • layout
  • Furniture design
  • Lighting design
  • building technology

In addition, subjects such as business administration or foreign languages are intended to prepare students for their professional practice.

The course concludes with the bachelor thesis. This is usually a practical draft that is submitted together with a theoretical concept.

Master’s degree in interior design

After successfully completing a bachelor’s degree, graduates have the option of entering professional practice directly or of adding a master’s degree .

Only those who hold a master’s degree and have been employed for two years are accepted into the Chamber of Architects and are allowed to call themselves interior designers.

The master’s degree is usually practice-oriented and offers students the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in specialist areas of interior design. You can choose from focal points such as monument preservation, spatial art or technology and light.

Studying interior design? The conditions

In Germany, studying interior design is primarily possible at art colleges and universities of applied sciences. In most cases, the universities require a pre-technical internship in addition to the (technical) university certificate.

Two aspects determine admission to the course and the artistic aptitude of the students:

  • a folder with practical drafts and sketches
  • a two-day aptitude test

As can be seen from the admission criteria, creativity and manual dexterity play an important role in the work of an interior designer . Mathematical knowledge is also required, especially in the first semesters of the course . Working with the computer shouldn’t be a problem either. Since some of the specialist literature is only available in English, good knowledge of English is also required.

Occupational fields

A wide range of work is open to graduates of the Interior Design course. You are employed in architecture, interior design or engineering offices. There they receive orders for the design of all kinds of interiors: from hotels and restaurants to business premises, administrative buildings, medical practices or private living spaces to discos and concert halls.

Some interior designers also work for film and television productions , where they design the sets for individual shoots.

Graduates who have specialized in furniture design or lighting during their studies sometimes work as employees for furniture stores or interior decorators . Her tasks include designing furniture, lamps or other furnishings.

Many interior designers with a master’s degree set up their own office for interior design after a few years of professional experience . A career in the scientific field is also open to them, for example in research and teaching at a university.

Reasons for studying interior design abroad

Interior design graduates are in demand abroad. However, good foreign language skills and international experience are also welcome for applications within Germany.

Studying abroad in the interior design department enables students to get to know other concepts of interior design and to expand their own artistic and craft repertoire. The intercultural skills acquired , for example working in international teams, are also helpful in later professional life.

One or more semesters abroad also make it possible to make international contacts at an early stage , which can prove useful in later professional life.

Study Interior Design