Interior Design BA(Hons)
Delve into the world of built spaces, interior environments and the people who inhabit them. Through live projects and industry partnerships, you’ll tackle the issues facing modern society. Engaging in innovative thinking and collaborative working, you’ll be well placed to join the industry’s next generation of creative talent.
Key details
| Location | Falmouth Campus |
|---|---|
| Course Duration | 3 years |
| Attendance | Full-time |
| UCAS code | W252 |
| Contact | 01326 254350 |
Apply now
Introduction
This hands-on interior design course will give you the opportunity to explore commercial, architectural and decorative spaces. With an eye to the future, the opportunity to undertake competitive industry internships and a design mentor scheme, you'll secure your footing in the industry.
You will:
- Take innovative live-build projects to events such as the London Design Festival
- Hone your skills through live projects and pitch ideas to gain a competitive industry placement
- Engage with the creative and collaborative work ethic of the future through interdisciplinary projects
- Discover new ways of expressing yourself throughour studio culture, IT suite and workshops
- Draw inspiration from our extensive materials library – essential for any passionate interior designer
- Have the opportunity to go on study trips such as Milan Furniture Fair and Stockholm Design Week*
* Due to ongoing restrictions on travel caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and changes to the UK's study abroad programme due to Brexit, we cannot guarantee study exchanges as a part of this course.
Covid-19 update
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have reviewed and made changes to our courses to provide flexible, blended delivery that offers high-quality digital engagement and access to face-to-face teaching in our facilities. You can see how your course may be adjusted by viewing the changes for the current academic year by visiting our welcome letters & latest course updates pages
What our students do
Students create collaborative 'Future Trends' Report
Talented Falmouth Design Students Win National Competition
Frugi Feedback for Hollie
Interiors that are Lit
Award Win for Design Student
Student Gains Invaluable Design Experience
Collaboration Explores the Future of Retail
Interior Design Students Intern at Prestigious Studios
Learning from the Best: Design Students Explore Milan
Spilling the Beans: A Collaborative Student Web Series
See a selection of exploratory design portfolios from our recent Interior Design BA(Hons) graduates.
What our graduates do
Our graduates have become architectural illustrators for PBWC Architects, designers for LDA Design, interior designers for Areen Design, and freelance art directors for Arcade Advertising in Singapore.
Graduate designing for Sybarite
Graduate designing modular apartments in Sweden
Graduate designing luxury yachts
Graduate Designs at the Young Vic
Graduate Designing Social Spaces that Create Connections
Graduate Designing Exclusive Interiors
Graduate is Design Lead at Conran
Graduate Designs for Luxury Experiences
Graduate Designs for Prestigious Hotel
Alumni Winners in Cornwall’s 30 Under 30
Course details
What you'll learn
Through this interior design degree, you'll develop the skills to become a confident, well informed and industry-connected designer of the future. You will gain a strong understanding of how to produce a comprehensive and innovative design scheme in the area of your choice. Through collaborative and interdisciplinary projects, including live projects, you'll grow a broad range of creative skills, become a critical thinker and have the opportunity to bring your ideas to life.
During your internship, you'll make valuable industry connections, supporting and facilitating your path as a professional through to employment. Project work will develop your technical skills in our multi-material workshops on campus, as well as exploring new digital environments through VR and AR technologies.
This year is all about learning to think, draw and model interior space. We'll look at every aspect of interiors, from the decorative through to commercial interiors and interior architecture – supported by history and theories to develop your wider knowledge. You'll also visit sites, go on international field trips, make in the workshop and learn how to communicate ideas, both by hand and digitally.
Modules
Interior Design Principles 1
With a focus on the commercial and decorative interior, you will be introduced to the core language, principles and skills that underpin the discipline through short exploratory design primers from a user, client and site perspective.
Contextual Studies 1 / Seminal Interiors
You'll consider critical, conceptual and communication skills in relation to the evolution of, and influences of, the interior design profession. Including a practical workshop focused on printmaking.
Interior Design Principles 2
This module offers an introduction to the architectural interior and the site-specific skills relevant to adaptive re-use, reimagining real interiors and applying design theory with an understanding of context and history.
Contextual Studies 2 / Architectural Interiors
You'll gain an understanding of the theories that relate to context, adaptive re-use and place-making, cultivating critical thinking and communications skills. Practical workshops focus on detail design.
Building your real-world experience, you'll collaborate on projects with industry partners to understand how to complete a project to industry standards. You'll develop your CAD skills, as well as exploring technical detailing, project management and cost analysis.
Interdisciplinary challenges will hone your transferable skills as well as allowing you to develop great team working tactics. Through a broad range of projects, we'll expose you to the wider areas of the industry, enabling you to consider which might suit your personal career path. You'll also have the opportunity to study or gain work experience abroad in countries like Sweden, Italy, Germany and Australia.
Modules
Design Innovation
In this module, you'll work on specific content through external briefs, live clients, design competitions and collaborative team projects. You'll be encouraged to challenge current thinking, typically through user-led design, investigation of interior brands and community projects.
Professional skills 1 / Employability
This module places emphasis on creating a professional identity, gaining work experience through internships or placements and through specialist employability workshops in professional networking skills, graphics and IT.
Design Identity
You'll engage in projects to develop your understanding of a chosen pathway: decorative, commercial or architectural. Industry partnerships help you to develop and connect with current industry practice. Projects introduce digital resources such as 3D printing and laser-cutting.
Professional Skills 2 / Employability
At this stage, you'll develop your academic writing and referencing skills, linked to graphic and visual outputs, to support your research into a current design issue.
You'll build a specialism, and create projects and a portfolio of work aimed at your ideal job. The Interior Design degree course finishes with a degree show and a dissertation, giving you the platform and tools to launch your career.
Modules
Exploratory Design Project
This module prioritises a personal design direction or interest within interior design. It encourages you to develop innovative, creative solutions and rethink the future of interior design. It's about understanding how you use the design process, develop transferable skills and become an independent learner.
Critical Report / Contextual and Industry Focus
This is about honing your critical research and writing skills in the development of a body of work that reflects upon your personal practice and interior design theory.
Comprehensive Design Project
This final project culminates in a degree show of your work that explores the physicality of built space through a greater understanding of detail, light, colour, materiality and interior specification. It aims to create a showcase of your work for future employers and life after university.
The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Course Leader.
From module information to course aims and assessment criteria, discover the full course details
We are making changes to our curriculum framework for courses starting in 2022. Modest amendments to our course module structure will provide you with new opportunities to collaborate and co-create with students from across disciplines during your studies.
This course page will be updated when these changes have been finalised and applicants will be notified.
How you'll learn
You'll begin by exploring everything from homes to healthcare environments, to architectural spaces, before deciding which direction most inspires you. We'll take you through the design process so that you can start to develop exciting concepts for specific users and places, as well as understanding how to develop a scheme through materials, colour and lighting in the creation of truly experiential design.
Negotiated projects will allow you to define your own interests and personal direction within the field of interior design. This will be supplemented by the growth of more career-focused skills through master classes, live projects and industry collaborations that will ensure you are ready for the creative workplace.
How you'll spend your time
Year | Timetabled teaching and learning activity | Guided independent study |
|---|---|---|
1 | 35% | 65% |
2 | 30% | 70% |
3 | 25% | 75% |
How you'll be assessed
Year | Written exams | Practical exams | Coursework |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0% | 0% | 100% |
2 | 0% | 0% | 100% |
3 | 0% | 0% | 100% |
The above percentages relate to 2019/2020 data.
Assessment methods
- Continuous assessment with no formal examinations
- A combination of visual, verbal and written assignments including project work, essays and seminar presentations
- Final-year dissertation and exhibition
Staff
Your tutors include architects, interior designers and IT specialists. They’ve worked in places like Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney and London, run their own studios, and designed for clients like Monsoon and Marks & Spencer.
Some members of staff only teach on specific modules, and your course might not feature every member shown here.
Fay Freeman
Fay Freeman is the new Course Leader for BA(Hons) Interior Design having joined the University in...
Jean Whitehead
Jean, a senior lecturer in Interior Design, joined Falmouth University in 2004 and is a graduate of...
Amanda Losasso
Amanda is a Lecturer in Interior Design having joined the university’s interiors team in 2013. She...
Stuart Watt
Graduating from Napier University, Edinburgh with BSc Hons Industrial Design 2:1. Spent a year...
Iain Stewart-Tull
Iain graduated from the Mackintosh School of Architecture with a master of architecture degree and...
Megan Sadler
Megan Sadler is an Associate Lecturer at Falmouth University, joining the team in 2018.
She has...
Jennifer Neal
Jennifer graduated from Falmouth University in 2010 and is delighted to be back teaching here as...
Caireen O'Hagan
I am a practising architect and interior designer. I’ve worked for over 20 years in Glasgow, Boston...
Matthew Abbott
Matthew joined Falmouth University in 1998 as a student on BA(Hons) 3D Design and has the...
Facilities
- Digital Print Centre with large format printing and scanning
- Laser cutting facilities
- 3D milling and rapid prototyping facilities
- Wood and metal workshops
- Printmaking facilities
- Materials Library
- Time based media resources
- Library books and journal resources specific for Architecture and Interior Design
Second year internship programme
“Working with Interior Design students at Falmouth University enables us in industry to not only keep track of junior talent to benefit us in the long run, but it also allows us to support in honing their skills to better prepare them for entering the design world. University degrees are a great start to what we hope will be a long future for many design students, but it can only teach so much.
The course is structured in a way to give breadth and knowledge and a broad overall sense of what the design industry is all about. With first hand connections we support in filling the gaps and keeping the conversation fresh. It’s a great privileged and honourable opportunity for us working in agencies to use our experience, much of which is varied to mentor these students so that they are fully prepared, excited and ready to start their careers as post graduates. After all they are our future”
– Sammi Burden, Creative Director, Bull Design
How to apply
Apply via UCAS
Ready to join us? If you're applying through UCAS Apply and Track, you'll need to reference the university and course codes below.
- University code: F33
- Course code: W252
Applying as an international student?
International students can apply for a course through UCAS, via an agent or directly with the university. For more information about how to apply as an international student, visit our International applications page.
Application advice & interview information
We consider all applications on their own individual merit and potential. We invite all applicants to an interview day or audition to give them the opportunity to demonstrate this along with what inspires and motivates them in their field. Applicants will also be able to show their portfolio or give a performance depending on the course. We welcome applications from all subject backgrounds, whether you’ve specialised in STEM, the arts or humanities.
As a guide our typical offer at undergraduate level is 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points, primarily from Level 3 qualifications such as but not limited to A-levels, a BTEC Extended Diploma or a Foundation Diploma.
For applicants whose first language is English we require you to have or be working towards GCSE English Language Grade 4 (C), or equivalent.
If English is not your first language you will need to meet the same standard which is equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.0 overall score, with at least 5.5 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. We accept a range of in country equivalencies and approved tests.
If you need a student visa to study in the UK, you'll need to take a recognised language test that is approved and vouched for by the University. You can read our English Language Requirements for more information.
UK applications: 29 January 2021 (for equal consideration)
Late applications will be considered if there are places available.
International fee payers can apply throughout the year. But we recommend applying as early as possible, to make time for visa and travel arrangements.
What we're looking for
We want someone who:
- Researches and considers the ideas behind visual elements
- Is enthusiastic about the subject
- Gives a good portfolio presentation
- Can discuss issues individually and in groups
- Is open-minded
Fees, costs & funding
Tuition fees
£9,250 per year - full-time UK/EU
£16,000 per year - full-time international
£9,250 per year - full-time UK
£16,950 - full-time EU
£16,950 - full-time international
Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.
Typical course costs
- £200-£400 - Recurring annual costs
- £20-£40 - One-off costs for the course duration (compulsory trips, final portfolios or shows, etc)
- £800 - Optional study visits and placements for the course duration
If you need to bring equipment or materials with you, these will be outlined in your Welcome Letter.
The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs
Funding
For information about funding available, please visit our undergraduate funding page
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