Innovate. Adapt. Design.
BA (Hons) Interior Design at Northumbria University is a commercial interior design course focusing on designing innovative interiors within new architecture and via the adaptive re-use of existing buildings.
Design projects will cover all aspects of the commercial interior design industry including:
Leisure (bars, restaurants and nightclubs)
Hospitality (hotels)
- Retail
- Exhibition
- Workplace
- Education
- Museums
- Public space
Projects explore complex architectural intervention down to the finer detail of commercial interior design practice, supported by the study of design history, theory and the wider social context which we as designers both draw from and help shape.
Our on campus, studio-based course is an affiliated member of Interior Educators, representing established UK degree programmes in Interiors education.
How will this course help to set me up for my career?
We have excellent employability results for our graduating students and our unique relationships with national and international collaborators allow students to work on real life project briefs with companies and institutions such as Bauhaus (Dessau), Gensler, MillerKnoll, Checkland Kindleysides and Dalziel + Pow.
Why choose Northumbria to study Interior Design?
Top Department - Northumbria is ranked 2nd in the UK for Interior Design studies (Guardian University League Table, 2024).
Student Rated - Over 92% of students studying Interior Design at Northumbria believed the library resources supported their learning and felt free to express their ideas, opinions, and beliefs (NSS, 2023).
Top University - Art & Design at Northumbria is ranked 17th in the UK by the Complete University Guide for 2024, rising 4 places since last year.
Graduate Prospects - Interior Design at Northumbria is ranked 1st in the UK for Graduate Prospects (Guardian University Guide, 2024). This is because 88% of our graduates are in highly skilled employment or further study 15 months after graduation.
Who teaches the BA (Hons) Interior Design course?
The design tutors you will work with most closely, throughout your time on the Interior Design Programme have a wealth of industry, education and research expertise. We are all designers and by building excellent relationships with our students we create an exciting, collaborative and creative design community within our programme.
Our intention is to present students with opportunities and connections, and to take students on a journey of intellectual development focusing on each as an individual designer and learner, within a supportive team of students and staff. We don’t work alone… we have excellent administrative and technical support staff who offer guidance and tuition, and a plethora of visiting professionals whose expertise is embedded within our modules.
Where will I learn throughout my Interior Design degree?
The technical facilities at Northumbria University are excellent. You will work and learn in studio, CAD Lab and workshop environments, encouraging your intellectual freedom and a creative collaborative community.
You’ll have access to a specialist CAD laboratory as well as several mobile laboratories that deliver IT facilities for creative working. The photographic studio is equipped to industry standards and everything is supported by skilled technical staff who will help you make the best use of all the facilities that are available.
We use technology to enhance your learning with tools such as the ‘Blackboard’ eLearning Portal and electronic reading lists that will guide your preparation for seminars and independent research. Electronic Submission and Feedback (eSAF) facilitates feedback on your project work, while Turnitin reinforces a critical approach to research and the development of your own ideas.
How is Design research applied to teaching throughout my degree?
Interior Design is predominantly a practice-based course, driven by research and delivered by inspiring, research active and entrepreneurial staff. This creates an enquiring, analytical and creative approach to complex design challenges.
Throughout your studies, you learn through research-informed teaching, and undertaking research yourself to encourage enquiry, and to define and refine your practice. Live projects allow you to contextualise your prior learning and further develop your practical competencies to work collaboratively to industry standards.
By your final year, your design practice will be informed by current critical debate and a creative and exploratory approach to your own specialism of practice.
How will my BA (Hons) Interior Design degree provide me with the skills needed for my career?
The Interior Design course is designed to support the development of your intellectual, practical and transferable skills to prepare you for employment upon graduation or further study.
You will graduate as highly employable industry-ready professionals, able to confidently offer solutions to complex and challenging interior design briefs. You will be able to demonstrate entrepreneurial capabilities and resourcefulness in the application of processes, aesthetics, function and materials.
Many of our Interior Design degree graduates work as interior designers for leading design companies and architectural practices across the UK and abroad, such as Foster and Partners, Met Studio, Dalziel and Pow, Gensler, Paul Smith, Imagination and Zebra.
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