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Course summary

Interior designers work with clients to create attractive, safe and functional rooms and spaces. Study BA (Hons) Interior Design at ARU in Cambridge, and develop your creative vision. As an interior designer you might work with homeowners, public bodies and businesses. You'll consider the use of furniture, lighting, flooring, artwork and decoration, decor and colour pallettes to create residential or commercial spaces that people enjoy using. To become a professional interior designer you'll typically need a university degree in interior design or a related subject. Practical experience is also valuable and here at ARU, you'll receive ongoing support to find placements and work experience. You can also choose to take an optional placement year in industry as part of your Interior Design degree. With our small studio groups, your tutors will really get to know you and your work, and help you become a resilient interior designer with a distinctive creative voice. Exciting and intriguing interior spaces offer experiences that make us want to return again and again. Discover how you can embed stories into your designs – stories that help others to develop social connections and make your designed spaces important to the community. By studying BA (Hons) Interior Design at ARU, you’ll explore the relationships between design, experience and narrative. Based in our dedicated interior design studio in Cambridge, you'll learn to create effective design proposals. Your studio work will include:

  • preparing 2D plans and elevations
  • developing fully realised 3D drawings
  • creating built models
  • considering the use of furniture, lighting and materials
  • looking at small- and large-scale interior design projects.
You'll also learn about project management, professional communication, budgeting, and specification skills. Throughout the course, you’ll be encouraged to propose design questions, such as: How can public spaces cater for multiple activities and users? How much space do we need to live in? How do major brands reinvent themselves to respond to new markets? We think your ideas and design skills are important. You’ll develop these by working in small teams at different stages of your degree, sometimes alongside students from other creative courses. There’s the opportunity to get inspired on European field trips, and to study abroad for a semester – with funding available to help cover the cost. You can also see your designs become reality in live projects and foster professional relationships through Design Bench, a series of industry networking meetings. Industry-standard facilities As well as our dedicated interior design studio, you’ll have use of facilities including:
  • 3D workshops for physical media including wood, plastic, metal and clay
  • specialist printmaking workshop
  • dedicated Mac and PC suites with the latest software including Adobe Creative suite
  • Ruskin Gallery, a professional digital art gallery
  • photography and media facilities including darkrooms; studios; film processing; digital printing suite; video editing; and professional equipment loans
  • life drawing studio.
You'll also have access to all our other art, design and creative industries facilities and equipment. Careers Our BA (Hons) Interior Design degree will prepare you to work with architects or in spatial design practices on residential, commercial, hospitality, health, lighting, entertainment or furniture design projects, or to set up your own interior design practice after graduation. The creative skills you develop will help you find a career in the visual arts, film, television, event and theatre design, or exhibition and museum design; while the management skills will be useful for project management roles on creative projects. You might also continue your studies with one of our full- or part-time our Masters degrees. Get 20% off your fees with our Alumni Scholarship.

Modules

Year 1 core modules: Design Context and Technology; Studio Culture 1; Visual Communication. Year 2 core modules: Contemporary Issues and Debates; Digital Media in Application; Studio Culture 2; Ruskin Module. Year 3: Work placement. Year 4 core module: Studio Culture 3. Modules are subject to change and availability.

Assessment method

Our studio projects will allow you to focus on your creative development, while you’ll also demonstrate your process and creative decisions through a combination of portfolio, written and practical studio work.


How to apply

Application codes

Course code:
W252
Institution code:
A60
Campus name:
Cambridge Campus
Campus code:
C

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

You will be asked to provide a digital portfolio for review and will be given the option to book a meeting to discuss this with us. If English is not your first language you will be expected to demonstrate a certificated level of proficiency of at least IELTS 6.0 (Academic level) or equivalent English Language qualification, as recognised by Anglia Ruskin University. You may also be accepted to this course with an IELTS 5.5 (Academic level- with no individual score being lower than 5.5) or equivalent English Language qualification as recognised by Anglia Ruskin University, but will then be required to undertake additional compulsory free English language modules in your first year.

Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course

https://aru.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/interior-design


Unistats information

Operated by the Office for Students
69%
Student satisfaction
80%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
90%
Go onto work and study

The student satisfaction data is from students surveyed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £9250* Year 1
Northern Ireland £9250* Year 1
Scotland £9250* Year 1
Wales £9250* Year 1
Channel Islands £9250* Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9250* Year 1

*This is a provisional fee and subject to change.

Additional fee information

Please note the fee for the placement year is £1250 (This is a provisional fee and subject to change) https://aru.ac.uk/student-life/preparing-for-university/help-with-finances/undergraduate
Interior Design [with placement year] at Anglia Ruskin University - UCAS