BA (Hons) Interior Design
BA (Hons) Interior Design
Your creativity and professional craft, creative expression and problem-solving skills will grow at NUA as you explore interior design as a way of addressing human needs and social challenges.
Our BA (Hons) Interior Design degree will encourage you to consider how people react to spaces as you gain experience of designing for a range of interiors: from homes and housing projects to hotels and shops, restaurants and offices.
Professional and design skills
Working in our Interior Design studio and workshops, you will explore how scale, light, colour, materials, texture and their acoustics affect human reactions as you consider the social implications of design.
And with the support of our expert academics and technicians, you’ll master a variety of techniques and visualisation methods, including:
- Sketching by hand
- Industry-standard 3D digital platforms
- Collage
- Photography
- Model-making.
Engage with the Interior Design industry
You’ll explore cultural trends and innovation in materials and technology that are shaping the industry as you prepare for a career in interior design and start to build a professional portfolio. Visiting professionals will share their insight through lectures and seminars and live projects.
Graduates work in a broad range of careers including
- Interior Designer
- Space Planner
- Colour Consultant
- 3D Model Maker
- Theatre Set Designer
- ExhibitionDesigner
- Lighting Designer
- Project Manager
- Visual Merchandiser
- Design Contractor
- Architectural Visualiser
- Design Technologist
You’ll also get specialist creative careers advice from our team in the Ideas Factory to help support you as you plan your career.
Course information
Institution code: N39Course 3 Year UCAS code: W250Course 4 Year UCAS code: W251Course length: 3 or 4 year optionsSandwich courses: Creative Professional Development (1 year, Level 5 diploma), or Creative Computing (1 year, Level 5 diploma), available between years 2 & 3
All courses run as a blend of on-campus and digital teaching and learning, and follow current UK government safety advice. Applicants and students will be notified directly if any changes need to be made.
- Course specifications
Three year degree
Four year degree - Course related costs
Ask a Student
Course content
- Year 1
- Understand the principles of ideation and communication in interior design through a range of projects, workshops, experiments and exercises
- Explore the diverse and interdisciplinary nature of the interior and its cultural and historical context
- Examine new technologies and sustainable materials, as well as manufacturing techniques and their application to interior design
- Integrate research, analytical and reflective techniques into your creative practice.
- Year 2
- Create work from concept to realisation with particular focus on understanding design briefs and user needs
- Communicate your design ideas through 2D and 3D methods, including technical drawings, 3D visualisation, sketching and model making
- Apply a flexible and imaginative approach to problem solving through enquiry-based learning, using storytelling and lateral thinking to solve design problems
- Study cultural, theoretical, and professional issues and apply social, historical and professional contexts to the subject discipline
- Explore working in a team and developing a creative role through course and university-wide collaborative projects.
- Year 3
- Explore materials and technologies for the construction and operation of building interiors with particular focus on sustainability, environmental and performance issues
- Deliver a final major design project, embracing the full interior design process and demonstrating your approach to, and engagement with, contemporary interior design issues
- Complete a Research Report that provides broad contextualisation to your practice
- Participate in national competitions to further enhance your portfolio and professional profile.
Student work
Tap to expand
Typical UK offers
A / AS Levels – GCE
GCE A/AS Levels 3 A-level qualifications at grades BBB. Where candidates are not taking 3 A-levels, NUA will consider combinations of A-level/AS-level and other Level 3 qualifications.
BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction, Merit, Merit in an art, design or media related subject
BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction*, Distinction* in an art, design or media related subject
T Levels
A T Level in any subject with overall grade Merit or above
UAL Extended Diploma
Merit
UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Merit
UAL Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass
Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Merit
Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)
Pass
International Baccalaureate Diploma
A minimum of 27 points
NUA welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds. Your application will be primarily assessed through your portfolio, responses to questions asked and personal statement, so even if you have no formal qualifications or do not meet our typical offers it can still be worth applying.
If you are studying at the time of your application and your application is successful it is likely that you will receive a conditional offer.
If the qualification that you are studying is not shown, do not worry as we are able to accept other pre-entry qualifications as well as combinations of different qualifications. Please do contact our Student Recruitment Team if you have any queries.
International applications
We accept qualifications from all over the world. To find our entry requirements from a specific country, please check our dedicated international pages.
Most international students are required to hold an English language qualification. Applicants are required to have a minimum UKVI approved IELTS exam score of 6.0 overall, with a minimum of 5.5 in each section. Equivalent English language qualifications are acceptable such as, IB English language syllabus A or B/English Literature (Grade 4).
We also accept some alternative English qualifications. Learn more about our English entry requirements.
You can email us on international@nua.ac.uk if you’d like to discuss your application individually.
BA (Hons) Interior Design degree portfolio guidance
We are calling the traditional portfolio a ‘development portfolio’. This is to emphasise that what we would like to see is where you are now in your creative journey. You don’t need to spend a long time making the perfect work, as we can assess your potential from your work in progress. Your development is the most important part of your learning.
Your development portfolio should be relevant to this course, but you can include a wide range of work that shows your creativity, technical competence and understanding of space.
You may wish to include some of the following:
- Drawings (ideas, observations and technical designs)
- Collages,
- Surface designs,
- Paintings,
- Photographs
- 3D visualization software (i.e. Sketch Up, CAD, Adobe Suite amongst others)
- Sculpture
- Model Making
- Prototypes
- Installations
Further portfolio advice and tips
Get more advice on presentation formats, layouts and when to submit your development portfolio in the application process.
2022/23 University fees for new entrants
NUA will assess students’ tuition fee status using the guidance provided by the UK Council for International Student Affairs
Students from the UK or Ireland and EU students with ‘Settled’ or ‘Pre-Settled’ status will be charged ‘Home’ fees if they meet the relevant residency requirements. They will usually be eligible for a tuition fee loan from the UK government, meaning that they won’t have to pay NUA’s tuition fees up front.
Students who do not meet the necessary residency requirements will usually be charged ‘Overseas’ fees and will not be eligible for the UK government tuition fee loan. Since 2021/22, this includes new entrants from the EU, EEA, and Switzerland who do not have ‘Settled’ or ‘Pre-Settled’ status, because the UK has now formally left the EU.
| Fee status | Course | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| Home | Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree) | £9,250 |
| Overseas | Undergraduate degree (full-time three and four year degree) | £17,500 |
In subsequent years inflation may be applied to the fees of those who started in 2022/23, at no more than the Office for Students’ recommended measure based on forecast RPI-X.
See our Fees and Funding page for further information which is also available in a downloadable format.
Financial support for UK students in 2022
Tuition fee loans and loans for living costs are usually available to UK and some EU students, as well as non-repayable NUA bursaries based on family income. Find out more about applying for funding.
All students have an opportunity to spend a year, between the second and third year of their course, enhancing their employability options through a Level 5 Diploma.
These courses are offered in Creative Professional Development; a structured programme of input sessions and work-based learning, and Creative Computing; designed to build the foundation skills in coding and software design that are in high demand in the digital and creative industries.
Four year degree – BA (Hons) Interior Design
Four year degrees offer students a chance to build on their experience within their undergraduate course of choice.
Year 0 will help to build confidence and develop subject specific practical, creative and conceptual skills – making full use of University studios and workshops.
Typical UK offers and entry requirements for Year 0 entry
GCE A/AS Levels
2 A-level qualifications at grades CC or higher.
BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Merit, Merit, Pass in an art, design or media related subject
BTEC Diploma (QCF or RQF)
Distinction, Merit in an art, design or media related subject
T Levels
Pass (D or E on the core)
UAL Extended Diploma
An overall Pass
UAL Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
An overall Pass
Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Pass
Access to Higher Education Diploma (Art and Design)
Pass
International Baccalaureate Diploma
A minimum of 24 points
NUA welcomes applicants of all ages from all backgrounds. Your application will be primarily assessed through your portfolio, responses to questions asked and personal statement, so even if you have no formal qualifications or do not meet our typical offers it can still be worth applying.
If you are studying at the time of your application and your application is successful it is likely that you will receive a conditional offer.
Students
Mahisha Ahmed
"I was first inspired by watching shows such as Interior Design Masters and 60 Minute Makeover. Through this, I was captivated by different design styles and how they were constructed, which is what sparked my interest in interior design."
BA (Hons) Interior Design
Laura Kidd
"My work placement helped me to understand the nature of the industry and what it realistically entails - budgets, samples, co-operation and communication with external sources and clients, and the importance of meeting tight deadlines."
BA (Hons) Interior Design
Cairo Hill
"The knowledge of CAD skills like Photoshop and SketchUp gave me the skills I needed to keep up with the pace the professionals worked at."
BA (Hons) Interior Design
Amy Charter
"The interior design course prepared me for the work placement by giving me invaluable first-hand knowledge of software that I was able to adapt and utilise in practice. It also gave me plenty of insights to developing my own design ethos."
BA (Hons) Interior Design
Teaching staff
Lecturers
-
Stefanie Partington
-
Séamus Ward
-
Lisa Thurlow
Need help? Chat to our friendly recruitment team
Book a place on an Open Day, or to find out more about how to apply for a course at Norwich University of the Arts, please give us a call.
Call: +44 (0) 1603 610561
Email: studentrecruitment@nua.ac.uk
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It’s that time of year again! We are looking for the finest photography by students in secondary (age 11+) or further education (up to 19) and have some great prizes to be won! If you know some photographers who fit these criteria let them know by tagging them into the comments.
This year we are delighted to welcome acclaimed photographer Cat Gundry-Beck to the Norwich University of the Arts judging panel to help pick the award winners. @catgundrybeck is a Norwich alumnus spending her time between Ireland and Iceland photographing for clients such as British Vogue, The New York Times, BBC, Dropbox, and Google.
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