Interior, Architectural and Spatial Design MA (eca)

What are interior, architectural and spatial design? How might we practice them? And what might these practices contribute to the diverse and worldwide societies and situations in which our graduates will live and work?

This programme is designed to support you in establishing your own approaches and answers to these questions, helping you lay the foundations for your own path through the opportunities this field of knowledge and practice presents.

In this programme, you will complete design projects that range from the design and construction of details through which we physically engage with buildings, to the master planning of their relationships with the cities that surround them.

At the same time, you will use media including writing, drawing, digital modelling and physical exhibition to engage with the theoretical, historical, and cultural contexts that frame the practices of interior, architectural and spatial design.

You will also engage with the rich possibilities for learning presented by elective courses on offer throughout the University of Edinburgh including languages, crafts, business, history, theory and more.

Staff use their research to inform teaching and each year we work together to unlock the creative possibilities presented by a particular site, situation or institution in the city of Edinburgh, be it a local community, a historic building, or a changing organisation.

In joining this programme you will also be joining Interior Lab – the wider family of staff and students involved in the programme - including professional alumni, undergraduate interior design and PhD students who will join us for talks, exhibitions and other events.

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

A UK 2:1 honours degree or its international equivalent, in a relevant subject such as interior design, interior architecture, architecture, landscape architecture, product design or 3D design.

You must submit a portfolio as part of your application. Your portfolio should include:

• completed interior, architectural, spatial or landscape projects undertaken individually or as part of a group (please note that you should state your involvement in the group projects)
• evidence of hand drawing, sketching, model making, orthographic drawing and rendered visuals
• engagement with materials and detailing
• work demonstrating a range of research methods and lines of enquiry
• development work, demonstrating the iterative design process, as well as finished projects.

As part of your portfolio submission, you should include a personal video, no more than 2 minutes long, talking about your best piece of work.

As part of the application process, you must submit a personal statement and CV. Your personal statement should include why you want to study at ECA and what you feel you would contribute to the programme.

Selection will be made on a variety of key criteria:

• engagement with existing buildings: how does your work demonstrate an understanding of and engagement with the opportunities of a specific building or site?
• research: what has generated your design ideas and what methods did you use to support this?
• conceptual ambition: what are the big ideas driving your work? How are you questioning current design thinking?
• development: how have you developed those ideas in your project work through the iterative design process?
• resolution: how have projects been resolved and communicated?
• awareness: what do you consider interior, architectural and spatial design to be, and where does your work sit within the discipline?
• evidence of exploring interior, architectural and spatial design through a number of media including hand sketching, model making, 3D visualisations

If you do not meet the academic entry requirements, we may still consider your application on the basis of your portfolio and/or relevant professional experience.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 59 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 6 in each component.

Unless you are a national of a majority English speaking country, your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start of the month in which the programme you are applying to study begins. If you are using an IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL, Trinity ISE, or Oxford ELLT test, it must be no more than two years old on the first of the month in which the programme begins, regardless of your nationality. (Revised 14 January 2025 to include Oxford ELLT.)

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

We have a strong track record of graduates working in interior design and architectural practices both here in the UK and overseas, or setting up their own businesses once they have completed the programme.

Graduates have also gone on to further academic study at masters or PhD level in various institutions around the world.