Interior Design (BA)

    Interior Design (BA)

    Duration4 year(s)
    Tuition Fee
    GBP 49,279 / year(s)
    Next IntakeSeptember 1, 2026
    Interior Design (BA)

    About

    Introducing BA Interior Design

    Our discipline

    The experience of interior space and its inhabitation by people can be considered both the primary driver and the ultimate test of successful building design. When buildings change from the inside out, the external envelope becomes compliant to the inhabited room and the activities it contains.

    When we adapt, conserve, re-use and re-appropriate existing buildings, interior designers delicately balance a need to preserve with the desire to renew. They are navigating the blurred boundaries between real and artifice, place and time, from room to city.

    Key to our discipline is a responsive attitude to the diversity of peoples’ social issues. This ensures that the interiors created positively impact the lives of those who use and inhabit them.

    The studio

    Our programme will introduce you to the study of interior design in our dedicated studio space.

    Experienced permanent staff are joined by visiting industry experts who will support and challenge you to experiment and take risks as you explore the design process. You will be encouraged to:

    • bring your own themes and agendas to the table
    • share and learn from our combined diversity

    Projects

    A variety of design projects will offer you experience across many sectors including:

    • retail and hospitality
    • exhibition
    • the wider public realm

    A focus on human activity and user experience is embedded in each project.

    We consider the moral obligations of the designer in responding to the diversity of the individual and wider social issues.

    Conceptual ideas evolve into spatial strategies which are tested through multiple lenses of:

    • accessibility and inclusivity
    • introducing statutory legislation and technical requirements
    • debate and consideration of environmental impact

    Our approach

    Your design education at ECA will include:

    • studies in material selection
    • interior construction detailing
    • lighting design

    You will also focus in on the finer details of:

    • surfaces
    • finishes
    • junctions

    We encourage thinking through making and a hands-on approach to enhance your understanding of how things go together.

    An explicit focus on the fabric of the built interior will equip you with specialist technical knowledge and enhanced professional skills, which you will articulate through critical and reflective discourse. This will provide a platform for further intellectual debate.

    Disciplines

    Edinburgh College of Art

    Requirements

    Entry Requirements

    Standard entry requirement

    The standard entry requirement is:

    • SQA Highers: ABBB by end of S5 or AABB/ABBBB by end of S6. BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6.
    • A Levels: ABB.
    • IB: 34 points with 655 at HL.

    Minimum entry requirement

    The minimum entry requirement for widening access applicants is:

    • SQA Highers: ABBB by end of S6. BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6.
    • A Levels: ABB.
    • IB: 34 points with 655 at HL.

    More information for widening access applicants

    Required subjects

    The grades used to meet our entry requirements must include:

    • SQA: Highers: no specific Higher subjects required. National 5s: English at C.
    • A Levels: no specific A Level subjects required. GCSEs: English at C or 4.
    • IB: HL: no specific subjects required. SL: English at 5.

    Additional requirements

    Portfolio

    Applicants will be asked to submit a digital portfolio to provide evidence of artistic aptitude and potential, this will form an important part of the selection process.

    For more information about the portfolio, visit the Edinburgh College of Art website at the link below.

    Undergraduate portfolio guidance

    Portfolio technical support and specification

    Important dates

    • 1 December 2024: portfolio submission site opens.
    • 29 January 2025: deadline for all applicants (including international applicants).
    • 4 February 2025 at 12 pm (midday) GMT: portfolio submission deadline.

    BTEC/UAL Diplomas

    Applicants studying Pearson BTEC Level 3 Nationals in Art and Design will be considered for entry with the following:

    • Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma with DMM.
    • Pearson BTEC Diploma with MM plus one A Level at A (or DM plus B at A Level).
    • Pearson BTEC Extended Certificate / Subsidiary Diploma with D plus two A Levels at B (or M plus AB at A Level).

    Applicants studying the University of the Arts London Level 3 Extended Diploma in Art and Design will be considered with Merit.

    Find out more about entry requirements

    International applicants

    We welcome applications from students studying a wide range of international qualifications.

    Entry requirements by country

    International Foundation Programme

    If you are an international student and your school qualifications are not accepted for direct entry to the University you may be eligible for admission to this degree programme through our International Foundation Programme.

    International Foundation Programme

    Mature applicants

    We welcome applications from mature students and accept a range of qualifications.

    Mature applicant qualifications

    English Requirements

    • IELTSMin 6.5

    English Program 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.

    SQA, GCSE and IB

    For SQA, GCSE and IB students, unless a higher level is specified in the stated entry requirements, a pass is required in English at the following grades or higher:

    • SQA National 5 at C
    • GCSE at C or 4
    • Level 2 Certificate at C
    • IB Standard Level at 5 (English ab initio is not accepted for entry)

    English language tests

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

    • IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 5.5 in each component.We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
    • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 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 176 with at least 162 in each component.
    • Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
    • PTE Academic: total 65 with at least 54 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
    • Oxford ELLT: 7 overall with at least 5 in each component.*

    We also accept a wider range of international qualifications and tests.

    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 degree you are applying to study begins. If you are using an IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL, Oxford ELLT, or Trinity ISE test, it must be no more than two years old on the first of the month in which the degree begins, regardless of your nationality.

    English language requirements

    (*Revised 24 May 2024 to change PTE Academic requirement from total 62 with at least 54 in each component, and to clarify that we do not accept PTE Academic online. Revised 29 August 2024 to add Oxford ELLT requirements.)

    Career

    A degree in Interior Design provides opportunities not only in interior design practice, but also in the broader associated fields of:

    • lighting
    • architectural design
    • exhibition
    • brand
    • experiential and interactive experiences
    • environments

    Our programme includes a focus on the specialist professional skills of the designer, alongside key transferable skills desirable in many allied disciplines and beyond.

    We have a proven track record of employability, with former students taking on influential roles in design studios around the world. Recent graduates have, for example, gained employment at:

    • Heatherwick Studio
    • 74
    • Form Design Consultants
    • Prada
    • Kengo Kuma
    • ICA
    • Soho House

    Interior design is a well-established profession within the creative industries, which offers an exciting array of career opportunities across the globe.

    Our graduates possess many transferable skills that allow them to diversify career paths across a wide range of associated fields, including:

    • interior design practice
    • multi-disciplinary design agencies
    • architecture
    • lighting design
    • exhibition and interpretation
    • brand and experiential
    • other related roles such as:
    • furniture
    • specification
    • product and materials (sales and manufacture)

    In recent years, other career destinations included:

    • film and TV (production and set design)
    • computer game design
    • theatre set design

    Many of our graduates also opt to continue into postgraduate design education and teaching.

    Fee Information

    Tuition Fee
    49,279 / year(s)
    Interior Design (BA)
    The University of Edinburgh
    The University of Edinburgh
    United Kingdom

    United Kingdom, Edinburgh

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