BA Hons Interior Design Degree KLC School of Design Credit Anita Szorad

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Applications open
Course duration: 3 years full time (36 weeks pa)
School: KLC School of Design
Location: London
Scholarships and bursaries: See available funding

Our BA (Hons) Interior Design degree has been intentionally formulated to spark imagination, encourage debate and ignite curiosity. Learn from industry professionals using the latest technology and graduate ready for career in all sectors of spatial and interior design. 

This supportive course aims to nurture, develop and equip you with a broad range of interior design skills and professional practice. You will learn to collaborate with tutors and peers on compelling projects made possible by KLC’s extensive industry and community links.

As the course progresses, you will gain self-confidence and a real sense that design is a tool for social change and ethical innovation. Upon graduating, you will be industry ready for commercial or residential interior design with support from KLC’s successful careers team.

Course structure

Our full time BA (hons) degree in Interior Design takes you out of the classroom and into the heart of the industry. Design theory and skills are imparted through active learning experiences, such as hands-on workshops, group seminars, inspirational visits and debates.

The first two years of the course consists of workshops and 1-2-1 sessions with tutors aimed at learning all aspects of the design process relating to both residential and commercial design. Modules include:

  • Thinking for Design
  • Visualisation for Design
  • Professional Practice I and II
  • Interior Design Theory
  • Design Evolution & Trends
  • Digital Tools
  • Space and Form
  • Materials and Processes
  • Commercial Design
  • Advanced Technical Communication
  • Final Major Project
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The immersive, industry-focused final year builds on your existing design knowledge to broaden and deepen your skills, truly preparing you to work in any sector of spatial design, including within the international commercial design sector.

During this year students follow a carefully constructed series of lectures and seminars by industry professional design consultants. Modules include:

  • Historical and Critical Studies
  • Construction, Technology and Environment
  • Professional Practice and Business Administration
  • Design – Brief, Concept and Development
  • Design – Synthesis and Resolution

All final-year projects are based on real sites within London, with challenging yet rewarding project briefs. Students studying full-time can expect to receive extensive tutor support and personalised supervision throughout.

This course is one of the few in the UK to have adopted Revit software in the final year – fast becoming the industry standard of tomorrow.

Course units

Year One - Term One

Design Project 1 - Pavilion
Design Project 2 - Pop Up Space

The BA Degree starts at the beginning of interior design training, with students exploring how they research design, channel creativity from their surroundings, and record these ideas in a sketchbook. Students will investigate how people use spaces and explore living rituals to understand spatial planning for interior design. Core skills include AutoCAD, technical drawing, colour rendering, one and two-point perspective drawing and freehand sketching. Sample boards, model-making and mixed media workshops are included, with digital collage and digital furniture boards. 

Year One - Term Two

Assessed Debate
Reflective Essay
 - Design Evolution & Trends
Design Project 3  - Show Apartment

Practical knowledge will continue to develop as students are introduced to SketchUp and the principles behind the kitchen and bathroom design, as well as colour and lighting, all of which will be applied within a residential project. Students get an introduction to Professional Practice and the essential abilities they will need to develop as interior designers. 

Year One - Term Three

Design Project 4 - Atmospheres

To generate slick visuals to communicate their design, students will learn Photoshop and develop new computer-aided design skills alongside AutoCAD and SketchUp. They will also explore lighting design at a higher level. Graphics for design are introduced to enhance students’ project presentations and develop budding portfolios. Professional Practice is developed through workshops on budgets and costings, as well as giving insight into building regulations. 

Year Two - Term Four

Design Project 5 - Exhibition Space
Reflective Essay - Comparative Studies
Design Project 6 - Detailed Working Drawings

Returning for their second year, students can look forward to focusing on different aspects of commercial design – starting with exhibition spaces. This term will include teaching materials and their applications, allowing students to conduct in-depth research on essential resources such as stone, wood, metal and textiles and the processes through which they are manipulated to create products. This naturally leads to teaching building and construction regarding sustainability and advanced Professional Practice. Essay research will help students understand precedent studies, branding and how design impacts commercial interiors.

Students eligible for work experience will be aided in getting placements over the Christmas holidays.

Year Two - Term Five

Design Project 7 - Large Commercial Design

This term introduces students to large commercial design projects – including retail spaces, bars and restaurants. Students will advance their lighting design skills in relation to commercial design and also learn two new software programmes – InDesign and EstiPC, which will benefit their professional portfolio development. 

Year Two - Term Six

Group Project - Design Changes Lives
Design Project 8 - Commercial or Residential Project

Evolving their skills to tackle more complex spatial solutions, this final term focuses on two large design projects – one is a group project with a social focus, working with the KLC Design Changes Lives Foundation, and the second is a choice of either a commercial or residential project (student's choice).

Optional Summer break work experience

Year Three - Term Seven

Design Project 9 - Design Concept and Commerical Development
Dissertation - 5,000 word historical and critical dissertation
Report 1 - Professional Practice & Business Administration
Report 2 - Construction, Technology and Environment

Lectures and workshops on professional practice and the legislative framework, which correlate with design projects, provide insight into working as a designer. The first term also covers topics such as the natural world, sustainability and the environmental impact of the building industry, and ethical design issues in relation to the built environment. Students will also learn the software programme REVIT, the latest drawing software in the industry. This is utilised with InDesign and Photoshop to communicate a design proposal in response to the first design brief. Lectures, seminars and tutorials help students approach the design dissertation by exploring creative ways of researching using different symbolic modes of representation, vis-à-vis images, moving images, movement, etc., to consider practice conceptually and how research is designed.

Year Three - Term Eight

Design Project 10 Design - Synthesis and Resolution - Social Design
Dissertation/Reports - Continued and finalised

This term starts with an advanced REVIT course, introducing students to 3D digital modelling. Seminars, pin-ups, peer reviews, lectures and workshops on construction, technology, the environment, professional practice and dissertations continue to inform and inspire students to progress within design practice. Many industry experts, such as site inspectors and quantity surveyors, describe their roles and responsibilities and how they work with designers and design teams on and off-site. This and the third term’s absorbing and challenging design project characterise a design proposal that aims to affect society positively. Design challenges will increase students’ skills, during which design solutions will evolve by demonstrating high levels of design literacy and critical thinking. Students will present work professionally through sketches, diagrams, visuals, drawings etc., using creative techniques coherent with the design proposal.

Year Three - Term Nine

Design Project 11 - Finalise Design Proposal

In the last term, students will develop and finalise their design proposal. On completion and presentation of the final project, they will be attending a series of introduction days with suppliers, manufacturers and professionals from the commercial interior design sector. The Career Service offers 1-2-1 sessions for portfolio and CV advice, internships and interviews throughout the course. The course culminates in a final celebratory Online Exhibition (live on the KLC website for 11 months) and Graduation Ceremony attended by prominent designers and professionals from the interior design industry.

Contact hours

Monday – Friday, 10.00–16.00
Additional 15+ hours study outside of directed study times

Entry requirements

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:

  • 5 GCSEs at grade C or above
  • A-Levels: UCAS tariff: CCC (96 UCAS tariff points) or equivalent
  • or BTEC: National Diploma: MMM (112-96 points)

No prior art and design experience is required. 

We can also accept applications from mature students who do not hold the above qualifications but have a sufficient prior learning experience. In this instance, the School will review any short courses, internships or work experience undertaken.

English language requirements

  • IELTS score of 6.5

Work placements & careers

Our extensive links with designers, suppliers, manufacturers, specialists and professionals within the interior design and garden design industries allow us to offer our students unmatched opportunities to work on live design projects, work shadowing and employment opportunities.

As part of our commitment to offering industry-ready qualifications, our students are offered guidance on CV preparation, portfolio presentation, professional practice and upon graduation; our careers service also helps graduates find internships, job placements and freelance appointments utilising our jobs board. 

Read more

Course tutors

Agnieszka Glowka MA PgDip

Agnieszka is a qualified interior architect with experience working in practices in the UK, Ireland, and Poland. She holds a master's degree in interior architecture from the Academy of Fine Arts of Gdansk and a postgraduate qualification in real estate investment from the University of Gdansk.

KLC School of Design at West Dean

KLC School of Design

Our KLC School of Design offers industry-leading interior design degrees and garden design courses with unrivalled teaching, flexible learning and ongoing career support

KLC School of Design

Fees & funding

Course fees are the same for UK and international students

  • £4,633.3 per term (£13,900 per academic year)

Additional costs
Students should allow approximately £1,000 per year for equipment and subscriptions such as books, samples, other consumables, Adobe Creative Suite student subscription and a Sketch-up Pro annual student licence. Students also require a PC Laptop computer with a separate tracker mouse.
Please note: Revit software does not currently operate on Apple Mac Computers.

If you are a UK/EU student you may be eligible to apply for a Student Loan (tuition fees and/or maintenance loans). More information can be found on the Student Finance website here

Find out more about funding

How to apply

Entry onto this course is by interview only. Home, EU and International applicants may apply through either of the following routes:

UCAS -ʉ۬If you are applying for more than one institution, all applications must be made through UCAS
Direct - If you only wish to apply to West Dean (KLC School of Design), applications for this course can be made by submitting a completed application form and emailing it to [email protected].

Students need to prepare a digital portfolio to evidence their experience and their interest in the area of design they have chosen. If applicants cannot provide a portfolio, we will ask you to complete a creative exercise to assess suitability for this programme.

Computer-aided design is a vital part of this course; therefore, applicants must be computer literate and able to confidently use their personal laptop.

Any questions?
Email [email protected]; call us on: (01243) 818 300 and select option 1.