Getting The Right Interior Design Education and Training
In order to explore, learn and enhance your affiliation and experience in the interior design domain, there's definitely a need for formal education at an accredited College or University.
Courses taken, courses desired, tuition fees and location are of the most important considerations you'll deal with before deciding on where you'll get your certification from.
Some of the important courses that you can expect to take if you choose to get certified as a designer include:
* Drawing
* Building construction
* Drafting
* History of design
* Furniture design
* Architecture
* Auto CAD
* Project management
* Design
* Computer aided Design
In order to be accepted at an accredited interior design school, you will have to have taken specific pre-requisite high school courses.
Those of which are:
* Mathematics 4 years
* English 4 years
* Physics 1 year
* History/Social studies 1 year
* Computer Science 1 year
* Architectural Drawing 1 year
* Shop class 1 year
Tuition at any one of these schools can be quite expensive. You can expect to spend anywhere between $8,000 a year to $15,000 a year. A general certification course will run for four years. Getting certified could cost you anywhere from $32,000 to $60,000.
Of course, financial aid is always available for those that need assistance.
Don't worry, not all alternatives to certification are this expensive! You may check out trade schools, online designing courses, or self learning.
Trade Schools
There are many trade schools out there that offer Interior Design as a course. Some of these schools are accredited and can give you the certification that you need. However, it's my job to warn you; your credentials will not be as high or recognizable as those from a College or University.
These schools do offer many of the same courses but they are condensed, and blended together to suit a shorter course duration or a year or two.
Tuition at trade schools is, generally half of what you could expect to pay at a College or University, about $8,000 for two years or $4,000 for one including materials.
Online Design Programs
Since location/immobility might be one of the most important factors for some people, going to a school for Interior Design might not be an option.
For those, learning how to do it from the comfort of their own home is the best alternative. Although this method is not recommended if you are trying to become certified.
Where can you find such courses? Actually, there are literally thousands upon thousands of courses for interior design that are offered online. Just search for the right one. Course prices for internet schools of design can start as low as $19.00 and go as high as $500.00.
Self Teaching
Alternatives to taking any formal courses at all are called "self teaching". You'll just study the necessary information that you will need to do interior design as a profession, but you will not be certified.
Whatever it is you select to be your mode of teaching, it is detrimental that you pursue it.