Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Interior Designers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Santa Monica College, Fashion Institute, Design Institute of San Diego, and Academy of Art.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider Mt Sierra College, Design Institute of San Diego, Bethesda Christian, and San Jose State.
- Female: For schools particularly welcoming to female students, consider Interior Designers Institute, Fashion Institute, Design Institute of San Diego, and Fashion Institute.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider San Jose State, Otis College of Art and Design, Art Center, and San Francisco State.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Mendocino College, Monterey Peninsula College, Santa Ana College, and Canada College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Design Institute of San Diego, San Francisco Art Institute, California Institute of the Arts, and Academy of Art.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Point Loma Nazarene University, UCLA, California Institute of the Arts, and UC Davis.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at UCLA and UC Davis.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at UCLA, California Institute of the Arts, Otis College of Art and Design, and UC Davis.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at California Institute of the Arts, UC Davis, Point Loma Nazarene University, and UCLA.
Working as an Interior Designer in California
Interior designers combine wall treatments, fabrics, furniture, lighting, flooring, window treatments, fixtures, accessories and artwork to create spaces with character, mood and function. They work with homeowners to create a living space suited to their lifestyle and taste. Restaurants, hotels, hospitals, airports, retail stores, theaters, shopping malls, and schools hire interior designers to boost profits, property value and productivity. Read a detailed Interior Designer job description
State Requirements
- The State of California's California Council for Interior Design Certification (CCIDC) determines eligibility for all interior designers in California.
- To practice, the CCIDC requires interior designers to be Certified Interior Designers.
- Entry-level interior designers are required to pass a single certification exam as of 2009 - the IDEX-California. To qualify to take the test, applicants must have 2 years of interior design education or between 5-8 years of interior design experience. More experienced designers have different requirements. Entry-level interior designers gain work experience as apprentices or assistants.
- Having passed the IDEX-California, to become a Certified Interior Designer, applicants must have a minimum combined total of 8 years interior design education and diversified interior design experience, depending on years of education.
- Once all requirements are met, interior designers must apply for certification and pay fees.
- To renew certification, CIDs must complete of 10 hours of continuing education.
Major Industries
The top three California industries hiring interior designers include Architectural and Engineering Services, Residential Building Construction, and Specialized Design Services.
Major Employers
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Academy Of Art University • San Francisco, CA
Studying Associate Degree In Interior Design And Architecture (completion in 2008)
• 5/8/2011
"I believe that there are a lot of things that should be improved with this school, especially for the money."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | Too expensive, not enough interaction with teachers and no follow through with placements after graduation. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | The school is an extremely expensive school that seems to be hiding behind its name, instead of its ability to teach. |
| Program Quality | 3 | I did not feel like I was adequately prepared in all areas for when I would be out of school. |
| Instruction | 4 | I suppose the stuff that I learned would have been better understood if that person who had taught the class had a better understanding of the curriculum and had more passion for the degree. |
| How Difficult | 8 | There was a lot of meticulous blue printing and many measurements that are not used in normal daily routines, such as 1/10" etc. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Some classes were more book studies, others were strictly hands on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The school had lots of different classes available at different times so if one class was full you would be able to get into it at a different time or with a different teacher. |
| Academic Facilities | 3 | Little to no accessibility of professors. Library was an excellent source of information. |
| Social Life | 5 | Normal school spirit but nothing over the top. |
| Placement Services | 1 | Very poor no interaction or attempt after graduation was made to place me in my field. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | I always had a hard time getting a hold of my teacher, work was rarely ever graded on time or critiqued in a timely manner. |
Fullerton College • Fullerton, CA
Studying Interior Design (completion in 2008)
• 5/8/2011
"I was quite happy with the program, the teachers and my school over all. It was a tough program, but I learned a lot!"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Absolutely, I would recommend my school and program, it is a well-put together and comprehensive program, that costs a fraction of a private school, in terms of tuition. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | This particular school/location is known for equipping the students with excellent tools as they graduate, due to the Program Leader Brian Kaneko's high standards. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The Program is very extensive and prepares you well for future jobs. It offers certificates/degrees in both Residential, Commercial and Merchandise Interior Design. |
| Instruction | 8 | The Instructors at this location or school are all very knowledgeable and great teachers, as they themselves are presently practicing Interior designers or have past experience. |
| How Difficult | 7 | It is a challenging program for which many students are not prepared, however, if there is a passion and commitment, you can surely succeed and graduate. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | This school is focused more on "hands-on" education, which I appreciate. One example is the mandatory drafting class, where you learn to hand draw all the buildings which is then followed up with AutoCAD. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | Based on all the educational cut backs throughout CA, this school has managed to still offer a good selection of classes at various times and days during the week and weekends. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The facility/and some of the class rooms could use an update, but they have good resources in terms of library, computer and accessibility to professors. |
| Social Life | 7 | Personally, I worked while taking this program and was not able to participate much in social activities, but some of my friends were, and they happy and content with the various activities available. |
| Placement Services | 6 | Frankly, that is an area the school could improve on, you are pretty much on your own once you graduate, unless you were fortunate to get hire by one of the Design Companies you interned with during the program. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | Personally, I never got that involved, but from what I was told by other students, the "alumni network and support" was sufficient for the most part, but lacked support in some areas. |
Marymount Palos Verdes College • Palos Verdes, CA
Studying Design And Merchandising (completion in 1989)
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I would suggest a design school that could help secure an internship in the field. So much is about making connections and networking and that just didn't happen at this school. |
| Program Reputation | 2 | I believe that it isn't even offered anymore. I think the school has focused more on Liberal Arts. |
| Program Quality | 1 | Looking back it was a very lean program. The study of the history of design and fabrics helped. However there should have been more courses on the business side of the job. Creativity is most important but without the business knowledge one can't be successful. |
| Instruction | More than 5 years ago | |
| How Difficult | 5 | I never felt stressed or worried about passing. I think we could have been challenged much more. The work load could and should have been higher- better preparation for the work force. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Not a lot of hands on options. I think this would be a place the school could improve greatly. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | Not very many evening classes but there were some during the summer. There was a very limited number of classes as it was an extremely small school. |
| Academic Facilities | 1 | It was a lovely school but the department consisted of only a few professors and very limited resources. There have been great additions to the campus lately and more are planned. I don't believe these will affect the program though. |
| Social Life | 8 | It was a tight knit and safe feeling environment. I enjoyed my time there. People were always organizing get togethers and there were a lot of happenings on campus. |
| Placement Services | 1 | I received no help whatsoever. In fact, I think most people haven't even heard of the school. Most people moved on to four year programs and that is where the connections took place. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | They try very hard but mostly I feel it's for fund raising. There are alumni get togethers but the student body was from all over the world and I just wonder how many people actually attend. |
Academy Of Art University • San Francisco, CA
Studying Interior Architecture & Design (completion in 2010)
• 5/4/2011
"I love Academy of Art. I would not have picked any other school. I have such pride in saying I graduated from AAU!"
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | They have a fantastic program. It's aggressive, challenging, but it gives you an edge and you get to meet a lot of great people already in the industry. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | I think there is a lot of skepticism about learning online, especially when the program is supposed to be HANDS ON! Academy of Art is better known for their fashion and photography and graphic design schools. |
| Program Quality | 10 | I took the entire course online. My instructors had real-life experiences to share that helped me relate to what we were studying. The school staff was very professional and worked directly with me to help achieve my goals. |
| Instruction | 10 | My instructors actually had real-life design experience. They not only taught where design came from, but more importantly - where we are heading. We had to write an interior design business plan before graduation. That particular assignment taught me a lot about career preparation. |
| How Difficult | 7 | I believe the workload was average. I did take the entire program online, which may make it tougher. And even though I say the workload was average, the instructors did challenge me in a positive way. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | My program was very hands on. I built models, painted, put together design boards, etc. These were either submitted as images, or mailed to California. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | Like I mentioned before, I took the entire program online. Some classes are not offered every semester. So as long as a student plans ahead, the schedule can be very flexible. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Even online we had several tutorials and professors accessible to us at all times. I never made it out to California to see the libraries or labs. My class was my support group. They were fantastic! |
| Social Life | 10 | AAU has local chapters where online students can meet face to face. We had a gathering in Chicago a few months back. |
| Placement Services | 4 | I believe the job assistance would be great if I lived in San Francisco. Since I am in Indiana, it's difficult for that school to assist me. |
| Alumni Network | 10 | My school has a program to award alumni with a spot in their quarterly newsletter for achievements in design. I get alumni "perks", and can still browse the job postings through the Academy of Art alumni website. |
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