Are you an aesthetically-minded person? Do you want to design and decorate interior spaces? If so, consider getting a masters in interior design online.
From selecting beautiful furnishings for rooms in residential spaces to working on the feng shui of corporate offices or hospitals, interior design is an exciting career filled with creative challenges.
In fact, interior design has changed a lot since the days of simply choosing matching curtains and chairs. Now, experts in this field focus on how spatial design can affect people’s moods and behavior. Additionally, interior designers research how design impacts the environment and underserved communities.
Furthermore, due to an increasing need for interior designers for large-scale projects, you may find yourself creating trendy design schemes for very large clients, like:
- Colleges and universities
- Public libraries
- Nursing homes
- Airports
By getting your interior design masters degree online, you’ll position yourself to get lucrative jobs for big clients. After all, the detailed study you’ll undertake in your graduate program will give you the knowledge and skills to take on any interior design job.
What is an Interior Design Degree?
Earning a masters interior design online degree is a great way for creative people such as yourself to advance into higher-paying professional work. There are also multiple focuses with these degree programs, meaning graduate students can customize their studies to their specific interests and talents.
For example, if you like mid-century modern design, you might be able to focus your elective courses in your online masters interior design program on that specific niche.
Of course, an interior design degree isn’t just about learning the different styles of design. Instead, most interior design degrees show you how to integrate design into professional practice. Additionally, you’ll look at how design interacts with many factors, including:
- Health and wellness
- Sustainability
- Industrial design
- Senior living
- Academic achievement
- Focus and productivity
Interior design courses might also include design theory, the fundamentals of design and décor, and how interior design relates to human behavior. For instance, you’ll likely take online courses in color theory and learn how different colors are associated with different moods or activities. Painting a kitchen or dining room a warm color like yellow, orange, or red, for example, can induce feelings of hunger. But, painting a bedroom a warm color isn’t a good idea – instead, you would choose a color associated with relaxation and calm, like blue or green tones.
These degrees are widely varied, though, so the specific coursework requirements you’ll need to fulfill will be different from one school to the next. But, you’ll find many common features, too. For example, most online masters degree in interior design are master’s of arts degrees (though master of science degrees are often available, too).
A typical interior design degree requires around 33-36 semester credit hours to graduate. If you attend school full-time, you can complete that many credits in about two years of study. Some schools might have longer programs (e.g., one that requires 42 or 45 credits, or as many as 90 credits) while others might offer accelerated options that you can complete in a year or year-and-a-half. Studying part-time would obviously extend the timeline needed to graduate.
When choosing a graduate degree program in interior design, it’s important to keep accreditation in mind. On the one hand, you want to attend a school that has institutional accreditation (either regional accreditation or national accreditation, though regional accreditation is preferred). Many financial aid packages are only available if you attend an accredited school. Likewise, accreditation helps ensure that your credits will transfer, should you decide to switch schools.
Additionally, it’s helpful to select a program that’s also accredited. The best interior design masters programs are accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. Accreditation from CIDA (and from regional or national accrediting agencies) is voluntary. However, undergoing accreditation allows schools and programs to demonstrate their commitment to designing and developing high-quality educational programs. Furthermore, accredited schools and programs are built to help you develop the needed knowledge and skills to succeed in school as well as in your future career.
Therefore, in an online interior design master’s degree, you’ll develop the skills you need for a career in the design industry. You can pursue generalist studies, or you specialize in an area of your choosing, such as residential, corporate, or healthcare design. And since you’ll be in a program for online learning, you’ll have the flexibility of studying on your own terms from the comfort of your own home.
Graduates of masters in interior design online programs don’t just become interior designers, though. You can also become a creative director, a consultant, or go on to teach courses in interior design or related fields at colleges and universities.
See Also: 20 Most Affordable Online Master’s in Psychology 2022
How Much Can You Earn With an Online Masters Degree in Design?
Interior designers make a median yearly salary of $60,340, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet, this median salary estimate is based on interior designers with only a bachelor’s degree in their field. Thus, depending on the program, your master’s degree will likely open up more career possibilities and attract larger clients, which might result in a higher salary.
The pay range for this career reflects the income potential of getting a master’s degree interior design degree. For example, the highest 10 percent of earners in interior design make nearly $100,000 per year.
Of course, your salary is based upon many different factors other than your level of education. Your experience in interior design, your knowledge and skill level, and the quality of your portfolio will influence your pay. Ultimately, this is a service-oriented career, so your on-the-job performance will have much to do with the money you make as well. If you provide your clients with top-notch service and help them realize their interior design goals, you’re likely to get good reviews and referrals for other work.
See Also: 10 Best Online Master’s in Art and Art History Programs 2021
What are the Admission Requirements for an Interior Design Degree?
Requirements for an interior design degree online vary depending on the type of program and the school. Generally speaking, though, to apply for an online master’s program, you’ll need an undergraduate degree in interior design, architecture, or a related design field. Furthermore, many colleges require applicants to submit a multi-page portfolio of personal design work. Some programs require proof of English language proficiency as well, while others cater to international students.
Once admitted to one of the best online schools for interior design, you’ll find that a common requirement is an internship or a final design project. These activities allow you to apply what you’ve learned in a classroom setting to a real-world scenario working with real clients under the supervision of an experienced interior designer.
You might be wondering how an internship works when you’re an online student, though. Rather than having you visit campus or work in an assigned location, interior design programs are very good about helping find internship placements that are in or near your hometown. This minimizes the need for you to travel while also giving you the all-important field experience you need to further develop your skills.
During the course of your studies, you’ll also develop your portfolio, which is essential for your job hunt after graduation. Employers will want to see what you can do beyond simply looking at your transcripts. Your portfolio will demonstrate what you’ve done to complete your interior design qualification.
See Also: How to Apply for an Online Degree – Finding the Perfect School for You
What are the Best Interior Design Degrees?
OSR uses six data points to rank the master’s degree in interior design programs listed below. There are three school-wide and three program-specific criteria.
For school-wide, OSR uses Student Satisfaction, Admission Rates, and the number of programs the school offers online. For program-specific, OSR checks the median debt of graduates from that program, how many degrees are offered within that program’s umbrella department, and what percentage of students at that school graduated from that department.
Each of these six statistics are displayed by each school. The sliding bar under each statistic represents how that school compares to other schools in the United States. “Not reported” means a school did not release that information to the US Department of Education.
A more detailed description of the OSR process can be found on the methodology page. See our rankings of the best interior design degrees below!
See Also: Best Online Interior Design Degrees
