Why study this course?
The Interior Design and Decoration (including foundation year) BA (Hons) degree course includes an intensive preparatory year that provides an alternative route into an undergraduate degree.
This design and decoration course is the ideal choice if you want to explore your potential and work towards establishing an individual direction. It is also a gateway into an undergraduate degree if you don’t meet the necessary requirements for the standard three-year course.
More about this course
The foundation year is an intensive year that will help you progress to the bachelor’s part of our Interior Design and Decoration (including foundation year) BA (Hons) degree. In the subsequent three years of your course you’ll focus more on the discipline of interior design and decoration, during which you’ll get to explore projects spanning private, commercial and community interiors.
The foundation year will help you make sure that you choose the right specialism and prepare you for study at undergraduate level. It will help you to build a portfolio of work, as well as develop knowledge and skills related to a range of specialist undergraduate degree programmes in our School of Art, Architecture and Design.
You’ll share the foundation year with others studying a degree with a foundation year in the School. The shared curriculum will introduce you to techniques used by architects, artists and interior designers through a variety of intensive studio projects – from 2D and 3D composition drawing to workshop techniques.
After the foundation year you’ll join students on the Interior Design and Decoration BA (Hons) and you’ll study the same content and have the same choice of modules as them. On graduation you’ll also gain the same award and title.
If practising different areas of art and design sparks your interest in a specialism that is not interior design and decoration, there will be flexibility to allow you to change your specialism.
Accreditation of Prior Learning
Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course.
Modular structure
The modules listed below are for the academic year 2022/23 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.
Year 0 modules include:
Critical & Contextual Studies: Foundation (core, 30 credits)
Formats (core, 30 credits)
Project (core, 30 credits)
Techniques (core, 30 credits)
Year 1 modules include:
Critical & Contextual Studies 1 (Interiors) (core, 30 credits)
Design Principles for Interiors (core, 30 credits)
Interior Materials and Technologies (core, 30 credits)
Spatial Design Development (core, 30 credits)
Year 2 modules include:
Critical & Contextual Studies 2 (Interiors) (core, 30 credits)
Design Details (core, 30 credits)
Human Scale (core, 30 credits)
Interior Technologies and Production (core, 30 credits)
Year 3 modules include:
Critical & Contextual Studies 3: Dissertation (Interiors) (core, 30 credits)
Integrated Design Practice (core, 30 credits)
Major Project Realisation: Interior Design and Decoration (core, 30 credits)
Project Design and Development for Interiors (core, 30 credits)
Where this course can take you
On graduation you’ll become an interior design and decoration specialist, equipped with knowledge, skills and work experience to make you competitive within the creative practices sector.
What is a degree with a foundation year at the School of Art, Architecture and Design?
This is a four-year degree course with a built-in foundation year (Year 0). A foundation year in the School of Art, Architecture and Design is the starting point for many of the art, architecture and design students and acts as an introduction to the wide range of creative practices explored within the University. You may join with a clear idea of the subject you intend to study or you may use it as an opportunity to explore a number of different directions or experiment with your creativity. A foundation year degree is also a great choice if you don’t meet the necessary entry requirements for the standard undergraduate degree. You’ll graduate with a full undergraduate degree with the same title and award as those who studied the three-year course.
