Interior Design with Foundation Year

Be prepared for industry and become an AI-ready interior designer

Develop the creative, technical, digital and professional skills to design meaningful, responsible and engaging interior environments.

At Derby, you will learn through a contemporary, studio-based Interior Design education that connects creative exploration with technical resolution, research, emerging technologies and professional practice.

Why Study Interior Design at Derby?

At Derby you will receive a contemporary Interior Design education. Interior Design is changing and modern designers need to be creative thinkers, technically capable practitioners and confident users of established and emerging technologies.

At Derby, you will develop these capabilities together.

Through an integrated curriculum, you will explore the relationship between people, place and purpose, developing interior environments that respond to their users while considering wider cultural, social and environmental contexts.

You will learn to research, conceptualise, test, communicate and technically resolve your ideas, developing the confidence to progress from emerging designer to graduate professional.

Professional accreditation and industry connections

Your studies are connected to the wider interior design profession through accreditation and affiliations with leading professional and educational organisations.

These relationships help connect your university experience with the wider interior design profession, providing opportunities to build your professional network, showcase your work and engage with the industry while you study.

Society of British and International Interior Design (SBID)
The course is accredited by SBID, an internationally recognised professional body for interior design. As a student, you can access free student membership alongside opportunities including mentoring and professional networking.

Interior Educators (IE)
The programme is affiliated with Interior Educators, a national network supporting interior design education through collaboration, knowledge exchange and engagement with practice. You may also have opportunities to showcase your work through IE initiatives, including its annual graduate exhibition in London.

Chartered Society of Designers (CSD)
Members of the teaching team are affiliated with the CSD, helping maintain connections between teaching and contemporary professional practice. You can access free student membership, networking and professional development opportunities.

Together, these connections help you begin building your professional identity, networks and understanding of the interior design industry before you graduate.

What Makes Derby Different?

• Industry-ready - Professional practice is embedded throughout your studies. You will learn through live projects, industry engagement, guest speakers, site visits, competitions and professional design reviews, helping you understand how Interior Design operates beyond the university studio. As you progress, you will develop your professional identity, portfolio and networks in preparation for placement, employment, freelance practice or further study.
• AI-ready - You will explore how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, are changing Interior Design practice. You will find out how AI can support the design process, from research and creative thinking through to design development, communication and professional practice. You will also be encouraged to use emerging technologies critically, ethically and purposefully, while retaining human-centred design thinking, creativity and professional judgement.
• Creative + Technical - Great ideas need to work. You will combine creative design thinking with the technical knowledge required to communicate and resolve interior environments. Across the programme you will develop capabilities in areas including spatial planning, materials, construction, technical drawing, digital modelling and visualisation, building services, regulations, specification and professional communication. Creative and technical learning are integrated throughout your studies, helping you develop a connected understanding of design from concept through to resolution.
• People + Planet - You will discover how Interior Design can positively respond to people, place and the environment. Projects encourage inclusive and people-centred approaches alongside environmentally responsible design, adaptive reuse and the reimagining of existing spaces. You will consider how designers can work creatively with what already exists while responding to contemporary social, cultural and environmental challenges.
• Studio + Community - Interior Design at Derby is centred around a collaborative studio culture. You will learn through project work, tutorials, workshops, critiques, design reviews and peer learning, giving you opportunities to test ideas, receive feedback and learn alongside other emerging designers.

As your confidence develops, you will take increasing ownership of your work and begin to establish your own design identity and approach to practice.

Your Interior Design Journey

Year 1 — Explore

Build your foundations.

You will be introduced to the principles and processes of contemporary Interior Design through creative exploration, research, drawing, making and digital communication.

You will begin to understand how people experience interior environments while developing the creative and technical skills needed to communicate your ideas.

Key themes

• Design process
• Residential environments
• Research and context
• Drawing and visual communication
• Materials and construction
• Digital and physical making

Year 2 — Develop

Build confidence and apply your skills.

You will respond to increasingly complex commercial and contextual design challenges, developing greater independence and integrating creative thinking with technical, regulatory and professional considerations.

You will further develop your digital capabilities and begin to establish your own design identity.

Key themes

• Commercial environments
• Contextual design
• Building services
• Technical resolution
• BIM and digital communication
• Industry engagement
• Professional portfolio development

Year 3 — Define

Establish who you are as a designer.

You will bring your learning together through increasingly independent study and a self-negotiated Major Project aligned with your interests and future ambitions.

You will investigate the reimagining of existing space while considering sustainable strategies, technical resolution, innovation and professional practice.

Alongside your design work, you will develop your professional identity, portfolio and networks in preparation for graduate employment or further study.

Key themes

• Major Project
• Adaptive reuse and reimagining existing space
• Sustainable strategies
• Innovation
• Advanced technical resolution
• Professional identity
• Portfolio and networking

Boost your employability with a placement year

Take an optional placement year to put your skills into practice in a real-world setting. We’ll support you in finding a placement and throughout your time in industry. It’s a great way to gain valuable experience for your CV, build contacts, and explore career options before you graduate.

Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.

Four Connected Areas of Learning

Your learning connects design, technology, context and professional practice across four key areas throughout the degree.

• Designing Spatial Narratives - Explore how people experience space and develop creative responses to increasingly complex Interior Design challenges.
• Toolkit - Develop the materials, construction, technical and digital knowledge required to resolve your ideas.
• Critical Context - Investigate the historical, cultural, social and environmental contexts that inform contemporary design practice.
• Visual & Professional Practice - Develop the visual communication, digital and professional capabilities required to communicate your ideas and prepare for industry.

Together, these areas enable you to connect creative thinking + technical resolution + contextual understanding + professional practice.

Learn Through Real Design Experiences

Your learning extends beyond the studio, with opportunities to apply your knowledge, explore the profession and engage with the wider design industry.

Depending on the project and stage of your studies, opportunities may include:

• Live industry projects
• Design competitions
• Guest practitioners
• Site visits
• Design reviews
• Field trips
• Collaborative projects
• Industry workshops
• Exhibitions
• Professional networking

Develop Your Professional Future

The programme is designed to prepare you for a rapidly evolving Interior Design profession.

Throughout your degree, you will develop your portfolio, professional identity and understanding of industry while building creative, technical, digital and transferable capabilities.

After Year 2, you can also choose to undertake an optional 9–12 month professional placement through the University's Diploma in Professional Practice, in the UK or overseas.

Studios, Technology and Making

You will learn in dedicated Interior Design studio spaces at Britannia Mill, supported by access to specialist facilities for digital and physical exploration.

Facilities and resources support:

• Studio-based design development
• Digital modelling and visualisation
• Technical drawing
• Model making and prototyping
• Materials exploration

The Derby Interior Designer

Our ambition is to prepare you to graduate as an industry-ready, creative and confident interior designer, equipped to respond to the changing needs of the profession.

By graduation, you will be:

• Creative - Able to develop thoughtful and original responses to design challenges.
• Technically capable - Able to develop and communicate design proposals with professional understanding.
• Research-informed - Able to use evidence, context and critical enquiry to inform design decisions.
• People-centred - Able to respond to diverse users, communities and experiences.
• Environmentally responsible - Able to consider materials, resources, existing spaces and environmental impact.
• Digitally confident - Able to work with established and emerging design technologies.
• Professionally prepared - Able to communicate your identity, work collaboratively and transition into professional practice.

Industry-ready. AI-ready. Ready to shape the future of Interior Design.

A key aim of this programme is to prepare you as a graduate for the professional world of interior designers and we would anticipate that a number of you will seek to pursue your career through either freelance or consultancy practice drawing on the opportunities presented through the curriculum to collaborate with other design-related disciplines.

This course will provide you with an opportunity to examine different sectors within the commercial and residential interior design, enabling you to gain an understanding and appreciation of the many facets and opportunities that are open to an interior design graduate. 

After graduation you’ll be prepared for a career in interior design with endless opportunities to choose from such as:

• Styling and window/retail display  
• Cinematic interior styling along with TV sets  
• Set-stage design and exhibition design 
• Retail design, e.g. fashion, gifts, jewellery stores, computer and gaming stores, etc.  
• Corporate design, e.g. offices 
• Hospitality design, e.g. bars, restaurants, coffee shops 
• Health and leisure design, e.g. hotels, spas, sport facilities, etc. 
• Interior consultant and sourcing 
• Bespoke furniture designer 
• Kitchen design

Contextual offers may apply to students who meet certain criteria.

Offers will be made initially based on your application, including predicted grades and/or grades you have already achieved. You may be given the opportunity, within your offer letter, to submit a portfolio. If you submit a strong portfolio we will make you an unconditional offer, to reflect the quality of your work and your potential.

Additional entry requirements

• Portfolio: Recommended - view portfolio details

*This is the fee for the Foundation Year. Subsequent UK fees are £9,790 per year. Subsequent International fees are £17,500 per year.

Further information about our fees and support you may be entitled to

Additional costs and optional extras

Additional information about your studies

Teaching hours

Like most universities, we operate extended teaching hours at the University of Derby, so contact time with your lecturers and tutors could be anytime between 9am and 9pm. Your timetable will usually be available on the website 24 hours after enrolment on to your course.

Course updates

The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.

If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.