Course overview

In a fast changing world, interior environments are increasingly important to our needs and requirements for a sustainable and contemporary way of life. Its practice requires a rare combination of intense creativity and practical skills and is concerned with the regeneration of existing buildings and spaces.

Drawing on the expertise of our School of Architecture this course will provide you with the detailed design ability and spatial awareness in interior architecture and spatial design that is required to practise interior design. Our core objective is to enable you to become a member of the design profession, equipped with the necessary skills to enhance the environment in which we live.

The course will develop your architectural awareness and knowledge of space, structure and form. It includes aspects of interior space, materials, environmental design, representation, construction and professional practice.

Throughout the course you will concentrate on the detailed manipulation of form in light, through volume, scale and colour, on materiality and abstraction. You will be introduced to specialist areas of design such as furniture and product, contemporary materials, colour and spatial design using a range of techniques including model making, freehand drawing and Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. The study of the interior is informed through historical and theoretical frameworks and will take you on trips to European cities and national places of contemporary design interest.

Interior Design at Portsmouth is closely related to design industry, with connections to practice through the interdisciplinary interests and experiences of staff and visiting lecturers. Many of the design briefs, particularly in year 2 and 3 are real projects, working with both clients and practitioners in live situations.

Is this the right course for me?

In order to produce habitable spaces that are experiential, efficient and economic, a designer requires outstanding creative skills. As a student, your creative skills and your analytical and decision-making abilities will be fostered in the design studio.

You will also be expected to have attained a competent level of numeracy and literacy and have basic IT skills. In addition, sketching, drawing, painting and making skills will be useful. However, these skills will be dealt with in the course. For example, the taught course on representation teaches all aspects of drawing including computer-aided drawing.

Any work experience in a design office you can arrange will also be useful in giving you a better idea of the work of designers.

Above all, you will need strong personal enthusiasm and a willingness to learn from your teachers and fellow students, eventually turning this enthusiasm into a passion for design.

Course content

Year one - Introduction to skills and ideas

You will share your first year with students from the BA (Hons) Architecture course, benefiting from an excellent grounding in essential design skills and ideas. The year comprises half taught lecture-based courses and half design projects.

Taught courses will include topics such as:

• representation, drawing and sketching
• CAD
• theory and history
• environmental design
• material technology

Year two - Introduction to a range of specialist skills

In your second year you will have the opportunity to experiment and become involved with the process of making interior spaces and applying that knowledge to a range of investigative and experimental design projects.

You will be involved in a series of projects to design and make spaces, details and furniture. Taught courses will include:

• art and interior history
• material technology
• representation/drawing
• CAD

Year three - A combined individual specialised study and 'live' projects

In your final year, you will complete your own individual research and design project that will allow you to experiment and consolidate the skills you have learnt. You will explore particular ideas of interior and spatial design resulting in a final year exhibition and have the opportunity to work on potentially 'live' projects with real clients.

There are also courses to prepare you for your career and future employment, through investigating Professional Practice and ways in which to promote yourself to the design profession.

Future employers are also invited to interview students and to view an exhibition of student work.

An important element of your final year is the written dissertation (a major written research project), which will support your ideas and research. This will connect and inform your final design project, which is your own choice. You will be assessed on your project and how it has been developed in relation to the site, the client brief, the design concept and the appropriate use of materials and finishes.

Teaching and assessment

We use a studio method of teaching for design projects which involves all students working in collaboration and discussing the progress and development of the projects with the studio tutor. This way of teaching allows you to mix with students from your year and in your first year this will include those studying architecture.

In your second and third years you will be part of a specialist 'interior design studio'. Whilst working in your studio with a group of about ten students from your own year, you will also get to know and see students' work from all other years on a regular basis. As a result, under the direction of a studio tutor and other studio staff who are practicing designers, you will discuss and develop your design projects.

At University you will be required to carefully programme your own time and studies. However, we have developed systems to ensure that you are well-supported in your studies, have adequate feedback so you know how you are doing and have many people to turn to if you need help.

You will be fully supported throughout your degree by your studio tutor, who will act as your personal adviser, and further guidance will always be available from members of staff who coordinate your year cohort.

You will be assessed in a variety of ways, mostly made up of coursework. This manifests itself through:

• portfolio - a collection of design projects which are developed throughout the year and then handed in at the end of the year for a portfolio examination; this is 50 per cent of the course mark
• essays - there are a variety of essays throughout the course; the main written essay or dissertation in the third year carries 25 per cent of the mark for the course
• research sketchbook
• project presentation

Career prospects

This degree will provide the necessary basis for employment in a range of design offices. The combination of design skills and technical abilities demonstrated in your design portfolio will allow you to find a variety of jobs.

You will have the necessary skills to work as an interior designer for a large design company or architectural practice, or a small consultancy working on projects that can be implemented into retail, office or leisure spaces. As interior design combines a number of disciplines, there are also opportunities to work in product design, exhibition design or even furniture design and restoration.

Facilities and features

We have a unique combination of resources to help you achieve your full potential in becoming an interior designer. The School of Architecture is based in a purpose-built building designed by our Emeritus Professor of Architectural Design, Sir Colin Stansfield-Smith. It houses a well resourced library, our advanced architectural computer teaching facilities and some of the most dynamic studio spaces.

Whilst this course is based in the School of Architecture, there is collaboration with the School of Art, Design and Media who also have their own extensive resources - as an interior design student you will be able to use their workshops with facilities for working with resin, plastics, metals, screen printing, moulding and casting.

Most of our full-time staff have practised as interior designers or architects and some continue to combine practice with teaching.In addition, our part-time staff bring specialist knowledge and current experience from practice. This ensures that our courses are up-to-date and reflect the current and future needs of the industry.

These resources, combined with excellent teaching by our internationally recognised staff, create the special environment in which we will encourage you to develop.

Entry requirements

View all the entry requirements for BA (Hons) Interior Design for the academic year 2013/14 (opens in new window).