Online Interior Design Degree KLC School of Design Credit MartinNealon

Interior Design

Online BA (Hons) Interior Design

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Award: BA (Hons) Interior Design
Duration: 3 academic years, full time (September 2025)
School: KLC School of Design
Campus: Online
Scholarships and bursaries: See available funding

Study for a degree in Interior Design online with our dynamic and rigorous programme. Learn from industry insiders and get graduate ready for a career in interior design. This structured online course has been developed for students who wish to undertake a full-time degree but benefit from the flexibility of online study. Through a combination of live online teaching and distance learning (recorded lectures, training videos, etc.), students can complete a full-time degree with the flexibility that allows them to work alongside gaining a professional qualification.
 
Designed to nurture, develop and equip you with a broad range of interior design skills and professional practice, you'll learn to collaborate with tutors and peers, both online and those doing the onsite BA, on exciting projects made possible by KLC School of Design's extensive industry and community links.
 
As the course progresses, you'll gain self-confidence and develop a real sense that design is a tool for social change and ethical innovation. Upon graduating, you'll be industry-ready for commercial and residential design with support from the KLC School of Design's successful careers team.

Course structure

Our full-time Online BA (Hons) degree in Interior Design takes you out of the classroom and into the heart of the industry. Design theory and skills are imparted through active learning experiences, such as hands-on workshops, group seminars, inspirational visits and debates.

By leveraging the best of 'live' teaching and online/distance learning, students are able to engage with tutors and peers for key tutorials, seminars and discussions while gaining the flexibility of studying in their own time with recorded content, lectures, software training and research activities. In this way, students can complete their full-time degree with a level of flexibility that allows study, work and life balance.

Course features

The course is structured around the development of knowledge and skills across the different domains that inform interior design practice. These include:

Design

The development and awareness of the design process, evaluation of design precedents and developing design solutions related to a brief

Technical Studies

The ability to apply technical/construction solutions to design problems, using industry standards in the production of design & construction information

Professional Practice

The awareness of the professional, legal and ethical issues associated with the subject. The ability to interpret and produce professional documentation related to a project and preparing for employment

Communication Practice

The development of the skills associated with different forms of communication, including visual, technical and professional communications, using industry standard software and techniques. The ability to moderate forms of communication to appropriate audiences.

Contextual Studies

An awareness of the historical, social and political issues that inform design solutions. The ability to undertake research and form critical positions based on research and analysis.


The curriculum combines group and individual tutorials to support the development of knowledge and skill in the different domains, along with seminars, practical workshops, peer reviews and presentations.

As students progress, projects become larger and more complex; challenging them toward more and more integration of knowledge and skill across the domains.

During the course, students will have opportunities for industry mentoring and placements to further give context to the relationship between study and the realities of the industry.

In the final year, students are challenged to bring together all of their learning across the domains into a body of work related to a topic of their choice. Their design project will integrate technical and professional knowledge and be underpinned by theoretical and historical research; developed in their dissertation.

Throughout the course, students are supported by our teaching team, visiting tutors, and industry representatives.

This course is one of the few in the UK to have adopted Revit software in the final year – fast becoming the industry standard of tomorrow.

Course units

Year 1 (Level 4)

In the first year of the BA, students develop their knowledge and skill across the different domains of the subject area. Early in the year, projects will focus on a single domain; allowing students to develop and understanding of the specific character and requirements. As the year progresses, projects will begin to integrate across the different domains, to help students begin to see how different areas of the subject area inform and support each other.

  • Design I
  • Contextual Studies I
  • Technical Studies I
  • Communication Practice I
  • Professional Practice I

Year 2 (Level 5)

In the second year, projects become more diverse and of a larger scale. As students build up their technical and communication skills, they will work on projects that are more integrated and challenging; with greater emphasis on the relations between technical, professional and design.

  • Design II
  • Contextual Studies II
  • Technical Studies II
  • Communication Practice II
  • Professional Practice II

Year 3 (Level 6)

Throughout the final year, students will be working on projects and assignments related to a topic of their choice. Their design project will call upon the tight integration of technical and professional knowledge in support of a design proposal that relates to histories and theories explored through their written dissertation (in Contextual Studies III).

  • Design III
  • Contextual Studies III
  • Technical Studies III
  • Professional Practice III

Contact hours

Commitment to a minimum of 12 hours live/direct study, with a minimum of 15 hours per week self-study.

Assessment

Year 1 / Level 4
 

Design I

Portfolio

30 credits

Contextual Studies I

Essay

20 credits

Technical Studies I

Report

20 credits

Communications Practice I

Portfolio

30 credits

Professional Practice I

Report

20 credits

 

Year 2 / Level 5
 

Design II

Portfolio

40 credits

Contextual Studies II

Essay

20 credits

Technical Studies II

Report

20 credits

Communications Practice II

Portfolio

20 credits

Professional Practice II

Report

20 credits

 

Year 3 / Level 6
 

Design III

Portfolio

50 credits

Contextual Studies III

Essay

30 credits

Technical Studies III

Report

20 credits

Professional Practice III        

Report

20 credits

 

Entry requirements

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:

  • 5 GCSEs at grade C or above
  • A-Levels: UCAS tariff: CCC (96 UCAS tariff points) or equivalent
  • or BTEC: National Diploma: MMM (112-96 points)

No prior art and design experience is required. 

We can also accept applications from mature students who do not hold the above qualifications but have sufficient prior learning experience. In this instance, the School will review any short courses, internships or work experience undertaken.

English language requirements

  • IELTS score of 6.5

Work placements & careers

Our extensive links with designers, suppliers, manufacturers, specialists and professionals within the interior design and garden design industries allow us to offer our students unmatched opportunities to work on live design projects, placements and employment opportunities.

As part of our commitment to offering industry-ready qualifications, our students are offered guidance on CV preparation, portfolio presentation, professional practice and upon graduation; our careers service also helps graduates find internships, job placements, and freelance appointments through out Alumni Careers Newsletter. 

Read more

KLC School of Design at West Dean

KLC School of Design

Our KLC School of Design offers industry-leading interior design degrees and garden design courses with unrivalled teaching, flexible learning and ongoing career support

KLC School of Design

Fees & funding

2025/26 Course Fees - UK & International Students

  • £7,900 per academic year

We may routinely increase our course fees from year to year for one-year courses as well as courses lasting two or more years and may review and change such course fees without notice.

Funding
You may be eligible to apply for a Student Loan to cover course fees and/or maintenance; more information can be found on the Government Student Finance website.
Scholarships and Bursaries are also available based on individual need.

Scholarships & Bursaries
Reasons to apply

How to apply

Entry onto this course is by interview only. Home, EU and International applicants may apply directly. 

Applications for this course can be made by submitting a completed application form and emailing it to [email protected].

All accredited courses require a portfolio or ‘creative project exercise’ if shortlisted for interview. 
Computer-aided design is a vital part of this course; therefore, applicants must be computer literate and able to confidently use their personal laptop.


How to create a portfolio

Do you need help creating a portfolio to apply for one of our Interior Design courses? Read our portfolio advice to learn about the general requirements, what we look for in a good portfolio, and what it should reflect.

 

Ask a question

Need more information? Have a question? Speak to our course advisors

Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 01243 818 300 and select option 1 

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West Dean Professional Knowledge Network

West Dean Professional Knowledge Network

Join industry-leading theorists and practitioners in a series of talks that will offer insights into key topics and areas that are shaping the future of arts, design and conservation

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Tutors

Marianna Velissaropoulou BA (Hons) PGCertHE FHEA

Course Leader - Online BA(Hons) Interior Design
Marianna completed both the Interior Design Certificate and Diploma course at KLC School of Design with distinction, and upon graduation she pursued a career in the industry working across the residential and commercial sectors, while teaching at KLC School of Design. Marianna is an External Examiner for two Degree programmes at other HE institutions and she is currently studying towards her Master’s Degree in Education.

Kirstie Pringle BSc

Kirstie Pringle is a subject tutor on the BA(online) degree programme at the School of Design. She has taught at KLC for a number of years having studied at the school herself in 2012.

Sarah Lawrence ARB RIBA BIID BA PgDip

Sarah now works as a freelance interior designer and architect alongside tutoring and being the Subject Leader for the Online BA Hons course at KLC School of Design.

Francesco Savini BA (Hons) MA

Italian designer and architect Francesco Savini come from the School of Architecture of I-U-A-V in Venice. The influences of classicism and from arts reflects in all the work produced in his career.

Aarti Popat BA Online Interior Design Tutor at West Dean

Aarti Popat

A lecturer and subject tutor on the BA (Hons) Interior Design Online course, Aarti draws on her extensive industry experience to guide aspiring designers in their career and business journey.

Becky Partington BA (Hons) PgCert FHEA

Becky obtained an Art Design Foundation Degree and BA (Hons) in Interior Spatial Design from De Montfort University in Leicester, and following from this has worked in a variety of arts education and design roles.