Interior Design

Types of Degrees Interior Design Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many interior design graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	249

What Interior Design Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, interior design majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Interior Design Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in interior design should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Interior Design Majors

When studying interior design, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Interior Design Majors

As a interior design major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Interior Design Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with interior design:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Architecture Professors	10.5%	$86,980
Interior Designers	4.5%	$53,370

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Interior Design?

This major is dominated by women with about 86% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of interior design majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	12
Black or African American	11
Hispanic or Latino	9
White	79
International Students	126
Other Races/Ethnicities	12

Geographic Diversity

Interior Design appeals to people across the globe. About 50.6% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Interior Design

Some careers associated with interior design require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for interior design careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	9.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	51.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.0%
Master’s Degree	5.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	10.0%
Doctoral Degree	22.0%

Online Interior Design Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	61	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	7	0
Associate’s Degree	129	5
Bachelor’s Degree	4	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	25	2
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Interior Design

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to interior design.

Major	Number of Grads
Graphic Design	9,176
Visual Communications	5,606
Commercial & Advertising Art	3,319
Fashion Design	3,032
Illustration	2,989
Game & Interactive Media Design	2,437
Other Design & Applied Arts	1,689
Industrial Design	1,351
Commercial Photography	795

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.