The fact of the matter is, even if you want to attend school physically, you can start your search online. Here, you can get an idea of all the different types of programs that are available to you, and which cities and states are offering these different programs.

Depending upon what you wish to get out of your education, your choices will vary as to what the best school for you is. However, there are variety of different programs and courses out there that are available to you, to help you determine which schools to consider.

For example, if you are going for it certification program, then the best schools are probably going to be those in your local area. This is because a certification program is not meant to be used more than to help you with common design aspects, so you do not need the latest technology and the highest level of expertise from your professors.

However, if you’re going for a bachelors of science degree, then you should be a bit more picky as to the school you decide upon.

New York City offers some of the best interior design schools in the United States. In fact, just going to New York City and studying the design of the different buildings is an education in itself. The Big Apple is a great place to explore, and look at the different schools that are available. It definitely has a reputation of having some of the top design schools around.

Then, there’s the other side of the coast — California. There are three different cities in California that offer excellent opportunities for interior design schools. These cities are Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Ana. Los Angeles has more of a focus on fashion design as it relates to interior design, whereas San Diego and Santa Ana have schools specifically created for interior design, and focus on those needs.

Interior designing is subject to government rules and regulations, unlike any other professional course. Interior design schools prepare the students to appear for National Council for Interior Design Qualification or NCIDQ exam. It provides recognized credentials and equips the interior designer for better job opportunities. To be eligible to appear for the NCIDQ exam, the candidate must have a total experience of 6 years, comprising of the interior design based education. This must include 2 years of post secondary education. There are also diploma courses like the BTECH HND, which are the Diploma in Interior Designing and Decoration and the Higher National Diploma.

Students with degrees from reputed interior design schools are recruited for jobs in the business sector, restaurants, hotels, homes and theatres. While designing the area allotted, it is necessary to utilize the space with a lot of planning. The interior designer must have a vision and should be able to put it on paper.

Another important detail to keep in mind is the preference of the client and the budget. The interior designer can give suggestions for the client to think about and approve. Things such as furniture, color scheme, lighting and fixtures must also be kept in mind and a rough layout should be prepared.

Interior designers help to enhance the interiors of a house, an office, hotel and hospital. Their demand has increased over a period of time.

Professional interior designers today must be licensed by the industry in order to practice their trade. Much like an architect, they must undergo intensive study and testing before even being allowed to take any licensing testing. The NCIDQ (National Council for Interior Design Qualification), requires all testers to have a combination of six years of work experience, two years of schooling plus four years of work experience, or four years in a FIDER accredited university or college plus two years of work experience in order to qualify. This intensive procedure ensures that trade licensing helps to create responsible, educated designers.

At minimum, student designers should look for a college or university that is FIDER accredited and works towards a bachelor’s degree – required for commercial work. However, most high-end designers also obtain a master’s degree or a doctorate in design.
What type of classes should would-be designers consider? AutoCAD by AutoDesk, is an excellent computer aided drafting course. Those with some experience and knowledge of this software program can command a higher starting rate than those who haven’t taken the time to learn anything about it.

Business classes, as well as a variety of marketing courses are also a plus that many students don’t consider. Interior design is 90% networking, marketing, selling, and knowing the right people; 7% paperwork and 3% design.

Some professional designer’s even suggest taking an acting class or two to help you learn how to make better sales pitches.

Art classes too can help you be better prepared when taking with clients. People are visual and you’ll have a better shot at convincing a new client of your ideas if you can sketch them. Also consider taking an art, furniture and antique history class. They all come in to play every day in the design industry.

Design school can be very intense. Not only do you have traditional classes and a normal workload of reading, tests and other class work, but you will be expected to complete very large-scale design projects along the way also

One important aspect of your new career that design school can help make clear is what area of interior design you will find most successful and rewarding. They’re many different fields to enter in the design profession. There are residential interior designers whose sole purpose is to serve homeowners, and there are commercial interior designers who work on offices, restaurants, banks, malls, hotels, and on and on. Within each of these specialties, you could be a project manager heading up the entire project or a draftsperson or even a product sales representative.

Some designers decide that they’d rather own or operate a drapery workroom or fabric warehouse, a design firm, be a partner in a firm, a painter, wallpaper hanger, carpet layer… or any of a hundred other design specialists! How you ultimately use your designer’s education is really up to you, your interest, and your talent level.