Home Page

Department of Interior Design

At the University of Florida, Interior Design students and faculty work together to create a culture of shared excellence in all we do. Guided by a topflight faculty, students engage in design projects throughout the state and around the world. At UF, our shared commitment to collaborative learning creates a strong esprit de corps. Teamwork fosters creative thinking and innovation. Upper division juniors and seniors mentor new students. Students at all levels work closely with faculty. Alumni stay connected and engaged with the program. Undergraduate and graduate students become outstanding designers, academics, and professionals in the field. Maintaining a pulse on the profession, we regularly engage with practitioners from large, well recognized firms.

What is Interior Design?

Interior Design is the design discipline responsible for the design of the interior settings in which we live, work, learn, eat, shop, and heal.

Interior Design is

crafting memorable experiences
story telling with authenticity
applied environmental psychology
developing inspiring spaces that serve complex human needs

It’s not what your parents think! Interior Design involves the creation of functional and customized facilities that serve the needs of individuals and organizations. Interior designers design environments that are inspiring, promote health, are sustainable, and involve the community, owners, users, designers, and contractors as active participants in the design process. Interior design professionals do not fluff pillows. They design state-of-the-art corporate office spaces, amazing restaurants, awe-inspiring hospitals, breathtaking hotels, stunning retail stores, and much more.

Interior Design is a young and exciting profession. It was not until the 1970’s that the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ), the discipline’s certification body, was formed to establish and govern standards for the examination of interior design professionals. FIDER, the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research (now CIDA) was also formed in the 1970’s to review and accredit undergraduate and graduate interior design programs. In 1982, the first United States legislation supporting the profession was passed in Alabama. Today, the field of interior design continues its steady growth and development of specialized areas of knowledge.

Interior designers are creative problem-solvers, proficient in technical matters, and savvy business professionals. They are grounded in studies about the effects of the built environment on humans and have expertise in interior construction practices, the performance properties of interior materials, interior lighting design, and the application of building codes that ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the public. The education of interior designers is demanding and entails the acquisition of design and technical knowledge and skills. This includes knowledge about building and accessibility codes, construction means and methods, anthropometrics, ergonomics, lighting design and much more.

Activities for a typical project include determining the needs of the client and users of a facility, understanding the opportunities and constraints of the building site and overall context, presenting multiple possible solutions, preparing detailed construction documents in accordance to building and accessibility codes, coordinating the work with mechanical, electrical, and structural engineers, and overseeing the construction and installation phases to ensure compliance with the contract documents

As professionals, Interior Designers pursue professional certification. They are required to graduate from a CIDA accredited Interior Design program, spend a stipulated number of hours (which amounts to about two years) in practice after graduation, and take the NCIDQ certification test. After passing the exam the designer can then pursue licensing in the states in which he or she intends to practice.

There are jobs for Interior Design graduates! According to projections by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of interior designers has been growing and is projected to continue growing in the years ahead. Furthermore, interior designers earn competitive salaries and can make a good living. ASID, the largest professional organization in the field reports that the average salary for interior designers in the United States is $72,212 per year and the top 10% makes an average of $103,473. Companies also offer competitive benefits packages.

Come join the profession!

Interior Design at UF

The Interior Design undergraduate program is a first professional degree that prepares students who want to practice design. The program is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA). It was one of the first programs accredited and has maintained continuous accreditation status since  its initial accreditation in 1974. Students in the program are required to complete 120 credit hours and it takes 4 years to complete the bachelor’s degree. Most of our students start as Interior Design majors their first year while others join us via the college’s GDC transfer program or as transfer students from other majors within the University.

The program resides within the College of Design, Construction, and Planning and is the only Interior Design program in the State of Florida that benefits from having Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation, Sustainability in the Built Environment, Urban and Regional Planning and Construction Management all under one college. The richness of the multidisciplinary makeup of the college is exciting and palpable and provides many opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations.

WE ARE

interdisciplinary

WE GO

beyond the classrooms

WE DO

and apply research

WE OFFER

added value

Our Degree Programs

Scroll to Top