Interior design degrees, is getting an Associates acceptable?

Hi there.

I went to Illinois Institute of Art for interior design about 7 years ago, almost right out of high school. I wasn't sure if interior design was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, so I stopped going. Fast forward to now. I am unhappy with the career choice I have been on and I want to go back to my first love, interior design.

I am in Chicago and have looked into all of the major art schools. Harrington College seems like the best fit for me, so I made an appointment at the school recently, applied for a FAFSA and everything. Now I have to decide on if I REALLY want to enroll. The cost is insanely expensive and I don't have a lot of money to throw around. I am beginning to wonder if I can get away with going to a smaller community college (like Harper for example, if you are familiar with Chicago area schools) and just getting an associates degree, instead of the Bachelors I was planning to get from Harrington.

I do plan on taking a NCIDQ and it is important to me to go to a school that is accredited, because I know how much it can further one's career.

Any advice on the bachelors vs associates thing? I am really stuck and don't want to accrue even MORE debt than I already have if it really isn't needed.

pupcake:

seriously, if you can apply for state college/university which has accredited program in interior design, it will save you some money.

as long as the program is accredited, you will learn all the basic skills you need for your career. the most important thing is real working experience and networking. interning and working for firms that you like will be very beneficial to your career. without real work experience, even you go to a famous art schools, it doesn't help much.

don't get yourself into more debt.

Thanks for your advice.

Which accrediting organization should I look for when looking into the cheaper programs?

CIDA
www.accredit-id.org/accreditedprograms.php

Thanks "designer" but I already checked that last thoroughly. None of those are cheap by any means. I got barely any money from Federal loans and I can't get approved for a private loan, so it looks like I can't go to any of those on the list. The ones that are slightly cheaper (not by much) are about 2-5 hours away. There's no way I can afford it without private loans.

If I go to a community college toward an Associates or something, will any of those classes ever transfer over to one on the CIDA list if I can somehow get enough money later on? I'm thinking no, since they won't be CIDA accredited?

This is so frustrating. Why is it so expensive, ugh.

i thought state university will be cheaper. may be it's different in IL.
for course work transfer, you have to check with the school(s). different schools have different systems or transfer program.

Hi designer,

I looked into it a bit farther and it is cheaper, however the only accredited state universities are 2.5 and 5 hours away from me. So that won't work, unfortunately. i might just have to take the Associates in Applied Science Interior Design course at my local community college. I checked and the program is endorsed by the NKBA and it covers topics tested by the NCIDQ. Even though I didn't really want to do residential design, this may be a good way for me to get my feet in the door. Hopefully after I get my Associates the classes will transfer and I can go onto my Bachelors at Harrington.

Thanks for your help!

Hi pupcake,

Definitely call Harrington and verify that the courses you take at the community college will transfer. Some universities allow transfers, but only for certain courses.

Good luck!

Hello Designer,

I was so happy to see the dialogue between yourself and pupcake in Chicago. I am currently attending an Art Institute here in Ft.Lauderdale. I'm about to complete my 1st phase of schooling. I'm completing the Residential Design program and intend on continuing to finish my Bachelor's. This is my 2nd degree, so I hardly have time to waste on mistakes. I'm wondering what advice can you give me while I'm still attending school that might assist me for when I graduate. What has been your experience since graduating. Did you encounter any unexpected experiences that you wished someone would have told you about?

Whether you decide to pursue a bachelors degree can depend on the type of design you plan on doing. If you want to pursue commercial or hospitality, your best bet is to bite the bullet and go for the 4-year degree. I have an associates degree and work in residential design and that has been great for me. Although I learned quite a lot in school, as others have stated previously, your internship and hands-on experience will teach you much, much more than you can learn in school. So get a great internship.

My advice for those of you still in school is to make as many connections within the design community as you can. These will help you immensely when it comes time to look for internships and employment. Get involved in ASID, IIDA, etc and really put yourself out there now. Best of luck to all of you!

artists will provide original oil paintings to qualified interior designers on the cheap. requests are taken at ryan@lakemuse.com

I just recently found this discussion forum on Indeed. And I thought your particular stream of discussion was interesting and thoughtful. I don't know if you've already made a decision, pupcake, but I have these thoughts to share...

Two years ago, I graduated from a CIDA accredited university, which has a transfer program specific to a few select community colleges within Washington state. The university actually works in concert with the local comm. colleges to provide standards for a transfer to the 4-year university after an AA is obtained. I advise that you investigate if the CIDA accredited university that you're considering, has such a transfer program.

So let me share with you what I observed... I wasn't a transfer student, but I worked with students who transfered to the University after their AA was completed. The university required them to do an intensive immersion studio, a 6-7 hour studio class daily for 6 weeks over the summer. But after completing that class they continued on in the curriculuum as juniors. What I observed is that many of the transfer students had excellent portfolios of work from their community college experience. I thought that they were actaully more versed in using digital drafting and rendering programs than most of the 4-yr. university students. Further, they had made important contacts in the communities that they would later work. This differs drastically from the limited exposure attained by students like myself who studied in a university-centered small town. Those who got internships in the thriving cities that they studied in, where there is usually an more active design industry that the comm. college instructors are connected with, still have jobs today. Of the approximately 45 co-graduates that I went to school with more than 60% have recently been laid-off. Those still working, have had important experience in internships and may still work for the firm that they interned with originally. Best wishes

I would not suggest going this route, since in order to sit for the NCIDQ, you must have a Bachelors degree. I go to IADT and have found that the experience of learning from actual professionals to be extremely beneficial.

Hello Everyone,
As of today I am new to this forum. I have some great news to share with all of you.

I will first start off by saying that I am an Interior Design Student and I have been an Interior Design Assistant for about three years now. I am on my last semester of College and will be soon receiving my Associates in Interior Design, and I must say that work experience is KEY!!! I have learned more on the job than they could ever teach me in school. So my advice is to look for an internship if possible and get as much hands on training you can in every aspect of Interior Design.

Which leads me to the news I wanted to tell you guys.

I am in search for Student Recruitment Specialists. What this means is the Reputable Home Staging Academy I am working for is looking for Home Staging Designers OR Future Home Staging Designers to recruit students to come and take our Certified Home Staging Design 5 day 40 hour Class.
We are looking for Recruitment Specialists in San Diego County all they way up to San Luis Obispo County. This is a commission based job only and for every recruit signed up to take the class the person who recruited them will receive a commission per head.This is a great opportunity for all Interior Designers and Home Staging Designers to take advantage of during this economic crunch.

If you are interested in learning more information about this process, please feel free to send me a personal email at:

Alyssarenne@yahoo.com.

Please write a short Bio, list any work experience or marketing experience, and some of your goals in this related field.

To your success,
aRenne

Hello Renee,

I tried to email you but your email address will not go through, will you please check it and post your correct email. Thanks ! Terrie

Hi Terri,
Thank you for letting me know but, that is my correct email address. The only thing I see is that it has a period at the end of it that is not suppose to be there. So if you are copy and pasting it just delete that period. I hope to here from you soon.

Thanks again,
aRenne

Alyssarenne@yahoo.com

Shontae Negron in Pompano Beach, Florida said: Hello Designer,

I was so happy to see the dialogue between yourself and pupcake in Chicago. I am currently attending an Art Institute here in Ft.Lauderdale. I'm about to complete my 1st phase of schooling. I'm completing the Residential Design program and intend on continuing to finish my Bachelor's. This is my 2nd degree, so I hardly have time to waste on mistakes. I'm wondering what advice can you give me while I'm still attending school that might assist me for when I graduate. What has been your experience since graduating. Did you encounter any unexpected experiences that you wished someone would have told you about?

Some really great advice, you should network as much as you possibly can while you are in school. Especially in the city you want to get a job in. Meet as many people as you can that will help you find a job and start researching design firms you are interested in and contacting them. Have your own top 10 design firm list, where you want to get a job and see if you can meet and create a relationship with someone at the firm. Also it wouldn't hurt to live in a city with a LARGE design population, like Dallas or Miami. I have been out of school for 1 year and if I could do it over again I would pick networking and building relationships with professionals over my coursework any day. Good Luck with the rest of school. Enjoy it!

Well, I just finished my Associate's at Hesser College in Portsmouth, NH. and it is a state college and it is accredited. I am looking for work experience at this point. If this reaches anyone needing an extra hand with this type of business please reply back to me, thanks. (Here's to Interior Design, an exciting and growing profession!)

Renne3 in Valencia, California said: Hello Everyone,
As of today I am new to this forum. I have some great news to share with all of you.

I will first start off by saying that I am an Interior Design Student and I have been an Interior Design Assistant for about three years now. I am on my last semester of College and will be soon receiving my Associates in Interior Design, and I must say that work experience is KEY!!! I have learned more on the job than they could ever teach me in school. So my advice is to look for an internship if possible and get as much hands on training you can in every aspect of Interior Design.

Which leads me to the news I wanted to tell you guys.

I am in search for Student Recruitment Specialists. What this means is the Reputable Home Staging Academy I am working for is looking for Home Staging Designers OR Future Home Staging Designers to recruit students to come and take our Certified Home Staging Design 5 day 40 hour Class.
We are looking for Recruitment Specialists in San Diego County all they way up to San Luis Obispo County. This is a commission based job only and for every recruit signed up to take the class the person who recruited them will receive a commission per head.This is a great opportunity for all Interior Designers and Home Staging Designers to take advantage of during this economic crunch.

If you are interested in learning more information about this process, please feel free to send me a personal email at:

Alyssarenne@yahoo.com.

Please write a short Bio, list any work experience or marketing experience, and some of your goals in this related field.

To your success,
aRenne

Hello, fellow Interior Designer here wondering if they have any companies on the East coast?