Interior Design MA
Study level: Postgraduate
The Interior Design MA provides you with the chance to really discover who ‘you’ are as a designer and perfect your individual style.
Year of entry
Location
Coventry University (Coventry)
Study mode
Full-time
Part-time
Duration
1 year full-time
2 years part-time
16-24 months (with professional experience)
Course code
AHT039
Start date
September 2023
January 2024
May 2024
Course overview
This course is designed to develop an advanced knowledge of the principles, applications and practices of professional interior architecture and design. The course encourages you to come up with original, creative responses to challenging interior design and spatial design problems.
- If you are looking to deepen your knowledge and experience of interior architecture and design, this course will seek to increase your strengths to allow you to reach a more advanced level of study.
- You will have the option to apply for a ‘professional experience’ opportunity2, designed to further develop your skills and knowledge with the aim of maximising your employability prospects. See modules for more information.
- We encourage you to develop your design capabilities within a global context, exploring the human relationship with, and taking into account the scale of, a range of spatial environments, manufacturing processes and the desire for uniqueness.
Joint Top Modern University for Career Prospects
Guardian University Guide 2021 and 2022
5 QS Stars for Teaching and Facilities
QS Stars University Ratings
Top 5 UK Student City (Coventry)
QS Best Student Cities Index 2023Why you should study this course
On this master's course, we aim to give you the chance to take part in industry competitions2 and during the course, will engage with all aspects of the design process from 2D conceptualisation, investigative enquiry and prototyping, through a studio-centric learning approach.
- You will benefit from studio-based learning where lectures, presentations and project developments are taking place. To help enhance your employability and design relevance, you might have opportunities to work on ‘live’ projects, to help develop leadership skills in design creativity, innovation and collaboration2.
- There will be opportunities2 to develop your specialism in a wide range of contexts to suit your career ambitions and skills. For example, you may work in the commercial sector, retail, marketing and branding, health and education to cultural fields.
- We pride ourselves on having an ethos that encourages you to build on specialist professional and creative identities. There will be opportunities to attend industry lectures and visits by professionals in all areas of interior design, architecture, products and related creative industries (subject to availability). We have collaborated and taken part in competitions connected to industry and ‘live’ client briefs2.
- Our current collaborations with UK industry aim to provide input throughout the course through dedicated lecture series, visits, collaborative industry projects and guest teaching (subject to availability)2.
Collaborations with other organisations
During your studies, you will have opportunities2 to connect with companies, clients and professional designers, showcasing your work and collaborating on projects, which have previously included Coventry Transport Museum, The Bugatti Trust, BMW and the Coventry Watch Museum Project.
Interior Architecture and Design MA students explain what their experience at Coventry has been like.
Coventry Degree Show 2023
The Coventry Degree Show is an annual event to celebrate and showcase our graduating students’ work.
Explore the work of our talented students
What you'll study
This MA course will support you in developing an advanced knowledge of the principles, application and practices of professional interior architecture and design – encouraging you to come up with original, creative solutions to challenging design problems.
With professional experience option
The professional experience opportunity2 enables you to apply for an optional professional experience in semester 1. If your application is successful, it will extend the duration of your master’s to either 16, 20 or 24 months. The professional experience provides an opportunity for you to develop expertise and experience in your chosen field with the aim of enhancing your employability.
Please note that the optional professional experience modules incur an additional tuition fee3, which for one semester of professional experience is £1,333.33, for two semesters of professional experience is £2,666.67, and for three semesters of professional experience is £4,000.
Professional experience may also be subject to additional costs, visa requirements being met, subject to availability and/or competitive application. Professional experience opportunities are not guaranteed but you will benefit from the support of our Talent Team in trying to find and secure an opportunity. Find out more about the professional experience option.
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
How you'll learn
A typical teaching week includes a combination of:
- medium group teaching: workshops, seminars and lectures
- group teaching: seminars, critiques and tutorials
- studio practice and bookable workshop access4
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online activities.
The School of Art and Design often provides opportunities2 to engage in external or collaborative activities such as competition/Industry briefs and speakers beyond your course studies (subject to availability). We strongly encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities to support your learning journey.
This course can be offered on a part-time basis. While we would like to give you all the information about our part-time offering here, it is tailored for each course each year depending on the number of part-time applicants. Therefore, the part-time teaching arrangements vary. Request further information about part-time study.
Teaching contact hours
The number of full-time contact hours may vary from semester to semester, however, on average, it is likely to be around 10 contact hours per week in the first and second semester dropping to around 4 contact hours per week in the third and final semester as you become a more independent learner.
Additionally, you will be expected to undertake significant self-directed study of approximately 32 hours each week, depending on the demands of individual modules.
Part of university life is undertaking self-directed learning (‘SDL’). Across the course of the week you will have non ‘taught’ time that allows you to work independently to apply the skills you have learnt in taught or facilitated sessions to your projects or assignment briefs. This is particularly important in the school of art and design as it allows you to engage and develop your practice.
This self-directed learning allows you to monitor and self-evaluate your development and how to manage this time to best impact your creative work. SDL is key to designing and making as it is a process that takes discipline and repetition. This mode of learning underpins an art and design community of practice approach.
Approximately a third of your time will be taken up with scheduled taught sessions whether that is individual, seminar, or group and in the remaining hours, you will be applying that learning to your ongoing assignments. Every learner is different and will manage their learning journey to their strengths and aspirations.
The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials.
As an innovative and enterprising institution, the university may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2023/2024 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.
Assessment
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.
Assessment methods include:
- Group work
- Presentations
- Reports
- Projects
- Coursework
- Individual assignments
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.
International experience opportunities
We currently have strong connections with industry and other universities in Europe and Asia. Collaborative learning may include exchange lectures by Coventry faculty and visiting course leaders and tutors from our link universities on site in the UK and abroad. Many of our courses run Collaborative Online International Learning projects allowing you to develop cultural connections with students from other universities around the world2.
Entry requirements
Typical offer for 2023/24 entry.
Fees and funding
2023/24 tuition fees.
| Student | Full-time | Part-time |
|---|---|---|
| UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | £11,200 | £15,200 (with prof. experience) | Request fee information |
| EU | £11,200 | £15,200 (with prof. experience) per year with EU support bursary** £18,600 | £22,600 (with prof. experience) per year without EU support bursary** |
Not available |
| International | £18,600 | £22,600 (with prof. experience) | Not available |
For advice and guidance on tuition fees3 and student loans visit our Postgraduate Finance page.
We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.
Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them.
The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:
- Any optional overseas field trips or visits: £400+ per trip.
- Any costs associated with securing, attending or completing a placement (whether in the UK or abroad).
*Irish student fees
The rights of Irish residents to study in the UK are preserved under the Common Travel Area arrangement. If you are an Irish student and meet the residency criteria, you can study in England, pay the same level of tuition fees as English students and utilise the Tuition Fee Loan.
**EU support bursary
Following the UK's exit from the European Union, we are offering financial support to all eligible EU students who wish to study an undergraduate or a postgraduate degree with us full-time. This bursary will be used to offset the cost of your tuition fees to bring them in-line with that of UK students. Students studying a Degree with a Foundation Year with us are not eligible for the bursary.
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How do you know if you need to pay UK or international tuition fees?
We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Your fee status determines your tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available to you. The rules about who pays UK (home) or international (overseas) fees for higher education courses in England are set by the government's Department for Education. The regulations identify all the different categories of student who can insist on paying the home rate. The regulations can be difficult to understand, so the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has provided fee status guidance to help you identify whether you are eligible to pay the home or overseas rate.
If you meet all the criteria required by any one category, including any residence requirements, your institution must charge you the home rate. You only need to find one category that you fit into.
Facilities
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities’ completely refurbished Art and Design buildings are planned to fully open in 2023.
The Delia Derbyshire building will include a hyper studio designed for cross-disciplinary projects, and immersive studios with virtual reality and mixed-reality technologies. Our aim is to offer you sector-leading facilities4 in a dedicated environment.
Design workshops
Our digital and printing workshops bring your ideas to life through different media. You’ll find a high-powered laser cutter, 3D printers, scanners and traditional print-making and making workshops for etching, silk-screen printing, relief printing and woodwork, as well as a generously stocked letterpress room.
PC and Mac suites
Maximise your learning in our cutting-edge computer suites. You'll have access to PCs and Macs running the latest industry-standard software needed for your course, including graphic design packages such as Adobe Creative Suite.
Studio-centric working environment
In the School of Art and Design, we shape our teaching and assessment methods to replicate the creative industry’s ways of working. This includes working in a studio-centric working environment.
Careers and opportunities
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Undertake research and evaluative reflection in order to synthesise and articulate an advanced knowledge of the theoretical and thematic concerns within your chosen area of interior design practice.
- Deploy skills, techniques and technologies with originality and imagination in relation to interior design for continued practice at an advanced level.
- Realise complex and ambitious artefacts/projects for identified and diverse audiences and contexts.
- Contribute to the shaping of a global contemporary discourse by engaging with innovative, experimental, hybrid and creative approaches to interior design practice.
- Demonstrate advanced personal skills, judgement and critical awareness enabling problem-solving and innovation applicable to a wide range of creative, professional, social and collaborative contexts.
- Engage interior design insights and experience to creatively manage interior design activity and effective stakeholder/professional engagement.
The practical nature of the course has been designed specifically for the development of professional careers within the Interior Design field. This creative, enquiring and critical approach to the spatial design taught through a studio-centric approach, enables our graduates to confidently navigate the employment world of interior design.
Through working to a set of projects and learning outcomes you should gain a range of graduate attributes highly sought after by future employers, including team working, working independently, critical thinking, report writing, project management, ideas generation, presentation and finance.
During your studies, you will have opportunities2 to connect with companies, clients and professional designers, showcasing your work and collaborating on projects, which have previously included Coventry Transport Museum, The Bugatti Trust, BMW and the Coventry Watch Museum Project.
Where our graduates work
Recent graduates have gone on to work as designers in London and the West Midlands in companies such as Imagination and GES in Beijing, Shanghai and Dubai.
How to apply
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UK students
To apply to study for a postgraduate course at Coventry University, you can apply online.
For further support or more information about your course get in touch with us today.
Chat with our admissions team
Complete our contact form.
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International students
Full-time international students applying to start in September should apply directly to the university. Read our application pages to find out your next steps to apply.
How to applyFor further support for international applicants applying for postgraduate degree view our International hub.
You can also download our International guide which contains lots of useful information about our courses, accommodation and tips for travel.
Get in touch with us today for further advice and guidance.
Chat with our admissions team.
Complete our contact form.
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Disclaimers
Coventry University together with Coventry University London Campus, CU Coventry, CU London, CU Scarborough and Coventry University Online come together to form part of the Coventry University Group (the “University”) with all degrees awarded by Coventry University.
1Accreditations
The majority of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships shall be renewed in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the university maintaining the same high standards of course delivery.
2UK and international opportunities
Please note that we are unable to guarantee any UK or International opportunities (whether required or optional) such as internships, work experience, field trips, conferences, placements or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (which could include, but is not limited to, equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable travel COVID and visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the visa requirements, please contact the International Office.
3Tuition fees
The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For UK (home) students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.
For International Students, we may increase fees each year but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.
4Facilities
Due to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.
Student Contract
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2023/24 contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
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