Interior Design MA 2021/22 entry
Overview
The Interior Design MA provides you with the chance to really discover who ‘you’ are as a designer and perfect your individual style.
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 reach a more advanced level of study.
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.
This course aims to equip you with the leadership and creative skills to gain employment within interior design and architecture, internationally or continue your studies at Doctorate level.
Why Coventry University?
An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.
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Building Redevelopment
We are currently in the process of a major redevelopment of our Faculty of Arts and Humanities buildings. The building will be open to the public as well as students, and will feature an expansive gallery space.
Creative Community Hub
We hope that you are all staying safe in these uncertain times. Creative activities can really help fill the days, while we are spending more time at home and we have some ideas to keep you busy.
Virtual experience
Visit our online degree show where we have brought together the work of over 500 students.
What our students say...
Studying the MA in Coventry has shown me how important working in an international team and collaborating with other disciplines is.
It has given me new platforms and points of view which are extremely beneficial to my design development. I love the fact that I work on live projects with real clients giving me real life experience, which is very valuable when looking for a job in the future.
Course information
This MA course develops 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.
The course provides physical and digital and creative spaces to explore projects and solutions that seeks to take into consideration a wide range of scales of environment. This ranges from interior objects to large public spaces, small spaces such as coffee shops to large scale interiors such as airports.
There is a strong focus on interdisciplinary integration, professional enhancement and design enquiry – students from different disciplines may work together in teams, charrettes and industry competitions.
The course recruits nationally and internationally and brings together students with a wide range of cultures and experiences. Cultural diversity is a theme throughout the course. Discussions, seminars, collaborations and social events can allow students to network, work together inside and outside the curriculum.
Course Specification
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Modules
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.
In more detail...
This Master’s degree has been designed to develop a critical and innovative mind-set in the context of future global design environments and emerging design agendas.
Complementary courses in areas such as product design, automotive and transport provide opportunities for interesting multidisciplinary activities, research and discourse with students and staff from different backgrounds. This should help you to develop a healthy attitude to the design process. You will learn to appreciate the importance of collaboration, networking and the benefits of incorporating knowledge from other related disciplines; vital if you enter professional practice in the wider design industry.
Our teaching team currently comprises dedicated professionals and educators, many actively consulting or holding directorships in design studios, keeping close contact with industry, monitoring changing trends and new developments. Currently, their research interests are vast and varied – from the use of spatial design to triggering emotional responses, interaction between spaces and the human body, architectural heritage and design writing to parametric design and the phenomenology of space.
Our current UK industry partners aim to provide input throughout the course through dedicated lecture series, visits, crits, collaborative industry projects and guest teaching (subject to availability).
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 collaboration (subject to availability).
We pride ourselves on having an ethos that encourages our students 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 briefs.
There will be opportunities 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 (subject to availability).
- Opportunities to collaborate with our subject group. (subject to availability)
- Opportunities to attend speaker programme – past presentations have included Scott Brownrigg, JAK Studio, BDP. (subject to availability)
- Interdisciplinary workshops which encourage you to think across a range of design fields including Interiors, Product and Architecture
- High levels of student satisfaction with the course, 94% (Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2016).•
Our main study themes are:
- Interior Design Specialism: Development of interior design related technical knowledge and application; collaborative design processes; problem definition and objective setting; transforming research into outcomes; design brief and specification writing.
- Professional Practice: Specialist approaches to design and practise; appreciation of stakeholder design perspectives; professional communication techniques; collaborative design process; project management in teams; team motivation and effectiveness.
- Context and Identity: Case-studies of cross-cultural and transdisciplinary design processes; exploration of global design issues.
- Interior Design Innovation: Specialist relevant creativity skills innovation in specialist context; awareness of state-of-the art developments in specialist field; leadership and innovation theory and case studies.
The course can be studied full-time over one year. Divided into three 12-week semesters, you start the course in September or January.
Self-directed learning should form an element of all modules and why the necessity to work within tight deadlines is an essential requirement across the curriculum, which prepares you for the realities of professional practice.
We run a number of national and international fieldtrips designed to tie in with contextual studies and students have previously visited Oxford, London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Venice, Berlin, Rome and Lisbon.. (national and international fieldtrips are subject to availability, meeting visa requirements and additional costs).
Teaching methods include: lectures, tutorials, seminars, studio sessions, studio-based teaching and workshop exercises.
This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module. Assessment methods include practical coursework and reports. Assessments may also include exams, individual assignments or group work elements however this course is predominantly assessed by coursework.
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes.
On successful completion, you will be able to:
- Apply creative and logical thinking processes to the business of solving design problems and develop ideas through to material outcomes.
- Evidence analytical and critical ability in relation to design, including the ability to undertake technical and visual analysis to critically assess designed objects in relation to their engineering, historical, social, ethical, political, cultural, business and environmental contexts.
- Critique the various means by which one can represent design; select and use various 2D, 3D, and computer aided techniques appropriately to communicate design intent and detail.
- Understand the processes required to practice as a professional in an industrial environment.
- Demonstrate the application of appropriate aesthetic sensibilities in relation to mass produced artefacts and an understanding of the relationship between aesthetics, form and function.
- Apply relevant engineering knowledge and understanding in interior design project work.
- Generate a wide range of ideas, concepts, proposals, solutions or arguments independently or collaboratively in response to set briefs or self-initiated activity.
- Analyse the interrelationships within and between aspects of design and architecture.
- Employ materials, media, techniques, methods, technologies and tools associated with design through technical analysis, drawing, modelling and computer visualisation methods, using skill and imagination.
In a typical week, you will have around 18 ‘contact’ hours of teaching. This generally breaks down into tutorials and seminars with focussed tutor contact, lectures, demonstrations and practical workshops.
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 addition, you will be expected to undertake a further 300-360 hours of self-directed study each semester, eg. working on course assignments.
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.
What our students say
Studying the MA in Coventry has shown me how important working in an international team and collaborating with other disciplines is.
It has given me new platforms and points of view which are extremely beneficial to my design development. I love the fact that I work on live projects with real clients giving me real life experience, which is very valuable when looking for a job in the future.
Aleksandra Venkova, MA Interior Design in 2016, currently Interior Design Lecturer, Raffles University MalaysiaThere are so many elements I enjoy about my course; I love the connection and enthusiasm the lecturers have with their students. I enjoy being able to work within a collaborative space, which has provided me with the skills I need going into the industry. I also enjoy how broad and creative the briefs can be, they allow you to explore your skills to their full potential and specialise in specific areas.
Entry Requirements
What our student say
There are so many elements I enjoy about my course; I love the connection and enthusiasm the lecturers have with their students. I enjoy being able to work within a collaborative space, which has provided me with the skills I need going into the industry. I also enjoy how broad and creative the briefs can be, they allow you to explore your skills to their full potential and specialise in specific areas.
Tuition Fees
We pride ourselves on offering competitive tuition fees which we review on an annual basis and offer a wide range of scholarships to support students with their studies. Course fees are calculated on the basis of what it costs to teach each course and we aim for total financial transparency.
You can study this course on a part-time basis. The cost is based on the credits studied per year. For further information please contact our Admissions team.
EU student fees
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year remain eligible for the same fees as home students and the same financial support. Financial support comes from Student Finance England, and covers undergraduate and postgraduate study for the duration of their course, providing they meet the residency requirement.
For tuition fee loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
For maintenance loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the UK and Islands for the five years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that five year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
What our students say
There are so many elements I enjoy about my course; I love the connection and enthusiasm the lecturers have with their students. I enjoy being able to work within a collaborative space, which has provided me with the skills I need going into the industry. I also enjoy how broad and creative the briefs can be, they allow you to explore your skills to their full potential and specialise in specific areas.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
Our focused approach on spatial practice and broad range of design equips you with the creative skills and professional competencies to work within your chosen specialist discipline in design practices, architectural firms or pursue a range of careers – in marketing, advertising, journalism, university teaching, virtual design and modelling.
During your studies, you will have opportunities 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 Coventry Watch Museum.
You may choose to start your own interior design business or work on a freelance basis.
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, Dubai.
What our alumni say
Studying the MA in Coventry has shown me how important working in an international team and collaborating with other disciplines is.
It has given me new platforms and points of view which are extremely beneficial to my design development. I love the fact that I work on live projects with real clients giving me real life experience, which is very valuable when looking for a job in the future.
Disclaimer
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 2021/22 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.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we 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. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.
